Local authorities are investigating reports that many households near the Dung Quat Economic Zone in Quang Ngai Province, central Vietnam are being blanketed in gray dust that has carried a burnt smell into the area, allegedly causing chest pain and nausea for local residents over the past few days. 

The gray dust first appeared on the evening of October 30 and has remained since, according to a local official.

Winds in the region seem to consistently blow the dust from the economic zone into people’s houses, and residents have reported chest tightness and vomiting since the situation first began. 

Following reports of the dust, authorities in Binh Son District, which houses the Dung Quat Economic Zone, have begun carrying out inspections on companies that operate in the area in order to find the cause of the incident and collect samples of the dust for analysis.

During working sessions held with authorities, all companies located in Dung Quat refuted the possibility that the gray dust came from their factories. 

Only Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Joint Stock Company reported that it had a problem with a chimney in the heat exchanger system on October 25, but the company claimed to have successfully resolved the problem in accordance with regulations the same day.

The firm also stated that all other parts at the plant are operating as normal, with all catalysts kept in a closed room and therefore incapable of spreading dust beyond the confines of the factory.

Police in Binh Son District have yet to come to a conclusion on the origin of the dust.

All relevant units are awaiting an analysis of the dust samples from the district’s natural resources and environmental division in order to facilitate their investigation and find out an appropriate solution to the issue.

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