Townspeople complain of factory smoke Pollution from a porcelain factory has raised concerns among residents in the northern province of Phu Tho's Phu Tho Town.   Pollution from a porcelain factory has raised concerns among residents in the northern province of Phu Tho's Phu Tho Town.—Photo tinmoỉtuong They say smoke and dust pollution from the Thanh Ha Porcelain JSC has been affecting the lives of nearby residents for two years. Thanh Ha Porcelain JSC began processing old rubber tyres into industrial oil used to bake ceramic tiles in 2011. Since then smoke and dust from the company's furnace has given rise to a wide range of concerns, including allegations from farmers that their crops have been affected. Nguyen Xuan Diep, a local resident, said the pollution made the fish in a pond at his home died en mass, while 25 litchi trees in his garden could not produce fruit. Residents have made official complaints to authorities at different levels, however, they have not received an official reply. Deputy Head of the Phu Tho Town Natural Resources and Environment Division Phan Ngoc Thanh said dark smoke and dust spread out from the company's premises every day, but his department did not have the correct equipment to check the pollution levels. A great amount of farm land in Thanh Vinh Commune lies unused as trees planted there did not produce any fruit. "Due to limited competence of our staff, the division can only ask the company to reduce the pollution they create," said Thanh. Last October, inspectors from the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment took water and soil samples in the affected areas for tests, however Thanh said his department had not received the results. "So far no report on how residents' health is being affected has been carried out by the provincial health sector, but in the long term people's respiratory systems will be affected by the pollution," he said. Deputy Director of the Thanh Ha Porcelain Joint-stock Company Tran Trung Thanh said that smoke and dust from the company was caused by firewood in the oven, not from the rubber, thus it would not affect people's health. In addition, the company has installed two devices to filter firewood dust to limit its effect, he said. "The rubber is burnt in a pyrolysis oven which operates on a closed process, and thus dust cannot be released into the surrounding environment." Source: VNS