Air quality in Vung Tau

How good is the air quality in Vung Tau?

With an average US AQI reading of 51 and a PM2.5 measured at 12.1 µg/m³, the air quality in Vung Tau is classed as moderate according to satellite data as there is currently no ground monitoring station.

The city is situated in the south of the country on the tip of a small peninsula. The two prominent mountains found here are extinct volcanoes. The total area of the city extends to some 140 square kilometres or 54 square miles. Vung Tau was the original capital of the province until it was replaced by the much smaller city of Ba Ria in 2012. Located on a peninsular with the ocean on three sides, the air quality is possibly better than expected, due to the prevailing winds. It was an important port in the past, but it is now well-known as the oil and gas exploration capital of Vietnam. Crude oil extraction is an important industry here.

What are the sources of Vung Tau’s air pollution?

As with most Asian cities, the main source of air pollution within the city comes from vehicles using the congested roads. Located just to the north of the city is the Phu My thermal installation and provides about 40 per cent of Vietnam’s electricity needs through its five main power plants. It is primarily fuelled by natural gas with distilled oil as a back-up source. The gas is supplied by the Bach Ho oil fields in the Nam Con Son Basin’s oil and gas field located offshore in the East Sea.

Whilst a gas-fired power station is thought to be a lot cleaner than a coal-fired one, the main pollutant produced by gas-fired stations is nitrous oxide (NO_x).

The electricity generation sector is indeed cleaner than the transportation sector but it does not mean that the generation sector is not dirty. Some of the highest-polluting natural gas power plants emit over 100 tons of NOx into the environment every year, which is roughly equivalent to the NOx emissions from travelling 11 million miles in a diesel school bus which is considered to be one of the most polluting types of vehicles. This figure is based on an average emissions rate of 8.18 grams of NOx per mile.

Another large industrial complex is operated by PEB Steel in Vung Tau who specialise in the design and construction of pre-engineered steel buildings.

What is the level of air pollution in Vung Tau?

Generally speaking, Vietnam is considered to be a country which suffers from air pollution. The capital city of Hanoi often appears as the second most polluted city in S. E. Asia, whilst the second largest city of Ho Chi Minh City often carries the 15^th ranking. The quality of air in Hanoi was particularly bad in the first three months of 2019 when the PM2.5 levels rose sharply. The average AQI number for Hanoi is between 101 and 200 which places it as “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” and “Unhealthy” according to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guidelines.

Figures for the third quarter of 2018 showed that the daily average PM 2.5 concentration was 30.2 µg/m³ (micrograms per cubic meter) which is lower than the National Standard and only on one day did the PM 2.5 concentration exceed the accepted national standards. When compared to the WHO guidelines, the third quarter of 2018, Hanoi has 41 days of dust PM2.5 concentrations exceeding 25 µg/m³.

Has Vung Tau identified areas of high air pollution?

Monitoring has been undertaken by the local authorities who have identified several sites of a possible increase in the levels of air pollution. Large-scale industrial production facilities such as steel production, cement and chemical products; the processing of seafood, the manufacture of fish meal; the operation of waste treatment plants in Toc Tien; mining activities, mineral transportation and construction works. Even though these potential hot spots have been identified, it will take some time to actually redress the situation.

The local government issued a document in January 2020 committing themselves to the continuation of strengthening air pollution control and treatment. A department will be created to coordinate between the various branches and localities to implement the guidelines as suggested by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The People's Committee of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province assigns the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to coordinate with relevant branches and units to strengthen the implementation of environmental monitoring; to increase the frequency of monitoring the air environment in the monitoring programme and the system of automatic monitoring stations in the area and to ensure timely information to the community and effectively serve the state management of air quality in the locality

Can the air pollution in Vung Tau be reduced?

In order for people to be more proactive in regularly monitoring the environmental quality, and at the same time serving environmental protection management activities in the province, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment installed and put into operation an LED screen with a size of 20m² at 30/4 Park (Phuoc Nguyen ward, Ba Ria city) to convey environmental parameters. Once the LED screen was put into operation it has attracted a large number of people who are now interested in monitoring air quality. Ms. Bui Thi Oanh (lives on Pham Van Dong street, Ba Ria city) said: The publication of this environmental index is very practical by helping people to know information about their local environment and when to limit going out. Due to the apparent success of this screen, a further three are planned; one for Vung Tau city at the busy intersection of Quang Trung, Le Loi and Bacu and the other two in Phu My. One at the Community Learning and Culture Centre and the other at Toc Tien TH school. Data will be transmitted every five minutes to a central department who will review the data before sending it to their IT department to be eventually published on the screen. It is hoped that this will all happen within one hour of the data being collected.