Conducting the environmental assessment for khanh hoa coal company VVMI to make sure the environment within and surrounding company safety

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY PHAM THI MINH TAM CONDUCTING THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR KHANH HOA COAL COMPANY- VVMI TO MAKE SURE THE ENVIRONMENT WITHIN AND SURROUNDING COMPANY SAFETY BACHELOR THESIS Study Mode: Full-time Major : Enviromental Science and Management Faculty : International Programs Office Batch : 2016 - 2020 Thai Nguyen, 27/10/2020 Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Degree Program Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management Student name PHAM THI MINH TAM Student ID DTN1654290001 Thesis title Conducting the environmental assessment for Khanh Hoa Coal Company- VVMI to make sure the environment within and surrounding company safety Supervisors PhD Nguyen Huu Tho Supervisor’s signature (s) Abstract: The project aim is focusing on how we can make the environment sustainable and also to avoid some environmental problems The fact that the world is developing every day, and this impact the world and many places in a different way, leading to rapid deterioration in the environmental status and human condition EIA ensure that some problems which will come up during a project or after a project is well addressed and bring a solution to those problems, they’re also use to predict the consequence of any developing activity or project So this will provide regional way to sustainable development, EIA is a systematic way of identifying and mitigating the environmental impacts on particular or society in consultation with the individual or society affected The proposes of this report is to integrate aspects of EIA and it practicable in the Khanh Hoa Coal Company So this report will point out many different ways and problems which will come out during the execution of this project, and also give some solution on how to mitigate and reduce the impact to the environment Keywords: Environmental pollution, air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, environmental impact assessment Page numbers: 67 pages Date of submission 13 November 2020 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT After months of internship at Khanh Hoa Coal Company, despite many difficulties, but with the enthusiastic help of the brothers and sisters in the company, I have successfully completed my graduation internship First of all, I would like to thank all of Khanh Hoa Coal Company for creating conditions for me to practice at the Faculty of Environment Special thanks to Mr Nguyen An Ninh for directly guiding and helping me a lot in the process of completing the report Thanks for the help of PhD Director Nguyen Huu Tho has led the way, guided me in the direction of research, comments the thesis to make it more scientific and more professional Also thank the good feelings that he has for me Thanks also to Teachers of Advanced Education Program who have devotedly taught me the knowledge and support me during the long learning I would like to thank my parents for being a strong supporter of mine throughout the course and thank for give me the opportunity to study Special thanks for my classmate K48-ESM has joined with me over a long way of learning Finally, I would like to wish you good health, happiness and success in your teaching path Thai Nguyen, 27 October, 2020 Student Pham Thi Minh Tam TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .3 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES ABBRIVIATION .9 PART I: INTRODUCTION 10 1.1 Research rationale .10 1.2 Research’s objective 11 1.3 Research question and hypotheses 11 1.3.1 Research questions .11 1.3.2 Hypotheses .12 1.4 Limitations 12 1.5 Definitions 14 PART II: LITTERATURE REVIEW 15 Background 15 Impact of Khanh Hoa Coal Company 16 2.1 Positive impact 16 2.1.1 Providing a fuel source for the country 16 2.1.2 Solving the career issue 17 2.2 Negative impacts .17 2.2.1 For the natural environment 17 2.2.2 For people living around the factory .19 Environmental management at Khanh Hoa Coal Company 19 Introduction to EIA project at Khanh Hoa Coal Company 20 4.1 Background of project .20 4.2 Location of project 21 4.3 The main objectives of the project 23 Environmental policy, legislative and institutional framework 23 PART III: METHODS 25 General approach 25 1.1 Field study method 27 1.2 Official method .28 Environmental quality indicators 32 2.1 Air indicators 33 2.2 Water indicators 34 2.3 Soil indicators 35 Environmental baseline study 35 3.1 Topography and climate 36 3.2 Biological 37 3.3 Socioeconomic 38 PART IV: RESULT AND DISUSSION .39 Impact identification 39 1.1 Assessing the air quality around Khanh Hoa Coal Mine 39 1.2 Assessing the water quality in Khanh Khoa Coal Mine 42 1.3 Assessing the soil quality 49 Evaluation 50 2.1 For air quality assessment 50 2.2 For water quality assessment 51 2.3 For soil quality assessment .51 PART V: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 52 Minimizing, preventing and responding to environmental pollution incidents of Khanh Hoa Coal Company 52 1.1 Measures to minimize air pollution 53 1.2 Measures to mitigate water pollution .56 1.3 Measures to mitigate soil pollution 58 1.4 Minimize the environmental impact of solid wastes and landfills 59 Statement of impacts 59 Recommendations and conclusion .61 References: 62 LIST OF TABLES Table The survey questions for local people around Khanh Hoa Coal Mine 27 Table Limit value of basic parameters in ambient air……………………… 31 Table Limited value of surface water quality parameters………………… 32 Table Limiting the total content of some heavy metals in some soils ……….33 Table 5: The weather indicators recorded in the study area………… ……… 38 Table 6: Results of gas and dust measurement and analysis in the mining area 39 Table 7: The results of the water analysis from the mining activity ………… 41 Table 8: The results of underground water analysis…………………………….43 Table 9: The result of surface water analysis………………………………… 44 Table 10: The results of soil analysis……………………………………… …47 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Administrative map of Phu Luong district……………………… .20 Figure 2: Topographic map of Khanh Hoa coal mine………………………… 21 Figure Steps of conducting EIA in Khanh Hoa Coal Mine………………… 24 Figure 4: Interviewing the local people………………………………………….26 Figure 5: Soil sample location……………………………………………… …30 Figure The Thai Nguyen Vietnam Average Monthly Rainfall……………… 35 Figure The Thai Nguyen Vietnam Average Monthly Temperature………… 36 Figure 8: Dedicated car for watering…………………………………………….52 Figure 9: Sprinkler system ………………………………………………………53 Figure 10: Water sprayer to stamp out dust…………………………………… 54 Figure 11: Treated water discharged to environment ………………………… 56 ABBRIVIATION ESM: Environmental Science and Management EIA: Environmental Impacts Assessment permitted level This means that the soil quality is quite good for crops and does not affect much the soil organisms around the Khanh Hoa coal mine PART V: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Minimizing, preventing and responding to environmental pollution incidents of Khanh Hoa Coal Company In recent years, Khanh Hoa-VVMI Coal Company under the Vietnam BacVinacomin Mining Industry Corporation has taken practical steps to implement environmental protection measures according to the Environmental Impact Assessment Report The Khanh Hoa coal mine rehabilitation and expansion project was approved in Decision No 421 / QD-UBND dated March 4, 2008 and according to the environmental impact assessment report of the pit fringe mining project Thien approved No 1685 / QD-UBNĐ of the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province on July 17, 2009 There are also activities to celebrate the world environment day, propaganda activities to protect and preserve the sense of environmental protection throughout the company Carry out the regular dredging of drainage ditches, so every year in the rainy season, local flooding does not happen The Company has implemented well environmental protection measures (both technical and managerial), so in the past years the Company has not let any accidents or accidents happen, waterlogging has not occurred However, during the mining process, there is still erosion on the quarry bank due to the soft structure 52 of the rocky pillar shoreline (not due to design error), the local dehydration phenomenon in An Khanh communes, communes Phuc Ha The remaining environmental problems are dust pollution, waste water cannot be fully treated, pollution of ditches, so the annual volume of dredging ditches is quite high, the density of green trees is still thin New environmental pollution problems arise when renovating and expanding capacity such as dust pollution, noise at a higher level, wastewater, if not collected through thorough treatment, will pollute the surface water system ( Lang Ngo stream, Huyen stream and Tan Long stream) receive 1.1 Measures to minimize air pollution a) Dust from drilling and blasting - Using the differential blasting method through the hole with main types of explosives Anfo and Anfo are water-resistant, or emulsion - Perform wet drilling (using pressure water to remove dust) - Limiting the drilling and blasting by strengthening the mechanical opening method b) Dust from transportation • For the transportation of coal from the field to the coal sieve cluster: Regularly watering dust on all transportation routes; Always have tire pullers working on the roads to repair damaged areas and collect spilled stones during transportation • For transporting coal for consumption: Spraying water to stamp dust from the quarry to An Khanh thermal power plant times a day (twice in the morning, twice in the afternoon) • For transportation of waste soil and rock: Using water spray method to stamp dust on transport routes suitable to weather conditions will minimize the generated dust content, frequency of times / shift 53 Figure 8: Dedicated car for watering (Tam, 2020) 54 Figure 9: Sprinkler system (Tam, 2020) c) Dust from screening - Continuing to maintain the equipment of mist spraying workshops - Covering coal warehouse - Water spray treatment (mist) of coal pouring funnels, coal heap, places forming dust and creating large amount of dust (bunker) - Regularly collect coal dust piles in places where dust is deposited 55 Figure 10: Water sprayer to stamp out dust (Tam, 2020) In addition, in order to mitigate noise, the company regularly maintains machinery, equips with anti-noise equipment, protects workers and arranges working hours according to regulations for workers working in high noise areas; planting trees around the outer partition 1.2 Measures to mitigate water pollution a) For underground water Undergroundwater in the project area exists and moves in the fracture zone of the sandstone and grit layers while the clay, coal clay and coal layers are the water insulation layers When mining pit water and rainwater runoff, the surface soaks into the groundwater will be filtered through layers of clay, coal clay and coal, so the concentration of pollutants decreases However, the exploitation period lasted plus deep exploitation reduced the groundwater level This is also an undesirable 56 impact and overcome by collecting and mechanically treating the entire amount of waste water in the field so that the treated water will not be polluted, when it is mixed into surface water and supplied to the water source groundwater will minimize pollution for groundwater; not to drop toxic chemicals (explosives, grease, acid solutions) Leveling and sealing the cracks at the bottom of the pit to avoid the ingress of dirt and toxic pollutants that affect the quality of groundwater b) For surfacewater For surface water and domestic wastewater, the company develops a treatment process according to the following diagram: 57 Aerating PAM PAC Wastewater Regulating tank Neutralization compartment Mixing compartment PAM, PAC Mud tank No Stirring compartment chậm Landfill WASTEWATER STANDARD: NOTE: - pH: 5,5 – Path of waste water - Concentration of suspended solid waste: - Concentration of Fe: - Concentration of Mn:  5mg/l Clarifier tanks Lamella Mud tank No.2 Clean water tank Stream m Landfill  100mg/l The path of the mud  1mg/l The path of re-treated wastewater 56 Explanation of technology diagram: Wastewater from the mine is collected by the pumping system and sent to the regulating tank to stabilize the flow and concentration, then the wastewater is transferred to a neutral tank, where the wastewater is aerated Wastewater through the mixing compartment PAC and PAM deposition aid, continues to be passed through the slow stirring compartment to help the flocculants and sedimentation aids disperse into the water and make the suspended solid particles have size Small glue stick together to form colloidal cotton, these colloidal cotton will settle down by gravity, it settles more efficiently and faster thanks to the inclined lamen sediment plates because water from the reactor to the settling tank will move from the bottom up according to the slanted slab designed, during moving the colloidal cotton will collide and stick to the surface of the lamen settling plate When the colloidal cotton sticks together on the surface of the lamen settling plate is heavy enough and can overcome the repulsion of the moving water, the colloidal cotton will slide down in the opposite direction and fall to the bottom of the sedimentation tank Wastewater after sedimentation is taken to a tank containing clean water and flows into the stream Sludge from the regulating tank to the sedimentation tank is taken to sludge tanks and by sludge pumping system respectively, then sludge is discharged through the company's waste dump 57 Figure 11: Treated water discharged to environment (Tam, 2020) 1.3 Measures to mitigate soil pollution The project land zoning is allocated by the local authority to facilitate management and take responsibility for legal as well as environmental issues and land backfill after the project comes into operation; To avoid the phenomenon of arid and weathering of the soil, the project combines tree planting with the back ground work of the ground and pit banks after the completion of exploitation and disposal Treating wastewater in the environment, wastewater containing grease, domestic wastewater before being discharged into the environment, not discharge untreated water into the environment because they will soak into the ground causing soil and underground water pollution 58 Due to the open-pit exploitation, the topographic landscape of the area is strongly deformed during the project's operation To create environmental landscape and prevent dust and noise spread to the surrounding air, during mining, plant trees on the ground, on both sides of the transportation route, after finishing mining Planting and completely covering the landfill sites and sites 1.4 Minimize the environmental impact of solid wastes and landfills For domestic waste: The Company has arranged garbage bins in reasonable locations; Sign contracts with Urban Environment Company to collect, transport and handle daily according to the regulations of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Thai Nguyen province For hazardous waste: Currently, Khanh Hoa-VVMI Coal Company has a register of hazardous waste source owner issued by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Thai Nguyen province dated November 7, 2008 with a code number QLCTNH 19.000007 The amount of hazardous waste generated monthly is managed by the Company at the Company's warehouse and contracted with a fully functional unit to periodically transport for treatment For waste from the exploitation: The Company is maintaining the dumping at landfills (West and South waste dump) However, it is expected that after 2025, waste soil and rock will only be disposed of at the western landfill and finished dumping the western landfill in 2036 Statement of impacts Although the industry has developed rapidly and is considered the strength of the Vietnamese economy However, there are some negative impacts that the company has on the environment that strongly affects people living in the area or around the company such as noise pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, and Hazardous emissions, air pollution,etc Due to its economic development, population growth and rapid urbanization, Vietnam is facing significant environmental changes The hot spots in Vietnam contain solid waste, heat and air pollution For the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), these are the biggest challenges 59 From our EIA find all plant activities such as water pollution, noise pollution, and so on They are below the current environmental index as their impact is minimal and the plant is working to address the impact to ensure that it is not harmful to the environment In addition, one of the activities with the highest environmental impact index compared to the current one is the air from the factory, the air from the factory is heavily polluted, leading to many impacts on the environment Emissions in the air are one of the biggest characteristics faced by the people living around the factory and most workers Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) belongs to a group of extremely absorbing gases known as nitrogen oxides or nitrous oxides (NOx) Other nitrogen oxides include nitrogen acids and nitric acids NO2 is used as a source of the larger nitrogen oxide groups NO2 is basically in the air from fuel combustion NO2 grows from emissions from trucks, cars and buses, power plants and terrain materials The air released from the factory contains nitrogen dioxide, the biggest effect of breathing in high levels of nitrogen dioxide is increasing the likelihood of respiratory problems Nitrogen dioxide stimulates the lining of the lungs, and it may decrease immunity to lung diseases This will cause problems like wheezing, coughing, colds, flu and bronchitis Furthermore, from the land size of the coal mine, the mining location causes air pollution close to the area where local people live and this is a huge problem for local people because from the interview with locals living around the company they mention the quality of the air they breathe around their environment, they tell us that the air quality is very harmful to their health and every day, hundreds of large trucks pass by carrying dust and dirt, causing serious air pollution Khanh Hoa Coal Company has also been trying to overcome and minimize the impact of mining on the environment with methods from manual to modern Throughout our EIA, we have discovered the factory activity which harms the environment and the people living and working around the area And they factory should work towards this issue to make sure that they reduce the great impact which they are causing, especially the air pollution which is the biggest trait, they should make provisions on how to manage the amount of No2 which they are releasing to the atmosphere by reducing the number of cars, truck, vans, ect Which 60 they use in daily bases, however, planting some trees will also contribute a lot in decreasing the impacts of air pollution Recommendations and conclusion In conclusion, the result which we get from Khanh Hoa coal Company EIA, the building of this factory will affect the environment and the people living within the area but the impact will be very low since they factory is working on every possible way to mitigate and reduce the level of environmental impact which they are causing Khanh Hoa-VVMI Coal Company must strictly comply with the regulations on environmental protection management and monitoring as committed in the company's environmental impact assessment report Besides, due to changes in water quality fluctuating over time and space, it is necessary to increase the number of surveys Sewage treatment system improvement (combined use of physical and chemical treatment) To supplement water quality monitoring points at industrial and urban wastewater receiving points It is also important to decentralize waste and closely monitor the disposal, solid waste classification, and improvement of the collection system In addition, the company should focus on upgrading and maintaining some traffic routes Invest in dust spraying system to reduce dust located in large dust generating areas such as screening workshop, waste treatment area, transportation road Increase the frequency of watering during the dry season In addition to technical solutions, the company needed to incorporate management solutions to improve the capacity and environmental awareness of the miners Strengthen education to raise public awareness about the importance of clean water and environmental sanitation Also they should make a provision for the challenges which they will be facing in the future especially the impacts from climate change, thus, they cannot full fight the avoid the climatic impact rather they can reduce the impacts to the environment and also make a mitigation strategy 61 References: [1] Bài 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2009/BTNMT, National technical regulation on hazardous substances in ambient air [22][24][25] HikersBay Website (2017) The climate condition in Thai Nguyen Available at: http://hikersbay.com/climate-conditions/vietnam/thainguyen/dieu- kien-khi-hau-o-thai-nguyen.html?lang=vi [23] Trần Minh Thu (2010) “Chuyển biến kinh tế-xã hội huyện Phú Lương tỉnh Thái Nguyên thời kì đổi (1986-2005), trang 23 Available at: https://tailieu.vn/doc/luan-van-chuyen-bien-ve-kinh-te-xa-hoi-huyenphu-luong-tinh-thai-nguyen-trong-thoi-ki-doi-moi-19-1219752.html 64 ... make sure the environment within and surrounding company safety? ?? to bring out the current state of the environment in Khanh Hoa coal mine and find out suitable environmental improvement measures... addition to find out the most appropriate treatment Starting from the above situation, I carried out the research topic: ? ?Conducting the environmental assessment for Khanh Hoa Coal Company- VVMI to make. .. Is the ambient environment of Khanh Hoa Coal Company safe to the local people, workers and ecosystems around the factory? - Which environment factor suffered the most impact Khanh Hoa Coal Company?