Police in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang have opened an investigation into a local company amidst reports that potentially harmful waste had been buried on its premises.

Colonel Tran Muu, deputy director of the municipal Department of Police, affirmed on Tuesday morning that a probe had been carried out at the Anh Duong Environmental Service Company.

According to Colonel Tran Thanh Nhon, chief of the city’s environmental police unit, local residents reported that several trucks had been spotted carrying reddish waste material suspected of containing a large amount of iron powder to the firm’s premises.

An initial investigation showed that the firm had been granted a permit for the treatment of industrial waste, Col. Nhon said.

“Our inspection at the scene found that the firm’s waste materials mainly consist of plastic bags and scrap metal,” the police official continued.

Burying refuse on the firm’s premises is against regulations, he stated, adding that further violations would be determined in 12 days once test results of various waste samples are in.

Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters observed at the site that the waste seemed to be reddish-brown mud dumped at a 200 square meter area and covered with plastic mattresses.

According to Nguyen Dang My Uyen, director of Anh Duong Company, the 9.6 metric tons of waste is simply the dregs taken from the bottom of sewage treatment tanks belonging to a client’s company.

Uyen admitted that it was wrong to bury the refuse on her company’s premises, though she added that the waste had been tested and proven to be harmless.

“We have been working with authorities and providing them with all of the necessary information and documents. We will take responsibility if the test results show that the waste is hazardous,” the company director affirmed.

She added that her firm was in charge of dealing with waste material from 15 businesses across Da Nang and the central province of Quag Nam.

“If we are wrong, we will be punished,” Uyen reiterated.

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