The administration in a ward in Hanoi has backtracked on a document, which previously advised local residents against consuming vegetables and meat affected by a recent factory fire, after the advisory was said to be groundless.
The People’s Committee in Ha Dinh Ward, Thanh Xuan District, stated in a notice on Thursday that vegetables, fruit, pork, fish, and poultry produced within a one-kilometer radius from Rang Dong Light Source & Vacuum Flask JSC should not be used for human consumption in the next 21 days.
The warning was issued after an inferno engulfed the light bulb company at around 6:30 pm on Wednesday and was put out after nearly six hours.
Approximately 6,000 square meters of the firm’s warehouses and factories was destroyed, causing damage worth about VND150 billion (US$6.45 million). There were no casualties following the incident.
The Ha Dinh administration said in the retracted document that the fire had caused a large amount of smoke and dust that contaminated the air and might affect the health of residents in some neighborhoods in the ward.
Children, elderly people, and those suffering illnesses should be evacuated for one to ten days, the administration added.
The administration also advised residents to pay close attention to their family members and take them to the hospital if such symptoms as coughing, difficulty breathing, chest pain, and fever occur.
The advisory was withdrawn on Friday, the People’s Committee in Thanh Xuan District confirmed.
The warning about air pollution made by the ward administration was groundless, according to the district-level administrators.
The Thanh Xuan District administration added that the Ha Dinh People’s Committee was not authorized to issue such a warning.
The Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment is monitoring the air and water quality within the areas near Rang Dong Company, and the results will be announced soon, the Thanh Xuan administration stated.
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