Hanoi has begun to modernise old air-quality monitoring stations
this year under a plan approved by the Hanoi People's Committee.
The old system was believed to be complicated and show little effectiveness in monitoring air quality.
The replacement programme is scheduled to finish by 2020 with a total
number of 360 modern stations instead of more than 1,250 old ones.
The two-phrase plan aims to improve data collection and analysis of
changes to air-quality and meteorological elements, therefore giving
solutions to reducing air pollution and protecting community health in
the city.
There will be seven automatic air-quality monitoring stations, five more than are currently in use.
The committee has assigned the city's Natural Resources and Environment Department to direct the plan.
The move was taken after air quality in Hanoi was shown to be
worsening in a report on the city's environment situation, which was
released by the department in late 2011.
According to the
report, vehicle exhaust emissions including carbon dioxide, volatile
organic compound (VOC) and nitrogen dioxide have been blamed for the air
pollution in the capital.
In particular, VOC is believed to contain chemicals which cause long-term negative health impacts for humans.
The compounds in VOC are also found in solvents, cleaning chemicals, building materials and office equipment.
Hoang Duong Tung, director of the Vietnam Environment Administration's
Environmental Monitoring Centre, told the local media that dust levels
in most areas of the city had exceeded safe levels in recent years.
Air pollution levels remained high at construction sites and the
traffic intersections of Kim Lien, Giai Phong, Phung Hung and Nguyen
Trai, he said.
The levels gradually rose with the growing number of vehicles and construction sites, he said.
Under the plan, the department will have to build and operate three air
quality monitoring stations in areas where with high risks to air
pollution during the first phrase, which is expected to finish in 2015.
This will ensure the management of the technical apparatus that will be understood and will allow the training of observers.
The second phrase is planned to launch for the period of 2016-20, where
all air-quality monitoring stations will be operating effectively as
part of the national environment monitoring system./.
