In Vietnam, CO Levels On HCM City Streets Exceed Official Safety Levels By 3 - 7X

[hatrack]

HCM CITY—Environmental pollution has been worsening in HCM City despite the government’s efforts to address the problem in the last five years. Carbon monoxide levels exceed the permissible level by three to seven times at Hang Xanh roundabout in Binh Thanh District, Phu Lam roundabout in District 6, and An Suong Crossroads in District 12, a survey by the environment protection department has found.

At a recent seminar, authorities and experts said 90 per cent of the pollution was caused by vehicle exhaust. The city has 320,000 cars and 3.2 million motorbikes.

The experts added that over 70 per cent of the vehicles were old, most of them 10 years old, with even some vehicles from the 1960’s still running on the streets.

To add to the city’s woes, only 60 per cent of the 600,000 cu.m. of wastewater generated daily is treated before release into canals and rivers, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

EDIT

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=...

And if those are the carbon monoxide readings, you can imagine what the particulate numbers look like . . .

[Strelnikov_]

1. They get a lot of 'mileage' out of those motorbikes, though