A South Korean waste treatment company has been fined for discharging untreated wastewater from its landfills into local streams in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Vietnam.
Kbec Vina Ltd., a firm which is responsible for treating industrial and household waste in the province by burying it, was fined VND 1.3 billion (USD 55,300) and its operations were suspended due to its negligence in disposing wastewater off properly.
According to Vnexpress, the Korean company had been releasing the yellow sewage, which had a very pungent smell, into local streams for a period of four-and-a-half months preceding February.
The company claimed that the wastewater from the landfill was already treated, but upon inspection, 50 times the permitted level of nitrogen concentration and 10 times the permitted level of chloride concentration was found.
According to news reports, this is not the first time the company was held accountable for such a violation. In 2008, it was fined nearly VND 700 million (USD 298) for a similar incident.
