public disclosure authorized á3 %3b22

Site specific “Environmental and

Social Impact Assessment”:

Pha Lai Power Plant PCB

management project

FINAL REPORT

Vietnam Electricity (EVN)

11/004382

September 2008

Vietnam Electricity 18 Tran Nguyen Han St. Hanoi VIETNAM

ARCADIS BELGIUM

E2100v2

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

Pub

lic D

iscl

osur

e A

utho

rized

ARCADIS BELGIUM Content Site specific "Environmental Impact Assessment": Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

CONTENT

NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... I

1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................1

1.1 Context and scope of the project ...........................................................................................1

1.2 Objectives............................................................................................................................1

1.3 Presentation of the consultants .............................................................................................2

2 LEGISLATIVE ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT ..................................3

2.1 The EIA legislation and procedure .........................................................................................3

2.2 World Bank Safeguard Rules .................................................................................................3

2.3 Vietnamese legislation ..........................................................................................................4

2.4 screening of impact assessment to be followed ......................................................................5

2.5 Legal and administrative framework for the EIA project ..........................................................7

3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ...................................................................................................9

3.1 General situation of the overall project in the study area.........................................................9

3.2 Description of the project components.................................................................................11

3.3 Project alternatives to be studied.........................................................................................19 3.3.1 The Zero-alternative ...........................................................................................................19 3.3.2 Location alternatives...........................................................................................................19

3.4 Use of resources and emissions...........................................................................................22

4 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT: METHODOLOGY AND SCOPING

........................................................................................................................................23

4.1 General methodology..........................................................................................................23

4.2 Identification and overview of the expected impacts – scoping..............................................24

5 BASELINE SITUATION ....................................................................................................26

5.1 Description of the Pha Lai coal fired thermal power plant ......................................................26 5.1.1 Pha Lai 1 thermal power plant.............................................................................................26 5.1.2 Pha Lai 2 thermal power plant.............................................................................................27 5.1.3 Man power.........................................................................................................................28 5.1.4 Environmental performance of the Pha Lai power plant ........................................................28

5.2 Baseline situation air, climate and noise ...............................................................................28 Meteorological conditions................................................................................................................28

5.3 Baseline situation soil and groundwater ...............................................................................30

5.4 Baseline situation water and aquatic resources.....................................................................32

5.5 Baseline situation fauna and flora ........................................................................................35

5.6 Baseline situation landuse, landscape and archeological, historical and cultural values ............38

5.7 Baseline situation related to man and his socio-economic living conditions .............................39

6 IMPACT ASSESSMENT.....................................................................................................49

6.1 Assessment of impacts on Air, climate and noise ..................................................................49 6.1.1 Emissions and contribution to environmental quality .............................................................49


6.1.2 Assessment of impacts........................................................................................................51

6.2 Impacts on Soil and groundwater ........................................................................................53

6.3 Impacts on Water and aquatic resources .............................................................................54

6.4 Fauna and flora ..................................................................................................................55

6.5 Landuse, landscape and archeological, historical and cultural values......................................56

6.6 Impacts on Man and his social economic living conditions .....................................................56

7 COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES...................................................................................59

8 GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE ....................................................................................................63

9 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING PLAN.....................65

9.1 Objectives and background of the ESMP ..............................................................................65

9.2 Summary of environmental and social impacts .....................................................................65

9.3 Environmental and social management plan.........................................................................66

10 RESULTS OF PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS ..........................................................................71

10.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................71

10.2 Minutes and comments made during the two workshops ......................................................72

APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................75


LIST OF TABLES

Table 5-1: Vietnamese standards for air quality ..................................................................................29

Table 5-2 Results of soil analysis .......................................................................................................30

Table 5-3 The results of analyzing ground water quality (Pha Lai Monitoring Report, 2008)..................31

Table 5-4 Average monthly flow at Ben Binh and Quang Dat stations (m3/s) ........................................32

Table 5-5 The results of analyzing water quality (Pha Lai Monitoring report, 2008) ...............................33

Table 5-6 The results of analyzing water quality (Pha Lai Monitoring report, 2008) ...............................33

Table 5-7 Number of species and biomass short – living flora in the area around Pha Lai power thermal plant (Data analysed from March to May 2007) ..................................................................................36

Table 5-8 Number of short-living fauna species and benthos in the area around Pha Lai power thermal plant (Data analysed from March to May 2007) ..................................................................................37

Table 5-9 Hai Duong average population in 2007................................................................................40

Table 5-10 Plans for socio-economic development of Hai Duong province: Economic structure %.........44

Table 9-1 Mitigation plan...................................................................................................................68

Table 9-2 Monitoring Plan .................................................................................................................70


LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2-1 World Bank Environmental Assessment requirements versus project cycle .............................4

Figure 2.2: Presentation of approval procedure ....................................................................................8

Figure 3.1: Photos of a typical example transformer to be retired and label indicating PCB containing oil (SOVTOL).........................................................................................................................................14

Figure 3.2: Map Pha Lai site including indication locations of transformers and proposed temporal storage sites.................................................................................................................................................15

Figure 3.3: Photos of location alternative A ........................................................................................19

Figure 3.4: Photos location alternative B ............................................................................................20

Figure 3.5: Photo of location alternative C..........................................................................................21

Figure 5.1: View on the Pha Lai power plant and its surroundings .......................................................39


LIST OF ABREVIATIONS

BOD Biological Oxigen Demand

CO Carbon Monoxide

CO2 Carbon Dioxide

COD Chemical Oxigen Demand

DoC Department of Construction

DoNRE Departments of Natural Resources and Environment

DTPW Department of Transportation and Public Works

EA Environmental Assessment

EF Emission Factor

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment

EPC Environmental Protection Commitment

ESMP Environmental and Social Management Plan

EVN Vietnam Electricity

GEF Global Environmental Facility

IA Impact Assessment

LEP Law on Environmental Protection

LOEC Lowest observed effect concentration

LTTD Low temperature thermal desorption

LW Sound power level

MoH Minstry of Health

MoI Ministry of Industry

MoNRE Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

MoST Ministry of Science and Technology

MoSTE Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment

MoT Ministry of Transportation

N Nitrogen

NIP National Implementation Plan Stockholm Convention


NOEC No observed effect concentration

NOx Nitrogen oxides

NSEP National Strategy for Environmental Protection

PAH Polyaromatic hydrocarbons

PCB Polychlorinated Biphenyl

PCDD Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins

PCDF Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans

PCE Perchloroethylene

PEL Permissible exposure limit

PLPP Pha Lai Power Plant

PM10 Particulate Matter of 10 Microns in diameter or smaller

POP Persistent Organic Pollutant

PPC Provincial People’s Committees

PPM Parts per million

SA Social Assessment

SO2 Sulfur dioxide

SS Suspended Solids

TCB Trichlorobenzene

TDS Total dissolved solids

TEF Toxic Equivalent Factor

TEQ Toxicity Equivalent

TLV Tolerance Limit Value

TSP Total Suspended Particles

TWA Time weighed average

VEPA Vietnamese Environmental Protection Agency

VOC Volatile organic carbons

ARCADIS BELGIUM Non technical summary Site specific "Environmental Impact Assessment": Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY

The aim of the project consists of conducting a project EIA for the PCB management project at the Pha Lai power plant following the procedures and methodology outlined in the Framework EA and SA. The Pha Lai power plant plans to:

• Retire 20 PCB transformers;

• Label (and package) the retired equipment;

• Select, build or upgrade a specific temporal storage warehouse at the Pha Lai power plant site;

• Transport the equipment from the workshops to its storage warehouse;

• Safely store the equipment at the warehouse before further treatment and final disposal.

The EIA for Pha Lai PCB management project includes:

• Impact assessment

• Environmental and social Management Plan including mitigation and monitoring aspects

• Two public consultation meetings, one at the start of the EIA project and one at the end of the EIA project

1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The project includes the retirement of 20 PCB (Sovtol) containing transformers assembled in 1983 in the USSR. 19 of these transformers are still in operation, 1 transformer is out of use. All of the transformers are at the end of their economic lifetime.

Each transformer contains 1000 kg of sovtol containing 90% PCB’s (pentachlorinated PCB). All transformers are actually located on an impermeable surface in buildings. All transformers are sealed and do not show any sign of damage or leaks.

The process of putting the transformers on retirement includes different project components:

Phase Project components

Preparation phase Labelling of the transformer to be retired, awareness raising of employees at the workfloor;

Construction phase Select, build or upgrade a safe storage warehouse at the Pha Lai power plant site for temporal storage, including preparatory work to enable construction works;

Transportation Preparation, loading, transportation and unloading of the 20 transformers from the workshops to the storage warehouse;

Operation phase Temporal storage of the 20 transformers at the selected storage warehouse at site1 before further analysis on PCB content and depending on this, decisions on dismantling and decontamination of the transformers and final disposal of the oil wastes and PCB

1 PCB holding transformers will not leave the Pha Lai power plant site during the project. Hence, there is no need for any resettlement plan.


holding parts at a later stage.

The duration of the preparation phase and transportation is estimated at 1,5 to 2 months, i.e. sufficient time should be forseen for labelling, awareness raising and transport preparation. Transport itself should run quite smoothly in case the proposed measures are taken into account (cf. further). The construction phase largely depends on the alternative selected. It is obvious that the construction of a new warehouse requires more time than upgrading an existing building.

Preventive measures are already incorporated in the project, i.e.:

• Architectural requirements for the storage building;

• Spill – prevention measures

• Anti – seepage measures

• A transportation procedure

• Operation conditions for the storage facility 3 location alternatives for the temporary storage have been studied:

• Alternative A: workplace at the second floor of building at the western-central part of the plant;

• Alternative B: existing storage facility at the western side of Pha Lai power plant

• Alternative c: storage facility to be constructed at a location (bare ground) at the western site of Pha Lai power plant

2. BASELINE SITUATION

The Pha Lai Thermal power plant is located in the Chi Linh district, Hai Duong province, 56 kilometers northeast of Hanoi.

Phai Lai 1 is equipped with four generating units of 110 MW each and eight boilers. The total capacity is 40 MW. Pha Lai 2 has a total capacity of 600 MW provided by two generating units of 300 MW each.

Environmental performance: to be completed (VIDANECO).

The region is characterized by a tropical monsoon climate. The annual average rainfall is 1.200-1.600 mm; average temperature is 23,3°C.

The environmental quality in the neighbourhood of the plant is monitored twice a year. Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant monitors air quality inside the plant as well as outside. Inside samples were taken at 29 different locations (coal storage, coal crush, transporting system, …) and several parameters are analysed (dust, CO, CO2, SO2, NOx, H2S). Due to the operation of an electrofilter all inside measurements meet the standards.

Outside the plant samples were taken at different distances to the plant (1, 2, 3, 4 km) and in several nearby villages. The measured data show that the air quality in the studying zone mostly meets the standards of the ministry of public health of Vietnam. Only in a few cases dust standards were exceeded as a result of construction works or due to transportation. No monitoring data on PCB concentrations in air exist. In the absence of PCB emissions at the moment (verified for the transformers) no monitoring data are needed to know that air concentrations will be below detection limit.


Measured sound levels exceeded the 85 dB(A) standard in 10 out of 28 measurements. The highest levels were measured in the vicinity of the crusher, boiler and mechanic place.

Back ground soil samples are taken in the framework of the EIA. Groundwater samples were taken in the framework of the monitoring programme.

From the data obtained it clearly appears that no PCB contamination could be detected in the soil or sediment. On the other hand it appears that in the past soil has been contaminated with mineral oils (and as a consequence PAH’s).

In general the pH of the groundwater appears to be low. In particular in the wells at two locations pH is clearly below the standards. The relative high levels of faecal coli in several locations points at bacterial contamination and a risk when using this water as drinking water. For all other parameters the quality seems to be sufficient.

Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant monitors water quality in different ways. Each year different kinds of samples (surface water, waste water, tap water and groundwater) are taken and analysed.

From the data obtained it appears that for most parameters the quality of the surface water in the neighbourhood of the Pha Lai plant is sufficient. At several locations however (6 out of 10 samples) there appears to be a pollution with oil. At the Binh Giang lake the pH appears to surpass the standard.

The area in the neighbourhood of the Phai Lai plant has no status of protection with respect to fauna and flora. The area is not known to be an area of high biodiversity.

The main rivers nearby the plant, Thai Binh and Kinh Thay river do not appear to contain a high concentration of nutrients. The number of algae is rather low and Cladocera are the most common species of fauna.

The land use in the district is dominated by agriculture ((33%) and forestry (49%). The Pha Lai site – the site of the project – has no archaeological, cultural or historical value. The landscape is typical for an industrial site. Man and the socio-economic situation is studied in the Chi Linh district where the power plant of Pha Lai is situated. The Chi Linh district population is about 188.000 people; population density is 519 persons/km². The district administration consists of 17 communes and 3 townlets. In recent years economic development was important. The average economic growth amounts up to 9.4%. The working population is mostly active in the agricultural sector. Main agricultural products are paddy maize, foodstuff crops, vegetables, soya bean, … In recent years industrial production increased considerably (17,5% per annum). Typical sectors are ceramic-industry, food processing industry and foodwear industry. Services, and in particular tourism are increasing and expected to increase further in the near future. In the past years education has been popularised and living conditions are improving, step by step. The traffic network is reasonably well distributed, power is widely available as well as water resources. Telecommunication and postal services cover the whole province.

3. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

The assessment has been carried out making maximum use of quantitative elements and assessment criteria. Both Vietnamese and international standards have been taken into consideration when relevant. The assessment output has been based on the following criteria:

• magnitude: referring to the quantum of change to be expected;

• extent: referring to the area which will be affected;

• significance: referring to the importance of the magnitude considering the present situation;


• special sensitivity: referring to the location or region specific situation of sensitivity, e.g. protected areas.

From the assessment carried out it is clear that the project of PCB management at the Pha Lai power plant, i.e. the retirement and (temporary) storage of 20 PCB containing transformers in a storage facility (to be constructed) on the site of the plant, will not provoke major environmental and social effects.

It appears that the actual presence of PCB containing transformers is not likely to result to any impact on the environment. All transformers are placed in a confined space on an impermeable floor, in several cases on the first floor. As a result soil contamination is not to be expected and as a consequence there is no risk for groundwater and surface water contamination and further effects on ecosystems or man. In the long term the PCB management plan is meant to be advantageous for man and environment.

For most environmental and social components no effects of any significance are expected to occur when the project is implemented as described in the project description. This is the case for the following impacts analysed:

• climate;

• noise;

• surface water pollution;

• ground water contamination;

• waste production;

• ecotoxicity to terrestrial and aquatic life;

• loss of sites with cultural or historical value;

• loss of ecologically valuable areas;

• nuisance to man;

• resettlement needs;

• employment;

• transportation and communication;

• direct and indirect health to residents.

The effects that have been identified and that justify mitigation measures are:

• emissions to the air from transformers resulting form an incident leading to a leak during transfer of the transformers to the storage site: along with the foreseen preventive measures for transport a response plan will be needed

• spills on the soil resulting from an incident during the transfer of the tranformers: again a contingency response plan will be needed

• health effects to workers as a result of direct contact due to unawareness of the dangers of PCB’s: awareness rising and the use of protective clothing are the mitigation measures needed here

• health effects due to exposure to PCB’s upon evaporation as a result of an incident or a leak: protective clothing and gass masks during operation are the recommended mitigation measures here as well as inspection.

The other effects that may occur during construction for alternative C are:

• alteration in soil composition and structure resulting from the construction of a storage facility this effect will not further deteriorate the environment;

• soil contamination during construction activities as a result of incidents.

From the comparison of the three alternatives studied it appears that that no major environmental or social impacts are to be expected for any of the alternatives. The scores for the alternatives A and B are equal for all potential impacts. Alternative C includes construction works which will have some, although


minor, effects on soil. Therefore it is from the environmental point of view maybe the least suitable solution for storage of the PCB containing transformers. However it should be said that none of the three alternatives will lead to any environmental and social effect that would not be acceptable. The alternative B thus appears to be the best alternative to be used as a storage side for the transformers for the following reasons:

• Alternative B does not necessitate the use of new land within the limits of the Pha Lai plant so that the land may be used for other purposes;

• Since there is no new construction, there will be no ground works and no impacts on the soil composition and structure; neither will there be a risk of soil contamination during construction;

• Contrary to the other alternatives, alternative B concerns a facility which is already used as a storage site and for which a number of safety measures have been implemented (fence, guard, safety material).

In contrast to alternative A, alternative B is located on the ground floor which has some advantages in accessibility and transport and reduces the consequences of accidents.

4. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT AND

MONITORING PLAN

The possible adverse impacts of the implementation and operation of the PCB management project at Pha Lai have been assessed. The number and magnitude of adverse environmental and social impacts is very limited in case the project is carried out as described (already taking into consideration a number of measure to prevent pollution). For the sake of completeness these measures are repeated as “foreseen project measures” in the mitigation plan. Since these preventive measures are supposed to be part of the project however, only the issue, the target and the activity are provided. The responsible is always the operator of the project and the cost should be included in the project.

For the measures proposed no specific institutional framework has to be installed. All measures are to be implemented by the plant owner possibly in collaboration with EVN and controlled by the DONRE and VEPA. The monitoring needs proposed here are quite limited. This is justified since under normal circumstances the project will not generate emissions into air, water or soil. The aim of the project is to prevent such emissions as a result of a proper management and storage of the transformers. Therefor, apart from inspection no further monitoring is needed.

In the first place a number of preventive measures are to be foreseen when implementing the project:

• Preventive measures for the prevention of incidents;

• Preventive measures for the prevention of soil and groundwater pollution;

• Preventive measures for preventing air pollution;

• Preventive measures for prevention of any health risk.

The further mitigation proposed measures can be summarized as follows:

• Sensibilisation and information of workers;

• Preparation of a contingency plan;

• Training of personnel on contingency measures.

The regular visual inspection for leaks at the storage facility would be sufficient as monitoring measure. Only in case a leak is detected air quality should be monitored.

ARCADIS BELGIUM Introduction Site specific "Environmental Impact Assessment": Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 CONTEXT AND SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study at the Pha Lai power plant has been conducted in the scope of a PCB management project.

In 2002 Vietnam ratified the Stockholm Convention committing to reducing and eventually eliminating 12 POPs, including PCBs. The “Pha Lai power plant PCB management project” is the first of 15 demonstration projects in the scope of the World Bank and GEF supported “PCB Management and Disposal Demonstration Project”, a project which aims to assist Vietnam to establish a sound PCB management system that would minimize potential environmental and health risks from unmanaged PCB oils and equipment. It consists of five components:

• PCB management framework and action plan;

• PCB management demonstration;

• Institutional strengthening;

• Monitoring and evaluation;

• Project management

It is obvious that this project aiming at better PCB management and disposal of PCB equipment and wastes will ultimately generate positive environmental and social impacts. Nevertheless, the project is subject to the environmental and social safeguard policies of the World Bank, implying to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment. Improper management of PCBs could indeed lead to negative environmental and social impacts.

In the scope of the PCB Management and Disposal Demonstration Project, a Framework Environmental and Social Impact Assessment report has been drafted by ARCADIS Belgium in June 2008. It will serve as a reliable framework for the preparation of project EIAs for the 15 facilities within the Demonstration Project and other further projects in the field of PCB management, disposal and remediation. As such the framework Environmental and Social Impact Assessment report has been used as a guidance in the preparation of the EIA for the Pha Lai power plant PCB Management Project.

1.2 OBJECTIVES

The aim of the project consists of conducting a project EIA for the PCB management project at the Pha Lai power plant following the procedures and methodology outlined in the Framework EA and SA. The Pha Lai power plant plans to:

• Retire 20 PCB transformers;

• Label (and package) the retired equipment;

• Select, build or upgrade a specific temporal storage warehouse at the Pha Lai power plant site;

• Transport the equipment from the workshops to its storage warehouse;

• Safely store the equipment at the warehouse before further treatment and final disposal.

The EIA for Pha Lai PCB management project includes:

• Impact assessment

• Environmental and social Management Plan including mitigation and monitoring aspects

ARCADIS BELGIUM Introduction Site specific "Environmental Impact Assessment": Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

• Two public consultation meetings, one at the start of the EIA project and one at the end of the EIA project

1.3 PRESENTATION OF THE CONSULTANTS

ARCADIS Belgium has been awarded with the contract for the Environmental Impact Assessment in the scope of the Preparation for the PCB Management and Disposal Demonstration Project, including the Framework EA and SA and the Pha Lai PCB management project EIA. The Vietnamese environmental consultancy firm Vidaneco has assisted ARCADIS Belgium as a subcontractor.

Following consultants have been involved in the preparation of the Pha Lai PCB management project:

• Mr. Stijn Vermoote, MSc Eng. (ARCADIS Belgium): Project manager

• Mr. Paul Vanhaecke, PhD, MSc Eng. (ARCADIS Belgium): Senior EIA and EMP expert, Expert in World Bank Environmental and Social Safeguard Rules, Expert in hazardous substances

• Mrs. Kathleen Nysten, MSc Eng. (ARCADIS Belgium): EIA and EMP expert, expert in Word Bank Environmental and Social Safeguard Rules;

• Mr. Tran Van Thinh (Vidaneco): Local deputy project manager and senior EIA expert;

• Mr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam (Vidaneco): Social impacts expert

• Mr. Dao Huy Khue (Vidaneco): Public health impacts expert

Besides this core team of experts, an advisory team of experts has been set up to provide additional assistance if and where needed:

• Mr. Kris Devoldere, PhD, MSc Eng (ARCADIS Belgium): Senior expert in PCB management and treatment techniques, senior EIA expert

• Mr. Leo Smets, MSc. Eng (ARCADIS Belgium): Senior expert in civil engineering and in environment, safety and health aspects of constructions and buildings

ARCADIS BELGIUM Legislative administration and institutional context Site specific "Environmental Impact Assessment": Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

2 LEGISLATIVE ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONAL

CONTEXT

2.1 THE EIA LEGISLATION AND PROCEDURE

In the next paragraphs a brief explanation is provided on the World Bank safeguard rules and Vietnamese legislation. Further details are provided in the Framework on Environmental and Social Assessment report in the scope of the preparation of the “PCB Management Demonstration Project in Vietnam” (‘Arcadis Belgium, 2008).

2.2 WORLD BANK SAFEGUARD RULES

An environmental assessment should be carried out early in the project cycle during project conception and design stage in order to identify its direct and indirect impacts on physical and social environment and establish linkages. The various steps to be followed during identification, preparation, appraisal, negotiation, implementation, and evaluation of the project, as recommended in the World Bank guidelines (Operational Directive (OD) 4.01and OP/BP/G 4.0), are given in Figure 2-1.


Figure 2-1 World Bank Environmental Assessment requirements versus project cycle

Screening and scoping, the most important parts of EIA, need to be certainly and effectively carried out to identify the environmental parameters that will be affected by development projects, and initiate dialogues with affected people for appraising the positive and negative features of the projects for effective public participation. The World Bank undertakes environmental screening of each proposed project to determine the appropriate extent and type of EA. The Bank classifies the proposed project into one of four categories, depending on the type, location, sensitivity, and scale of the project and the nature and magnitude of its potential environmental impacts.

2.3 VIETNAMESE LEGISLATION

In Vietnam the Law on Environmental Protection (LEP) went into effect on January 10, 1994. It aims to preserve a healthy, clean, and beautiful environment, achieve environmental improvements, ensure ecological balance, prevent and overcome adverse impacts on people, nature, on environment, on the rational and economical exploitation, and utilization of natural resources.


EIA was first mentioned in the LEP. Article 18 stipulates that organizations and individuals must submit EIA reports to be appraised by the state management agency for environmental protection. The result of the appraisal should constitute of one of the bases for the competent authorities to approve the projects or authorize their implementation (SIDA, 2004).

Depending on the type and size of the planned project and the sensitivity of the natural and social environment, a distinction is made between environmental impact assessment studies (EIA) and environmental protection commitments (EPC). EIA and EPC legislation in Vietnam is stipulated by Decree 80/2006/ND-CP (issued 09/08/2006) detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the law on environmental projection including EIA and EPC and Decree 21/2008/ND-CP (issued 28/02/2008), amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 80/2006/ND-CP on:

• the list of projects subject to EIA, obligation related to public consultations and the appraisal and approval process;

• registration and certification aspects of EPCs

Article 1.3. of the Government's Decree 21/2008/ND-CP, amends and supplements Clause l of Article 6 of Decree 80/2006/ND-CP on the list of projects subject to making of environmental impact assessment reports. A detailed list of projects subject to EIA is presented in annex to Decree 21/2008/ND-CP. In case environmental impacts are less significant than for those projects subject to EIA, an environmental protection commitment should be drafted to ensure comprehensive development and sustainability.

When elaborating EIA reports or project EPCs, it is required to apply Vietnam compulsory environmental standards; environmental standards must follow in accordance with the international treaties that Vietnam is a member.

2.4 SCREENING OF IMPACT ASSESSMENT TO BE FOLLOWED

Depending on the characteristics of the planned project and the surrounding environment, the impact assessment obligations and content differ. The project description is provided in chapter 3 and a baseline assessment in chapter 4.

In the framework EA and SA, guidelines have been provided in the scope of the PCB Management Demonstration Project and follow-up projects:

• PCB management projects require an EIA - Category B according to the World Bank safeguard rules;

• PCB management projects which do not involve any construction works of a PCB equipment storage facility only require an environmental protection commitment according to Vietnamese legislation;

• PCB management projects which involve construction works of a PCB equipment storage facility require an environmental impact assessment study

In principle, EIA rules according to the World Bank Safeguard Rules have been followed in the preparation and reporting of this EIA project. The original “PCB Management Demonstration Project in Vietnam”, from which the Pha Lai power plant project is part of, has been classed as category A which implies a full EIA including two public consultations. Recently however it has been decided to reclassify this project as category B as only PCB management aspects are involved. ARCADIS however still followed the extended EIA procedure for category A projects.


Besides the World Bank safeguard rules, Vietnamese environmental impact assessment requirements have also been taken into account. As the construction of a PCB storage place has been proposed as one of the alternatives, ARCADIS follows the rules set for a full Environmental Impact Assessment.

Mind that the EIA report has been drafted according to the World Bank safeguard rules as specified in the Terms of Reference to this contract.


2.5 LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR THE EIA PROJECT

The project includes the retirement and temporal storage of PCB holding transformers before further treatment. Therefore, legislation related to the (first steps in) management of hazardous waste (retired PCB holding equipment) determines the legal framework of the project.

The Law on Environmental Protection (LEP) (2005) provides the foundation for environmental policy in Vietnam. The LEP prescribes policies, measures and resources for environmental protection as well as the rights and obligations of individuals and organizations. Among other policy directions, the LEP includes environmental standards, environmental assessment requirements as well as sections dealing with hazardous waste management. The sections on hazardous waste management prescribe requirements for licensing, monitoring, record keeping as well as basic standards for transportation, storage, treatment and disposal.

Decision 155/ 1999, Decision 23/2006 and Circular 12/2006 build on the LEP policy requirements. These regulations provide a “cradle to grave” management system that has the potential to ensure the safe management of hazardous wastes including PCBs. These three regulations include definitions, requirements for waste generators, transporters and receivers as well as implementation procedures and responsibilities for State Management Agencies for the Environment (SMAEs).

Other relevant legislation includes:

• Decision number 12/2006/ QD-BTNMT of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued December 26, 2006 to instruct to conditions to set up and the procedures to register, to license, to give a code to manage the harmful waste materials.

• Decree number 68/2005/NĐ-CP issued December 20, 2005 of Government of Chemical Safety.

• Notification number 12/2006/TT-BCN issued December 22, 2006 of Ministry of Industry of Industrial Safety. WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE DOCUMENT

• Decision number 22/2006/QD-BTNMT issued December 18, 2006 of Ministry of Resource & Environment related to the Vietnamese standards of Environment (air quality, noise, water quality, soil, vibrations and labour sanitation) NAME OF THE DOCUMENT

The administrative framework in the scope of the EIA project including the different steps and responsible parties throughout the different project phases is presented in Figure 2-2.

(Name of documents: Vidaneco)


Figure 2.2: Presentation of approval procedure

Ministry of Planning and Investment

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

Environmental Assessment Board of Environmental Assessment

Board of specialist

Approve

Perform project Supervision

Pass

Investor

Submit EIA report

Submit FS report

Add information

Not approve/ require add information

45 days

Phase 1

Phase 2

Construction and installation EP facilities

Monitoring mitigation measures Evaluate EA report

Report

ARCADIS BELGIUM Project description Site specific "Environmental Impact Assessment": Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION

3.1 GENERAL SITUATION OF THE OVERALL PROJECT IN THE STUDY AREA

Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant (PTPP) is located in Long Huong ward, Pha Lai townlet, Chi Linh District, Hai Duong Province. The site is adjacent to National Road No. 18, connecting Sao Do townlet and Bac Ninh city. The plant is located at a distance of about 26 km from Bac Ninh and 6 km westwards of Sao Do townlet.

Chi Linh district is located at the South-East of Hai Duong Province, at a distance of 40 km of Hai Duong town. Chi Linh district borders on:

• Dong Trieu District (Quang Ninh Province) at the East side,

• Dong Trieu District (Bac Ninh Province) at the West side,

• Dong Trieu District (Bac Giang Province) at the North side,

• Nam Sach District at the South side,

The total plant area is 98 ha and the site is surrounded by:

• Eastern border: existing residential area (PTPP campus);

• Northern border: paddy field intermix with soil and rocky hills (elevation +25 to +50m):

• Southern border: National road No. 18;

• Western border: the junction of Thuong river, Cau river and Thai Binh river.

The Pha Lai Power Plant is easily accessible by different means of transportation:

• Road: the plant is located among intersections of the main highways: National road No.5 (to Hai Phong port at 70km), High way 1A to Bac Ninh, National road No.18.

• Water: The Coal Port on the Thuong river (adjacent to project site) is the main port for coal received from Hon Gai and Quang Ninh. About 70% of all coal used is transported by water.

• Air: PTPP is located at 75 km from Cat Bi International airport and 35 km from Noi Bai International airport. Cat Bi (Hai Phong) and Noi Bai International Airport (Ha Noi) are the main gateways of the Northern Key Economic Region.

• Railway: About 30% of coal used is transported to PTPP by train. There is a railway connecting Quang Ninh for coal supply. The project site can also connect to other existing railways (Ha Noi, Lang Son, …).

Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant (PTPP) is located in a half-mountain half-plain area. The area consists of a paddy rice field intermix with soil and rocky hills, 25 to 50m in height. Hills in this area are susceptible to weathering and rivulets are created containing only water in the rainy season. During the dry season, the rivulets are dry.

Chi Linh district counts 33 lakes with a total catchment area of around 409 ha. PTPP is located at the confluence of three rivers: Thuong river, Cau river and Thai Binh river. Near the thermal power plant site Thuong river and Cau river flow into Thai Binh river, which flows ultimately into sea.

Chi Linh is characterised by a natural slope from the North to the South. The topography of Chi Linh can be divided into 3 categories:

• Northern area: forestry land, high mountains with Day Dieu (616m) and Tre (536m) mountain.

• Range of mountains and hills: heights varying from +5 to +60m and average slopes of 10 to 15%, intermix with paddy field, average height +2.5m.


• Low land area: built up by alluvial soil from Thai Binh river, laying South of National road No.18, average height of +2.0m and sloping down to the South direction (lowest point +0,8m)


3.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT COMPONENTS

The project includes the retirement of 20 PCB (Sovtol2) containing transformers assembled in 1983 in the USSR. 19 of these transformers are still in operation, 1 transformer is out of use. All of the transformers are at the end of their economic lifetime.

Details of the transformers according to the UNEP guidelines on information requirements for PCB equipment inventory activities, is provided in following table:

Transformers 1 to 20, unless otherwise indicated:

Name of manufacturer and country of origin IOCT 11677-75, USSR

Power rating (voltage) High voltage/low voltage

630 kV.A 6300V – 400V

Date of fabrication Year 1983

Oil / liquid (L or kg) 1000kg

Total weight (kg) 3480 kg Weight:

Size of equipment (length, width, height in ft or m)

Approximately 2.2 x 1.3 x 1.6m

Name of liquid or insulating oil/coolant, etc.

All transformers to be retired contain sovtol as dielectric liquid consisting of Pentachlorobiphenyl (90%) + Trichlorobenzene (10%). Pentachlorobiphenyl contains 54,6% chlorine.

> 10 % PCB >10% PCB (not exactly known)

> 0.05 % PCB or 500 ppm

> 0.005 % or 50 ppm

< 0.005 % or 50 ppm

No PCBs present in liquid (according to plaque)

PCB content not known

PCB content of liquid

Equipment emptied of liquid

PCB analysis performed?

No PCB analysis has been performed until now, all transformers are sealed.

In use: yes / since

On stand-by Operational status of equipment

Decommissioned

Yes,since 1983

1 transformer decommissioned

2 Sovtol or Sovtol-10 is a brand name of a PCB produced between 1939 and 1990 in the USSR and consisting of a mixture in a 9:1 ratio of:

• Sovol, a mixture of tetra- and pentachlorinated PCBs (used as a plasticiser in paints and varnishes); • 1,2,4 trichlorobenzene


Leaking? No for all 20 transformers (double checked)

Immediate action needed? No

Condition of equipment Storage situation (e.g. open air, locked enclosure etc.)

• All transformers are currently located in spacious rooms on the main, 2nd or 3rd floor of the power plant buildings with sufficient ventilation:4 transformers are located on the ground floor of a building, 11 transformers are located on the first floor of a building and 5 transformers are located on the 2nd or even the 3rd floor of the building.

• All transformers are sealed and based on visual observations in stable, solid conditions, no damages or traces of rust have been observed (even for the one out of use)

• All transformers are placed on paved floors.

• All transformers are easily accessible

See also example photos further in the document

Retrofilled? No according to the Pha Lai operator (technical manager)

If yes, last retrofill when?

By which company ?

With which replacement liquid /insulating oil?

Maintenance of equipment

Name of original liquid / insulating oil, if known

A presentation of the locations of the different transformers at the Pha Lai power plant site is presented in Figure 3.2. In appendix 4 an overview (including pictures) of all transformers is provided.


Example photos of typical transformers at the Pha Lai site are presented in Figure 3.1.

The process of putting the transformers on retirement includes different project components:

Phase Project components

Preparation phase 1. Labelling of the transformer to be retired, awareness raising of employees at the workfloor;

Construction phase 2. Select, build or upgrade a safe storage warehouse at the Pha Lai power plant site for temporal storage, including preparatory work to enable construction works;

Transportation 3. Preparation, loading, transportation and unloading of the 20 transformers from the workshops to the storage warehouse;

Operation phase 4. Temporal storage of the 20 transformers at the selected storage warehouse at site3 before further analysis on PCB content and depending on this, decisions on dismantling and decontamination of the transformers and final disposal of the oil wastes and PCB holding parts at a later stage.

The duration of the preparation phase and transportation is estimated at 1,5 to 2 months, i.e. sufficient time should be forseen for labelling, awareness raising and transport preparation. Transport itself should run quite smoothly in case the proposed measures are taken into account (cf. further). The construction phase largely depends on the alternative selected. It is obvious that the construction of a new warehouse requires more time than upgrading an existing building.

The different project components are described below. Preventive measures to be foreseen for good project management are already incorporated in the project description.

3 PCB holding transformers will not leave the Pha Lai power plant site during the project. Hence, there is no need for any resettlement plan.


Figure 3.1: Photos of a typical example transformer to be retired and label indicating PCB

containing oil (SOVTOL)


Figure 3.2: Map Pha Lai site including indication locations of transformers and proposed

temporal storage sites


Labelling of the transformer to be retired

All 20 transformers to be retired will be labelled with warning signs to indicate the hazardous characteristics of the PCB holding oils. Besides this, employees are informed about the possible risks of handling PCBs (eg. during maintenance of transformers) via clear and easy understandable posters at the entrances of the relevant workshops or other awareness raising means.

Select, build or upgrade a specific storage warehouse at the Pha Lai power plant site for temporal storage

Before the actual retirement of the PCB holding transformers, a storage place meeting all requirements for safe temporal storage of the transformers will be established. The 3 alternatives, including the upgrading of an existing workplace, the upgrading of an existing storage place or the building of a new warehouse at a field at the Phai Lai site, are described in chapter 3.3.

The temporal storage facility for the PCB holding transformers will be selected or designed in the light of general architectural requirements and the relevant criteria for hazard waste storage. These criteria include:

General architectural requirements: • positive hydro-geological conditions to ensure building stability

• the base of the storage will be above the yearly highest level of groundwater;

• geologic stability including resistance to a seismic intensity of 7 and area is not subject to natural disasters such as floods, landslides or mudslides;

• the storage facility will be wind-proof, rain-proof and sunshine-proof;

Criteria for anti-seepage: • the floor and curbs are to be made of solid and leakage-proof materials. All construction

materials will be compatible with PCBs and other hazardous materials stored at the facility;

• the area is separated from other hazardous substances holding equipment or hazardous wastes by a curb and if possible also a wall (i.e. separation from oil drums: see further alternative B);

• there will be no floor drains, drain valves expansion joints, sewer lines, or other opening that would permit liquids to flow from the curbed area.

Criteria for spilling prevention: • a 15-cm high continuous curb should be constructed around the floor. Curbs are to be designed

to prevent the spills from running out, the volume enclosed by the ground and curb are not to be less than the maximum volume of PCB holding oil in the transformers;

• the floor and curbs are to be made of soid and leakage-proof materials: see above.

Other criteria: • the storage facility will have a fenced wall around its boundary with 24-hour security protection –

as the storage site will be based within the Pha Lai power plant site, this latter is less relevant;

• the storage facility will have communication equipment (telephone), lighting facilities, personal protection equipment and tools, and emergency protection facilities;

• the storage facility will have proper ventilation.

Removal of the 20 transformers

19 transformers will be disconnected by a specialised team using adapted equipment. 1 transformer has been previously taken out of function. The specialised team is trained in heath and safety rules to be followed during these operations.


Transportation of the 20 transformers from the workshops to the storage warehouse

The transformers are to be transported over a short distance to the selected storage warehouse on the Pha Lai power plant site. All of the roads between the current transformers locations and the three alternative storage warehouse locatios are paved, wide (2 small lanes) and in relative good condition

Prior to the transportation a clear procedure for management of transportation will be developed including following aspects:

• Establishment of a trained transportation team and responsibility assigned to individuals;

• Preparation of vehicle and necessary equipment to assure safe and stable loading conditions and adapted to the weight to be transported (approximately 3,5 tonnes per transformer) and the route to be followed (taking into account heights and width in relation to the route to be followed);

• Prior to placement on the trucks, all decoupled transformers will be inspected to ensure that there are no spills and there is no potential for any spill during transportation;

• Planning of route and agenda;

• Temporal closing off of the route towards the storage place during transportation to avoid accidents with other vehicles;

• (Preventive) measures for addressing troubles or breakdown of vehicles;

• Cleaning of the unloaded vehicles;

• Training programme of the transportation team covering areas such as safe driving practices, protective equipment and its use, spill cleanup procedures, emergency response procedures, proper completion of the manifest, etc.;

• The transporting team will wear appropriate protective clothing including gloves.

Particular attention will be paid to safety procedures during the loading and unloading process of the trucks, i.e. for those transformers to be removed from the second or third floor of buildings. Loading and unloading will be performed with fork-lifts adapted to local conditions and requirements to ensure safe and stable loading and unloading of the trucks.

Operation of the temporal PCB storage facility

The 20 transformers are temporarily stored at the facility. In the meantime, further analysis on PCB content will be made and based on this a decision on dismantling and decontamination of the transformers and final disposal of the oil wastes and PCB holding parts at a later stage.

Following aspects will be taken into account during the operation phase:

• Specific measures to prevent and mitigate pollution of air, water and soil from the temporal storage place in case of an accident should be included in the general emergency plan of the Pha Lai plant

• The PCB storage should be locked and guarded on a daily basis by a responsible person or team which has the required training in health and safety rules, spill prevention, emergency response and spill mitigation measures;

• Recordkeeping: the responsible person or team will be keep record of all transfers of PCB holding transformers and will make a detailed record of all PCB holding transformers stored at the warehouse including condition, origin of manufacturing, serial number general characteristics (name oil, weight, power rating, etc.), original location at Pha Lai, position in the storage facility, date of storage, etc.;

• Inspection of the status of the transformers at predefined intervals (once a week);

• Warning signs indicating the hazardous characteristics of the PCB holding oils in the transformers should be clearly applied at the general entrance and the rooms storing the PCB holding transformers;


• Storage place will be equipped with fire-fighting equipments;

• In case of leakages:

- the leaked material as well as the absorbents or other adequate means used for clean-up will be properly transferred to a drum for disposal;

- Any equipment used to handle PCBs that comes into direct contact with the PCBs will be decontaminated by swabbing the surface with an appropriate solvent before being removed from the storage facility area. The solvent can be reused until it contains 50ppm or more of PCBs. The solvent and any non-liquid PCBs that result from decontamination must be disposed of properly;

- People involved during the clean up phase will wear appropriate protective clothing including gloves.


3.3 PROJECT ALTERNATIVES TO BE STUDIED

The project alternatives include next to the zero-alternative (business as usual), 3 location alternatives.

3.3.1 The Zero-alternative

The Zero-alternative implies a business as usual situation in which the 19 PCB holding transformers are kept in operation at their current locations next to the one taken out of operation. The current location of the 20 PCB holding transformers is indicated in Figure 3.2.

3.3.2 Location alternatives

Three location alternatives have been identified by the plant operator. These alternatives have been discussed with the consultant in the presence of a representative of VEPA and EVN. It was agreed that these alternatives are valid and that no other location alternatives appeared to have a clear economic or environmental advantage.

Alternative A

Alternative A includes the temporary storage of the PCB holding transformers at a workplace at the second floor which is occupied by 3 of the PCB holding transformers (numbers 3, 4 and 5) at the moment (cf. Figure 3.2). Location alternative A is located at the western-central part of the Pha Lai power plant site close to most of the PCB holding transformers and main activities (cf. Figure 3.2).

The room is paved, spacious (after removal of other equipment) and has lightning facilities. The accessibility as a temporary storage place is limited by the fact that it is located at the second floor.

Photos of temporary storage facility location alternative A are presented in Figure 3.3.

Figure 3.3: Photos of location alternative A


Alternative B

Alternative B includes the temporary storage of the PCB holding transformers at a storage facility at the western side of the Pha Lai Power Plant site (cf. Figure 3.2). Location alternative B is located a little bit further from most of the PCB holding transformers, away from the main activity locations. The river flows at the north and the north-western site of the location. The facility has lightning facilities and is easily accessible. Basic fire protection tools are available.

The storage facility is surrounded by a wall and guarded. At the moment, the facility is used for:

• the storage of old gear and engine oils, placed in barrels under a shed on the surface in concrete, at a platform of about 80cm above the surface;

• the storage of some electrical parts and equipment taken out of function, placed in open air and on a subsoil covered by gravel;

• A service station with 2 fuel pumps placed under a shed.

The shed currently used for the storage of old gear and engine oils could be an alternative after upgrading taking into account the construction criteria as described in 0 as temporary storage facility. Photos of temporary storage facility location alternative B are presented in Figure 3.4.

Figure 3.4: Photos location alternative B


Alternative C

AAlternative C includes a piece of bare ground at the western side of the Pha Lai power plant site. It is currently covered by grasses, herbs and some conifers. Some piles of soil and bricks have been dumped on the field.

The field is surrounded at the southern site by a small water drainage channel. The river flows at the north and the northwestern site of the location. Location alternative C is located on the western site of location alternative B (cf. Figure 3.2).

Alternative C implies construction preparatory work including:

• Design of the facility and determination of exact location and orientation;

• Vegetation clearance at and around the location where the storage facility will be constructed;

• Top soil removal to a depth which allows stable construction conditions;

• Construction of an entrance road including removal of top soil and putting on rubble and concrete

• Provision of lightning, telecommunication and water facilities.

Construction criteria as described in chapter 0 should be taken into account during the construction phase.

A photo of temporary storage facility location alternative C is presented in Figure 3.5.

Figure 3.5: Photo of location alternative C


3.4 USE OF RESOURCES AND EMISSIONS

The project components, as described in chapter 0, do not imply the use of any sources which may lead to emissions except for the transport of the PCB holding transformers to the temporal storage side. Emissions from this latter can be assumed as being negligible .

ARCADIS BELGIUM Environmental and social impact assessment Site specific "Environmental Impact Assessment": Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

4 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT:

METHODOLOGY AND SCOPING

4.1 GENERAL METHODOLOGY

The baseline situation and the expected environmental impacts are investigated and described in this chapter per discipline. The following disciplines have been studied:

• Air, climate and noise

• Soil and groundwater

• Water and aquatic resources

• Fauna and flora

• Land use, landscape and cultural heritage

• Human health

• Socio-economic environment

BASELINE DESCRIPTION

The baseline description is primarily based on the existing studies and on most recent information available from the respective public services and agencies in Vietnam and on national and international scientific literature data. The information gathering has been completed with a field survey and consultation of the local community.

This description is mainly based on two questions that are related to one another:

• Which environmental/social characteristics can possibly be influenced by the project elements?

• Which area characteristics can possibly play a role in the prediction of an effect?

In the baseline description an evaluation of the actual environmental performance and the actual situation in relation to the assessment criteria is carried out.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT

The description and assessment of the impacts has been carried out per project component and for the different project phases.

For the description and assessment the following scheme has been followed:

• Determination of the contribution of the project to environmental effects; if possible contribution is quantified.

• Definition of the assessment criteria

• Prediction and description of the situation to be expected when the project is carried out:

• Evaluation of the importance of the impacts to be expected.

The effect description and assessment is reported per alternative. The assessment output will be based on the following criteria:

• Magnitude: referring to the quantum of change to be experienced

• Extent: referring to the area which will be affected

• Significance: referring to the importance of the magnitude considering the present situation

• Special sensitivity: referring to region specific situations of sensitivity e.g. in large cities it is air pollution


For the assessment of the importance of impacts other factors such as reversibility and duration are also taken into account.

For standardisation and comparison reasons all impacts will be classified according the following schedule:

0 : No effect

+ : Slight positive effect: this is an improvement of the existing situation for a specific impact with limited magnitude, extent and significance

++ : Moderate positive effect: this is a significant improvement of the existing situation for a specific impact leading to surpassing the criteria used and characterised by a clear magnitude or extent

+++ : Highly positive effect: this is a significant effect with an important magnitude and extent

- : Slight negative effect: this is a deterioration of the situation for a specific impact without surpassing the criteria set; the impact can generally be mitigated and is reversible or limited in extent and magnitude

-- : Moderate negative effect: this is a deterioration of the situation for a specific impact giving raise to surpassing the criteria used: it is characterised by a clear magnitude or extent; however mitigation may lower the effect

--- : Highly significant negative effect: this is a significant deterioration of the situation for a specific impact characterised by a large magnitude and extent

---- : Very important negative effect: this is a significant deterioration of the situation for a specific impact characterised by a large magnitude and extent and irreversible in nature without mitigation possibilities

4.2 IDENTIFICATION AND OVERVIEW OF THE EXPECTED IMPACTS –

SCOPING

In this section the relationship between the project activities and the effects are defined by means of an impact matrix. As such identification of potential impacts resulting from the project (and its alternatives) is carried out.

The scoping exercise is based on the activity/impact matrixes provided in the framework EIA report on the one hand and on the project description of the Pha Lai project on the other hand. The scoping exercise is summarized in Table 4.1.

Tabel4-1 : Scoping for the potential impact of the Pha Lai PCB management project.

Impact/Activity Presence of PCB

containing materials

Labelling/ Removal

Internal transport

Storage (incl.

construction works)

Water and aquatic resources

Ground water contamination (x) x

Surface water contamination (x)

Soil and waste

Soil contamination (x) (x) x


Impact/Activity Presence of PCB

containing materials

Labelling/ Removal

Internal transport

Storage (incl.

construction works)

Alterations in soil composition and structure X

Erosion (x)

Waste production (x)

Climate, air and noise

Air emissions of POP’s (x) (x)

Dust formation (x)

Noise Production (x) (x)

Ecosystems

Loss of ecol. val. areas

Ecotoxicity to terrestrial life (x)

Ecotoxicity to aquatic life (x)

Land use, sites with hist. cult. value

Land use (x)

Landscape

Loss of sites with hist. cult. value

Man and his social economic living conditions

Direct health (x) (x) (x)

Ind. Health (x)

Nuisance (x)

Social effects (resettlement)

Social effects (employment, other)

x = potential impact (x) = potential impact not likely to occur

From the scoping it clearly appears that the environmental impacts to be expected from the project for PCB storage at the Pha Lai power plant will be very limited. It indeed appears that the actual presence of PCB containing transformers is not likely to result to any impact on the environment. All transformers are placed in a confined space on an impermeable floor, in several cases on the first floor. As a result soil contamination is not to be expected and as a consequence there is no risk for groundwater and surface water contamination and further effects on ecosystems or man.

Transport will be very limited and will remain inside the plant and as such will not provoke nuisance to the inhabitants. Transport will be limited to about 1 km on the average for each transformer. However the transformers should be transported with the necessary care in order to prevent leaks or accidents.

The storage site is planned on a spot inside the plant so that no external effects in land use, loss of valuable sites, loss of ecological valuable areas or nuisance to the inhabitants living in the neighbourhood of the plant are to be expected. Un proper storage conditions provoke the main risk for impacts on the environment i.e. soil contamination and subsequent contamination of groundwater and surface water and effects on fauna and flora and man; air pollution and direct and indirect health effects. If storage is carried out according to the actual state of the art however no such effects are to be expected.


5 BASELINE SITUATION

In this chapter a description is provided of all revelant physical, biological and socio-econmic baseline conditions within the project area.

5.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE PHA LAI COAL FIRED THERMAL POWER PLANT

The Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant is located in Chi Linh district, Hal Duong province, 56 kilometres northeast of Hanoi, on the north side of the National Highway No 18 and on the left bank of Thai Binh river.

5.1.1 Pha Lai 1 thermal power plant

The plant is equipped with four generating units of 110 MW each and eight boilers (four blocks of one generating unit and two boilers each) totalling a designed capacity of 400MW. Its construction was started on 17 May 1980. Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant was once the largest power plant in the Northern Vietnam power system and recorded high technico-economic performances. Its generating units were put into operation, one after the other, to meet the fast growing load in the eighties.

From 1989 to 1993, Pha Lai Power Plant's production gradually slowed down, giving way to Hoa Binh Hydropower Plant's generating units which were successively connected to the Northern Vietnam power grid. Since 1994, with the operation of the North South 500 kV transmission line and creation of a unified national power system, Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant recovered its high rate operation.

Technical characteristics of the Pha Lai thermal power plant:


Designed Capacity 440MW

Power generation (6,500 hours per year) 2,86 billion kWh

Internal use rate 10,18%

Dust removal efficiency 99%

Type KZ-220-100-10c

Boiler evaporation 220 T/h

Steam pressure 100 ata

Superhearted steam temperature 540oC

BOILERS

Gross efficiency 86,05%

Type K-100-90-7

Rated output 100MW

Steam pressure 90ata TURBINES

Steam temperature 535oC

Type TBØ-120-2T3 GENERATORS

capacity 120MW

Coal consumption 1.568.000 milion t/year

Heat value 5,035 kcal/kg

Coal

Standard coal value 439 g/kWh

Height 200 m Stack

Outletdiameter 7,2 m

5.1.2 Pha Lai 2 thermal power plant

The construction of Pha Lai 2 Thermal Power Plant started on 8 June 1998, on a free area of Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant. Pha Lai 2 Thermal Power Plant will have a total capacity of 600 MW, provided by two generating units of 300 MW each, and give an annual production of 3.68 billion kWh. Its coal consumption will reach 1.6 million tonnes per year.

Pha Lai 2 Thermal Power Plant adds a substantial capacity to the Vietnam power system, and with Pha Lai 1 Thermal Power Plant, it will play an important role in meeting the increasing power demand, boosting the electrification of the whole country and contributing to the industrialization and modernization of the country


5.1.3 Man power

The Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant has a staff of 2.264 people, including 135 engineers, 484 middle level technicians, 254 high skilled workers, which were trained in colleges, high schools, and vocational schools inside and outside the country. Many cadres and workers of the plant were trained or passed a practice in large power plants in the former Soviet Union.

From the commencement of the building of the plant to 1990, cadres and technical workers of the Plant enjoyed on the job training from Soviet experts. After the withdraw of Soviet experts, cadres and workers assumed the task of operating the Plant, dealing with faults, and repairing and overhauling the equipments, assuring a continuous, stable and economical operation of the Plant.

ADD: VIDANECO

Number of people working with equipment oils and transformers and capacitors in general

Current health situation of people working at the Pha Lai power plant, i.e. those working with equipment oils and PCB holding equipment

5.1.4 Environmental performance of the Pha Lai power plant

INPUT VIDANECO

5.2 BASELINE SITUATION AIR, CLIMATE AND NOISE

Meteorological conditions

Hai Duong is characterised by a tropical monsoon climate with 4 seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter). The annual average rainfall is 1,200 – 1,600 mm (1,463 mm in 2007). Average temperature is 23.3 °C; time of sunlight per year is 1,524 hours; the average humidity is 85%-87%. The weather is suitable for agricultural products including food and fruit crops and winter-vegetables.

The studying zone belongs to the Chi Linh District in a plain region with tropical – monsoon zone:

• During the hot season (May to October) rainfall is abundant;

• The cold season (November to April) is dry.

Temperature

The average annual temperature is 23°C. There is a large variation in air temperature in the course of a year. The difference between the hottest and the coldest months can reach up to 31°C. The coldest month is January with an average temperature of 10 to 12°C. The hottest months are June and July, with an average temperature of 37.7°C.

Air humidity

Average air humidity is 84%, also with a wide variation throughout the year. In the summer (flooding) season humidity is 80 to 90%, in winter (dry season) humidity is only 60%.


Rainfall

The average yearly rainfall is about 1.426 mm. Rain isn’t distributed regularly and mainly falls during the summer season (May to October).

Wind direction

During winter, North – East monsoon is popular, North – East monsoon is blowing strongly from October to April. Insert with wind season is fog and rain. In the start of summer West monsoon and West – South monsoon appear from June , July sometimes North and West – North.

Typhoon

From 1960 to now, typhoons appeared at Pha Lai soonest in June and latest in October. Typhoons appear at 19-20 latitude North and 103-106 longitude East. Minimum wind speed is 4m/s, maximum amounts up to 32m/s, average is 16m/s. Main wind direction wind is East – South East, East – North East, and East – North.

Air quality

Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant monitors air quality inside the plant as well as outside. Inside samples were taken at 29 different locations (coal storage, coal crush, transporting system, …) and several parameters are analysed (dust, CO, CO2, SO2, NOx, H2S). For each location 3 samples of 1h are taken on one day; sampling is carried out two times per year. The data are reported in the Pha Lai Monitoring report (2007). Due to the operation of an electrofilter all inside measurements meet the standards.

Outside the plant samples were taken at different distances to the plant (1, 2, 3, 4 km) and in several nearby villages. The data are given in annexe 3. The measured data show that the air quality in the studying zone mostly meets the standards of the ministry of public health of Vietnam. Only in a few cases dust standards were exceeded as a result of construction works or due to transportation (see also Table 5.1) This was the case nearby the cinter stations.

Table 5-1: Vietnamese standards for air quality

Parameter Standard inside plant

3733/2002/9D-BYT

Standard outside plant

TCVN 5937-2005

Total dust mg/m³ 6 -

Suspended dust mg/m³ 4 0,30

CO mg/m³ 40 30

CO2 mg/m³ 18.000 -

SO2 mg/m³ 10 0,35

NOx mg/m³ 10 0,225

H2S mg/m³ 15 -


No monitoring data on PCB concentrations in air exist. In the absence of PCB emissions at the moment (verified for the transformers) no monitoring data are needed to know that air concentrations will be below detection limit.

Noise

• Sound was measured as well at different locations:

• Coal port phase I, between transport bands;

• Coal port phase II;

• Oil port;

• Warehouse;

• Warehouse;

• Carpenter;

• Mechanic place.

Measured sound levels exceeded the 85 dB(A) standard in 10 out of 28 measurements. The highest levels were measured in the vicinity of the crusher, boiler and mechanic place.

5.3 BASELINE SITUATION SOIL AND GROUNDWATER

Since no data on soil quality are available for the Pha Lai Power plant, it was decided to gather monitoring data in the framework of the present EIA. Since upon visual inspection of all PCB containing transformers it appeared that so far no leaks occurred on the one hand and all PCB containing transformers were situated on an impermeable surface without any risk of soil pollution on the other hand, a limited number of background samples were only taken on the site where the construction of a storage facility might take place (see alternative C) The result of the analysis of the samples is summarised in Table 5.2. The following samples have been taken:

• S1: 3 m from the internal road, at the surface

• S2: 3m from the internal road, at 20 cm depth

• S3: sediment of water ditch, adjacent to internal road at the surface

• S4: sediment of water ditch, adjacent to internal road at 20 cm depth

Table 5-2 Results of soil analysis

Parameter Result (mg/kg dry weight)

S1 S2 S3 S4

pH 6,77 6,54 6,69 6,48

PCB nd nd nd nd

PAH’s 0,51 0,78 6,35 7,82

Mineral oil and grease

80900 57300 62800 670800


From the data obtained it clearly appears that no PCB contamination could be detected in the soil or sediment. On the other hand it appears that in the past soil has been contaminated with mineral oils (and as a consequence PAH’s).

Within the framework of the Pha Lai plant monitoring programme 7 groundwater samples were taken at the following locations:

NG 1: At well of Trần Đăng Trung household, Binh Giang village

NG 2: At well of Lê Văn Nga household, Phao Son village

NG 3: At well of Nguyễn Văn Tân household, Bai Bong village

NG 4: At well of Nguyễn Văn Tình household, Thach Thuy village

NG 5: At well of Trần Dư Hoàn household, Phao Son village

NG 6: At well of Hoang Thị Nhiên household, Phao Son village

NG 7: At well of Hoàng Thị Vân household, collective zone of workers, 41 appartments

The ground water samples were analysed for pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), colour, hardness, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, As, NO3, SO4, Cl

-, F-, faecal coli an coliform. Monitoring takes place twice a year. The data obtained in 2008 are summarized in Table 5-3.

Table 5-3 The results of analyzing ground water quality (Pha Lai Monitoring Report, 2008)

Parameters Unit

TCVN

5944-2005

NG1 NG2 NG3 NG4 NG5 NG6 NG7

Ph - 6,5-8,5 4,51 4,92 6,91 6,15 6,62 6,02 6,51

TDS mg/l 750-1500 62 76 183 81 97 103 77

Colour Pt-Co 5-50 15 19 112 30 97 87 18

Hardness mg CaCO3/l 300-500 80 40 200 92 50 48 40

Fe mg/l 1-5 0,02 0,01 0,35 0,03 1,81 0,35 0,01

Mn mg/l 0,1-0,5 0,001 0,09 0,46 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,002

Zn mg/l 5,0 0,004 0,003 0,004 0,005 0,042 0,021 0,004

Cu mg/l 1,0 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,002

Pb mg/l 0,05 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,002

As mg/l 0,05 0,002 0,002 0,008 0,005 0,006 0,002 0,006

NO3 mg/l 45 0,72 0,63 0,51 0,72 0,43 0,24 0,51

SO4 mg/l 200-400 0,45 0,38 0,29 0,53 0,31 0,47 0,53


Cl- mg/l 200-600 56,8 42,6 35,5 21,3 28,4 27,3 27,9

F- mg/l 1,0 0,07 0,09 0,21 0,28 0,19 0,05 0,04

Fecalcoli MPN/100ml 0 0 2 17 2 7 12 0

Coliform MPN/100ml 3 11 8 113 6 19 77 4

In general the pH of the groundwater appears to be low. In particular in the wells at the locations NG1 and NG2 pH is clearly below the standards. The relative high levels of faecal coli in the locations NG2, NG3, NG4, NG5 and NG6 points at bacterial contamination and a risk when using this water as drinking water. For all other parameters the quality seems to be sufficient.

5.4 BASELINE SITUATION WATER AND AQUATIC RESOURCES

RIVER SYSTEMS

The Hai Duong river system includes many waterways such as Cau river, Thuong river, Luc Nam river. These 3 rivers confluent into Thai Binh river. The latter streams into the East Sea.

The area also contains other rivers such as Da Vach river, Kinh Thay river and Kim Mon river. Most rivers are North West – South East oriented, and most of them are meandering. The rivers dynamics create alluvial soils that are used to expand agriculture.

1. Kinh Thay river is a branch of Thuong river. The Kinh Thay river valley comprises the entire area of the North-East part of Hai Duong province. At Keo three-way crossroads, Hong Lac Commune, Chi Linh District Kinh Thay river is divided into many branches: Kinh Thay, Kim Mon and Han river that flow into Kim Mon District.

2. Flow: Flow depends on season. During the flooding season flow is about 70-80% of total flow. Flooding season starts in May and finishes in October. In dry season flow is about 20% of total. Dry season starts in November and lasts until April.

3. Tide: The lower sections of most rivers gather into Thai Binh river and subsequently flow into sea. The downstream parts of these rivers are subjected to tidal current. During the dry season, the tidal current reaches upstream Pha Lai and flows into Cau river, Thuong river and Luc Nam. During flood season, river level is higher and tidal current reaches less far upstream.

4. The highest water level at the Cam river and Kinh Thay river estuary is 444 cm (7/1971 and 7/1986), the lowest level is 20 cm (4/1969).

5. Maximum flow at Cam river is 114 m³/s, minimum flow is 47 m³/s. Maximum tidal current is 1.140 m³/s, minimum is 7.4 m³/s.

Table 5-4 Average monthly flow at Ben Binh and Quang Dat stations (m3/s)

Q 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Ben Binh

137.3 - 96.3 147,5 342 796.8 1345 1589 1345 695 - 209

Quang Dat

27 22 18 31 65 147 258 312 251 141 91 51


WATER QUALITY

Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant monitors water quality in different ways. Each year different kinds of samples (surface water, waste water, tap water and groundwater) are taken and analysed. Monitoring frequency is every 6 month. The results of the groundwater sampling are covered in chapter 5.3.

The results of the surface water samples from june 2008 are presented in the Tables 5-5 and 5-6.

Table 5-5 The results of analyzing water quality (Pha Lai Monitoring report, 2008)

No. Parameters Unit TCVN

5942-1995 (B) M1 M2 M3 M4 M5

1 pH - 5,5-9 8,01 8,03 7,62 7,63 8,11

2 DO mg/l ≥2 3,9 3,6 3,7 3,8 4,1

3 BOD5 mg/l <25 6 5 5 9 11

4 COD mg/l <35 16 12 14 20 26

5 TSS mg/l 80 11 10 20 34 44

6 N-NO3 mg/l 15 0,18 0,23 0,14 0,21 0,15

7 N-NO2 mg/l 0,05 0,01 0,02 0,03 0,02 0,03

8 N-NH3 mg/l 1 0,04 0,03 0,06 0,04 0,05

9 Fe mg/l 2 0,09 0,11 0,12 0,13 0,15

10 Pb mg/l 0,1 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,003

11 Zn mg/l 2 0,002 0,001 0,002 0,002 0,004

12 Mn mg/l 0,8 0,002 0,002 0,003 0,002 0,003

13 Oil mg/l 0,3 0,81 0,86 0,82 0,91 0,84

14 Detergent mg/l 0,5 0,23 0,26 0,29 0,27 0,21

15 Coliform MPN/100ml 10000 5700 5100 6200 5300 5900

Table 5-6 The results of analyzing water quality (Pha Lai Monitoring report, 2008)

No. Parameters Unit TCVN

5942-1995 (B) M6 M7 M8 M9 M10

1 pH - 5,5-9 8,05 8,06 8,64 9,51 7,21

2 DO mg/l ≥2 4,5 4,3 3,7 3,5 3,1

3 BOD5 mg/l <25 7 8 8 6 12


4 COD mg/l <35 16 18 17 14 21

5 TSS mg/l 80 9 12 10 16 13

6 N-NO3 mg/l 15 0,22 0,17 0,14 0,31 0,42

7 N-NO2 mg/l 0,05 0,02 0,02 0,02 0,04 0,05

8 N-NH3 mg/l 1 0,01 0,03 0,02 0,07 0,06

9 Fe mg/l 2 0,15 0,18 0,11 0,06 0,12

10 Pb mg/l 0,1 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,003 0,002

11 Zn mg/l 2 0,15 0,007 0,001 0,004 0,005

12 Mn mg/l 0,8 0,002 0,002 0,002 0,007 0,013

13 Oil mg/l 0,3 0,21 0,22 0,74 0,24 0,19

14 Detergent mg/l 0,5 0,22 0,18 0,27 0,41 0,16

15 Coliform MPN/100ml 10000 4700 3100 2900 7300 8500

M1: Water in river at the end of coal port, 10-12m from the border of the river

M2: Water in river at the middle of coal port, process I, 20m from the border of the river

M3: Water in river between coal port, process I and II, 10-12m from the border

M4: Water in river at the middle of coal port, process II, 20m from the border

M5: Water in river at the head of coal port, process II, 10-12m from the border

M6: At the gate of circle Pump station, process I

M7: At the gate of circle Pump station, process II

M8: Water at the middle of oil port, 10-15m from the border

M9: Water in Bình Giang lake

M10: Water in field, 300m toward lower section of waste water channel of process I

From the data obtained it appears that for most parameters the quality of the surface water in the neighbourhood of the Pha Lai plant is sufficient. At several locations however (6 out of 10 samples) there appears to be a pollution with oil. At the Binh Giang lake the pH appears to surpass the standard.

12 waste water samples were taken . Cooling waters were sampled at their outlet and 300m upstream and downstream in the river. The reservoirs for decanted water, domestic waste water and waste water at the outlet of the oil treatment plant were also sampled.


The waste water samples were analysed for pH, temperature, BOD, COD, total suspended solids, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, P organic, P Total, N total, Cl-, oil and grease, SO4, NH3 and coliform. Domestic waste water exceeds several limits at the inlet of the treatment plant but meets all standards after treatment.

6 tap water samples were taken different pumping stations, at the canteen and at the operation building.

The tap water samples were analysed for pH, colour, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, NO2, NO3, Fe, Al, Mn, Pb, F, S, detergent, feacal coli and coliform. At the intake of the pumping station ph is below limit and colour, suspended solids and faecal coliform exceed standards.

5.5 BASELINE SITUATION FAUNA AND FLORA

In ancient times (> 100 years ago) the studying zone was a tropical rain forest ecosystem. As population started growing and economic-social conditions kept ameliorating, parts of the tropical rain forest ecosystem were turned into agricultural land and nowadays the former rainforest has become a deeply changed man-made ecosystem.

Plants most abundant in the area are timber tree and brushwood in gardens and along roads. It mostly concerns Eucalyptus, jackfruit, grapefruit and lemon. Fields are covered with rice, sweet potato and other farm products.

Wildlife in the area is mainly characterised by birds as Magpie-robin, Flowerpecker and Spotted dove. Other animals are mice, reptiles (snakes) and amphibian such as toad. Home-bred animal are chicken, duck, pig, cattle, dog, cat, …

Surface waters contain different kinds of aquatic organisms as shrimp, crab, fish and water-plants Besides, there are several kinds of waterfowl (stork, teal, …). In lakes, ponds and stagnant water mosquito and flies develop in large numbers.

Hai Duong province covers more than 9,000 hectares of forest, concentrated in the Northeast region. Although the forest area is not very great, Hai Duong’s forests are quite diversified. The most valuable is Chi Linh forest, covering 117 families, 304 branches and 400 species of plants such as pharmaceutical tree, bonsai, green iron wood… Chi Linh forest also holds some valuable wildlife, including green frog, gecko, varan, big sloth-monkey, etc.

Below the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem is described.

Terrestrial ecosystem:

According to the biodiversity monitoring results (Vietnam Environment Monitor, 2005) the density of mammal and amphibian species is low in the study area. The area is not known as an area of high biodiversity.

Flora:

According to a site survey combined with data from past studies (Cao Van Sung, 1994; Department of Science, Technology And Environment, 1995), the studying zone around PLPP includes:

• Perennial growing plants such as Eucalyptus, jackfruit, grapefruit, lemon…

• Food crops such as: rice, corn and other farm produce.


In total 140 species were detected (Department of Science, Technology And Environment Ha Bac Province).

Fauna:

• Domestic animals: cattle, pigs, poultry, cats, dogs, and rabbits

• Wildlife: wild animals in the Chi Ling district are rather rare. Most common species are fox and weasel.

Aquatic ecosystem

Flora:

Most common water plants are spinach, water morning glory, water-fern and water hyacinth.

Table 5.7 shows the number of algae species and short-living flora biomass in surface waters in the vicinity of Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant.

Table 5-7 Number of species and biomass short – living flora in the area around Pha Lai

power thermal plant (Data analysed from March to May 2007)

Thai Binh river Kinh Thay Lake, pond Plant phylum

Species rate Species rate Species rate

Bacillariophyta

Chlorophyta

Cyanobacteriophyta

Xanthophyta

Euglonophyta

17

5

7

1

2

>53

=16

=22

>3

>6

14

6

5

2

1

50

>21

>18

>7

>3,5

20

11

11

1

3

43,5

24

24

>2

>6,5

Total species 32 100 28 100 46 100

Biomass short-living flora 120- 310 g/m3 90-350 g/m3 240-510 g/m3

Samples were taken at the following locations:

• A1: At water supply, Thai Binh river

• A2: At waste water output of Pha Lai plant

• A3: Distance waste water output point 300 m towards lower section of river

• A4: Water in Kinh Thay before waste water dissolve in Kinh Thay river

• A5: Water in Kinh Thay after waste water dissolve in Kinh Thay river

• B6: Water at the begin of sewer that rain water run out

• B7: Water at the end of sewer pit that rain water run out

• B8: Water at the begin of sewer pit that ash water run out

• B9: Water at the end of sewer pit that ash water run out

• B10: Water accumulation in Khe Lang lake

• B11: Water accumulation in Binh Giang lake

• C13: Water at the kitchen of workers

• C14: Well-water near by deposit ash Khe Lang pond

• C15: Well-water near by deposit ash Binh Giang pond


• D16: Water in pond near by channel that cool water run out

• D17: Water in pond near by channel that ash water run out

(Note: A: River water B: wastewater in sewer C: Well water D: Water in pond, lake)

In Thai Binh river (sampling point A2) 32 species of algae were found, in Kinh Tay river (sampling points A4 and A5) river 28. In both rivers 50% or more of all species belong to the Bacillariophyta phylum. The species found are characteristic for fresh water and indicate no eutrophication has occurred until now.

The number of algae species found in lakes and ponds exceeds the number found in Thai Binh and Kinh Thay river. Differences are due to flow rate, concentration of organic substances, … The rivers do not appear to be eutrophic.

Fauna:

Table 5.8 shows the number of fauna species and benthos in surface waters in the vicinity of Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant.

Table 5-8 Number of short-living fauna species and benthos4 in the area around Pha Lai

power thermal plant (Data analysed from March to May 2007)

Thai Binh river Kinh Thay Lake, pond Class

Species rate Species rate Species rate

Short-living fauna

Class Rotifera – Rotifera Odro

Cladocera - Decapoda Odro

Copepoda - Copepoda

Odro Ostracoda -Conchostraca

5

9

7

4

20

36

28

16

7

10

5

5

26

37

18.5

18.5

19

9

7

3

41

28

22

9

Total of species 25 100 27 100 32 100

Biomass (individual/m2) 550,5-702,0 550,2-625,8 680,0-1.025,5

Benthos

Class Ologochaeta

Class Gastropoda

Odro Decapoda

Class Amphipoda

6

11

7

1

24

44

28

4

5

13

7

18

46

25

3,5

11

7

5

1

46

29

21

4

Total of species 25 100 28 100 24 100

Biomass (individual/m2) 123-210

In lakes and ponds, the number of short-living species and biomass exceeds the number in Thai Binh (sampling point A1, A2 and A3) and Kinh Thaiyriver. Biomass also is higher. Between Thai Binh and Kinh Thay river there are only slight differences. The most common species in the river system is Cladocera. In lakes and pond, rotifera species are most abundant. Variation in species indicates that nutrient concentrations in surface water are rather low.

4 Benthos: organisms living in sediment


In both rivers Rotifera are more abundant (36-37% of total number of species), followed by Copepoda and Rotarori. This indicates that the waters are not rich in nutrition.

In summary it can be noted that:

• The number of species and biomass in the water column of the river is moderate

• In the sediment the number of species is abundant

• The waste waters of the Pha Lai plant do not appear to have a negative effect on aquatic flora and fauna.

5.6 BASELINE SITUATION LANDUSE, LANDSCAPE AND ARCHEOLOGICAL,

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL VALUES

The total district area is 29,618 ha. Land use is as follows:

• Agriculture land : 9,784 ha, 33.03% of total area

• Forestry land: 14,470 ha, 48.86% of total area

• Special land: 2,467 ha, 8.33% of total area

• Resident land: 1,110 ha, 3.75% of total area

• Other purpose: 1,787 ha, 6.03% of total area

The North and North-East part of Chi Linh district is in the Dong Trieu mountain area. The other parts are located in the valleys of the Thuong river, Thai Binh river, Kinh Thay river and Dong Mai river.

Hai Duong province has a natural area of 1,662 km², divided into 2 regions: a mountainous region and a plain region. The mountainous region is in the north of the province, accounting for 11% of the total natural area, comprising 13 villages of the Chi Linh district and 18 villages of the Kinh Mon district. This low-level mountain region is suitable for fruit-crops, timber trees and emergency industrial trees. The remaining plain region accounts for 89% of the total natural area built up by alluvial soil from Thai Binh river. Soil is fertile and suitable for various kinds of trees with crop rotation around the year. An overview of the landscape of the surroundings of the Pha Lai power plant is provided in Figure 5.1

Residential & small commercial buildings, southern border power plant Main road, a few kilometres to power plant


South eastern entrance, pond and residential buildings Rice fields, south from power plant, other site of main road

River providing cooling water, south of power plant Main road and residential buildings, south of power plant

Figure 5.1: View on the Pha Lai power plant and its surroundings

5.7 BASELINE SITUATION RELATED TO MAN AND HIS SOCIO-ECONOMIC

LIVING CONDITIONS

The district that is influenced most by the Pha Lai thermal power plant is the Chi Linh district, but also the Que Vo, Yen Dung and Gia Luong districts in Bac Ninh province may be affected.

Adverse effects on socio-economical conditions and health (atmospheric emissions) are most likely to occur in Pha Lai town (Chi Linh District, Hai Duong Province) and Duc Long town (Que vo District, Bac Ninh Province). Duc Long town is situated west of Pha Lai Thermal Power Plant. Socio-economic conditions in Chi Linh district and Duc Long town are described below.

The Chi Linh districts population is about 188.000 people, population density is 519 persons per km². The district administration consists of 17 communes and 3 townlets. 13 communes are located in mountainous area, covering 56% of total population and 76% of the district area.

Some essential socio-economic characteristics of Chi Linh District

In recent years, the people of Chi Linh district have overcome difficulties, actively transferring the economic structure leading to a high economic growth percentage. Social and cultural aspects have been


developing. Security and political condition are stabile. The living standard of people has increased significantly. Some specific data (2005):

• Average economic growth: 9.4%

• Economic structures: Agriculture, forestry, fishery - Industry, construction - Service reach 13.7% - 71.4% - 14.9% respectively, of which the economic structure under the management of the Chi Linh district: Agriculture, Forestry, fishery -Industry, construction - Service reach 44.2% - 18.5% - 37.3% respectively.

• GNP per person: 10 million VND/year

• Natural population growth: 0.95%

• Labour force within working age is 78,643 people and number of active working people: 71,925.

• Poor households: 10.57%

• Households having access to clean water: 68.7%

• Children malnourished: 20.3%

• Medical station with Doctor: 40%

• Number of students entering class level 10: 62.2%

• Trained labour: 20%

Working population in Hai Duong province

Total population in Hai Duong Province in 2007 was 1,664,674, with a density of about 1,022 people per square kilometre. Rural population accounts for 86% of the total. It is expected that in 2010 population will have increased to 1.83 million people, with a working population of 1.1 million. By then rural population will account for 60-65%.

The labour recources amount to 920 000 people, accounting for 54,6% of the total population. Most of the working population is active in the agricultural sector (83%). Labourors aged between 18-30 years account for 40% of the total number of labourors. 19-20% of the labourors are trained.

Table 5-9 Hai Duong average population in 2007

Classified as per sex Classified as per region

Total Male Female Urban Rural

Total (Province) 1.664.674 803.736 860.938 230.870 1.433.804

Hai Duong city 128.846 61.630 67.216 112.531 16.315

Chi Linh District 144.492 71.904 72.588 37.154 107.338

Nam Sach District 136.654 65.722 70.932 7.578 129.076

Thanh Ha District 159.750 77.083 82.667 8.006 151.744

Kinh Mon District 162.178 79.404 82.774 7.136 155.042

Kim Thanh District 122.908 59.341 63.567 4.686 118.222

Gia Loc District 148.567 71.296 77.271 12.134 136.433

Tu Ky District 164.475 78.698 85.777 6.355 158.120

Cam Giang District 118.577 57.345 61.232 13.243 105.334

Binh giang District 103.766 49.982 53.784 5.184 98.582

Thanh Mien District 128.840 61.780 67.060 8.831 120.009

Ninh Giang District 145.621 69.554 76.067 8.032 137.589


In 2007, Chi Linh accounted for 188207 inhabitants, with a population increase rate of 9.48%. Population structure is as follows:

• From 1 to 9 year old: 40.668 persons






• Over 60 year old: 9.718 persons

Working population:

• Industry: 71.925 persons

• agriculture- forestry-aquiculture 55.855 persons.

Major economic sectors

a. Agriculture, forestry and fishery

Chi Linh has three specialized cultivation zones:

• Food plants and vegetables (mainly rice) are concentrated in riverside wards with a total area of rice field of 9,500 - 9,700 ha;

• Fruit trees growing in forestry zones: hillside and mountain areas with mainly Litchi and Longan, taking about 6,000 ha.

• Short time industrial plants: the growing zone is concentrated in mountainous wards and mainly growing peanuts, taking about 1,100 to 1,200 ha.

b. Industry and home craft industry

Chi Linh is located in the industrial zone of Hai Duong Province with several factories, public enterprises of the Central Government or the province such as: Pha Lai thermal power plant, Thuy Tinh company, Truc Thon clay exploitation company, Machinery company number 17. The business activities and productivity of those factories and companies depend on the plan of the Central Government and the province. The local industry in recent years has an average grow rate above 10%. Nowadays there are 35 public enterprises and 4,000 private businesses.

c. Services sector

The services sector is developing in a multi-purpose way, especially in supplying materials, fertilizers, electricity, and telecommunication with a number of households investing capital for service businesses. The whole district has 55 transport trucks, 500 little lorries and 13 busses satisfying the needs of transportation of goods and services. The district management has worked with the other administrative branches of the province organizing various tours and celebration activities such as Con Son - Kiep Bac. Some of the agriculture products have been exported bringing back economic return. Some examples are Longan, Litchi, and peanuts.

d. Economic sectors with potential

Due to the location and natural resources, Chi Linh has advantages for developing various sectors such as:


• Industry with thermal power plants, glass factories, construction materials, mechanical manufacturing and repairing, iron ore mining, … Moreover, Chi Linh has large areas running along the national highways that can be developed as industrial zone. Actually, Chi Linh is one of the main industrial districts of the Hai Duong province.

• Tourism: Chi Linh has a number of relicts and monuments known by local and foreign visitors such as: Con Son pagoda, Kiep Bac temple and the ongoing Sao Do golf course. More than that, Chi Linh also has beautiful areas of natural beauty to visit (Pine forest, natural forest, wildlife animals, …) Chi Linh actually is the most attractive tourist destination in Hi Duong.

• Agriculture, forestry and fishery products: there is potential especially in the mountainous area where litchi can be grown easily. Litchi has a delicious taste and is know by local and foreign customers.

CURRENT SITUATION OF THE MAIN ECONOMIC SECTORS IN HAI DUONG

a) Agricultural production:

Agricultural production is rather stabilized; the structure of planting and domestic animal breeding has been planned according to the region to be in line with "for sale" targets; advanced technologies have been effectively employed. The annual average production value increased 6.25% p.a., of which planting increased 5.6% p.a.; fishery increased 9.3% p.a. The economic structure of agriculture- forestry-fishery has been actively moving: in 1995, the structure of planting - sea products-breeding services was 73.5%-24.8%-1.6% and in 2002, the structure was 69%-27.9%-3.1%.

Main agricultural products are paddy maize, and foodstuff crops, vegetables, soya bean, peanut, .... Attention has been paid to productivity, quantity and quality of the crops. A number of low-productivity rice areas have been converted into litchi; fish breeding was combined with pig breeding. Vegetables for spring-summer and summer-autumn seasons have been planted on a large and concentrated scale. Crossbred rice, seasonal structure, crops rotation and by-region production have been applied, resulting in remarkable changes.

Food crops reduced in terms of ratio from 82.8% in 2005 to 75% in 2007 but increased in terms of output, from 726.4 thousand tons to 841 thousand tons, 2.1% annual increase on average; food per capita increased from 451 kg to 499 kg on average. Vegetables increased from 9.5% to 15% in terms of ratio; their production is spread into centralized areas (Kinh Mon, Nam Sach districts for onion and garlic, Kim Thanh, Gia Loc, Cam Giang for vegetables ...). Especially, surfaces (Chi linh and Thanh ha districts) for fruit trees and litchi are rapidly increasing (from 9,115 ha to 16,198 ha with an output of 111,476 tons, 1.7 times higher than in 1995).

The breeding of pig, cow, and poultry with family-sized scale is quickly developing. The total of pigs reached 753 thousand, an annual increase of 5.7%; the total of cow reached 42.200, 1.3 times higher than in 1995; herd of poultry was 7.9 million, an annual increase of 7.2%. Meat output was 77.8 thousand tons, 1.56 times higher than in 1995.

Fishery area and output increased gradually, from 5,660 ha to 7,355 ha and from 8,038 tons to 15,100 tons with focus on tortoise, snake and white butterfish.

Supporting services such as irrigation works, supplying of fertilizers, insecticides, rat hunting activities... have been maintained and effectively operated.


b) Industrial production:

Over the past 7 years, industrial production increased 17.5% per annum on average, of which central industry increased 13.4%/year, local industry, 14.6%/year, non-state industry, 14.8%/year, foreign investment industry, 29.3%/year respectively.

Exploitation and production of construction materials, china-ware and glassware:

This is a highly focused sector of the province thanks to availability of natural resources with remarkable reserves of good quality. There is one central ceramic-ware company and a number of local ceramic - ware limited companies named Chu Dau, Su Cay in the province. The companies are producing 19-20 million products per year comprising civil porcelain, handicraft porcelain, and electricity-proof porcelain. The province currently produces from 2.9-3.0 million tons of cement, 1.6 cubic meters of construction crushed stones, 1 million tons of marbles, 100,000 tons of white clay, 16,000 tons of clinker...

With abundant and various resources of agricultural products available combined with modern technology application, the province has well developed food processing industry. The province is now mainly producing pickled cucumber (1,000 tons per year), fried onion (5,000 tons per year), frozen meat (2,500-3,000 tons per year), confectionery (11,700 tons per year), food for poultry (14,000 tons per year)... There is also a number of large food producing companies such as American Feeds Company, Van Dac Phuc agricultural products processing company, Thang loi limited company, Que Huong green bean company, Beverage Company...

Footwear industry: With abundant labour resources skillful in shoe-making, the province has currently 15 shoe-making enterprises, producing 5 million garment products and 3 million pairs of shoes per year.

Power industry, automobile assembling: Mechanical engineering industry - the province's traditional one, is now expanding and upgrading to manufacture automobile's spare parts, water pumps, whetstone, electricity for local demands and for export. In the province, there is one thermal power plant of 1040MW capacity, one pump manufacture company with a capacity of 5,000 pumps per year, FORD American automobile company with an annual capacity of 15,000 cars and one whetstone company with an annual capacity of 2,000 units.

Traditional handicrafts: The province has a total of 40 handicraft villages of which 30 are in operation such as green bean making, ceramic - ware, lace production, wood carving...

Since 1995 until now, a lot of production premises have been expanded and reconstructed. In 2002, the province produced 3,566 million KWh, 2.2 times higher than 1995; 3,704 automobiles of various kinds, 10.4 times higher; 2.907 million tons of cement, 2.2 times higher; 7.568 clothing products, 2.1 times higher; 4.950 pumps of various kinds, 10.9 times higher; 11,737 tons of confectionery, 14.2 times higher; 14,000 tons of animal foods, 4.0 times higher etc...

c) Services sector:

The province's service industry is still in difficulty due to market fluctuation, weak competitiveness and low purchase demands. Its share was only 28.5% of the total economic activities of the province. In 2002, the province's total retails and services were 3,511 billion dong (16.8% annual increase). Export quotas in 2002 reached USD 50.36 million (6.4% annual increase).

Trading activities, tourism, hotel and restaurant services are still inadequate due to a low purchase demand and high production costs. Its production value increased only 4% per annum.


Transportation, posts and communication also increased. Transportation facilities are increased both in terms of quantity and quality; telephone increased from 1.1 sets per 100 inhabitants in 1997 to 3.5 sets per 100 inhabitants in 2002 (target for 2005 is 5 sets per 100 inhabitants).

Banking and financial activities have been renewed and improved. Capital mobilization and loans annually increased with 15-20%. Medium, long-term loans, loans for hungry elimination and poverty alleviation purposes have been given priority. Assets trading activities and consultant services have been motivated and the service quality has been improved.

As indicated in Table 5.10 it is planned that the ratio of services increases considerably the coming years.

Table 5-10 Plans for socio-economic development of Hai Duong province:

Economic structure %

2000 2005 2010 2020

Plan No. 1 100 100 100 100

- Agriculture – Forestry 34.8 27.5 21 16

- Industry – Construction 37.2 43 46 47

- Service 28.0 29.5 33 37

Plan No. 2

- Agriculture-Forestry 34,8 27,5 21 14

- Industry-Construction 37,2 43 46 48

- Service 28 29,5 33 38

CULTURAL – SOCIAL CONDITIONS

In the past years attention has been paid to the education popularization, the education quality has been maintained focusing to excellent pupils; the percentage of pupils graduating from various grades has increased; national awarded pupils and national-standard schools have also been increasing; school infrastructure has been reinforced.

Chi Linh district has 2 junior high schools at Sao Do town and Pha Lai town, 1 Art school and 1 public school. Besides, there are many vocational school: driver school, mechanical school, etc.

Pha Lai has 6 schools of which 2 junior high schools and one junior school have more than 6.000 students and 310 teachers.

A number of improvements has been made to health care. The quality in disease diagnosis and treatment has been improved. 93% of health stations have been completed; 64% of them having doctors. The number of malnourished children under the age of 5 has been reduced to 28.3%. The program of national health targets has been carried out effectively.

Cultural works and information, broadcasting and television activities have been moving ahead. Physical exercises movement has been popularized and high graded gymnastics have achieved better results.

Living conditions have been stabilized and improved,step by step. The annual average income per capita reached 4.73 million dong, ranking third after Ha noi and Hai phong. The rich are increasing and the poor are decreasing to 8.75%. The social policies applied to revolutionary meritorious persons and families have been strictly implemented. So far, there have been 261 cultured villages with over 50% cultured families. Hunger elimination - poverty alleviation and job-creation programs have created jobs for


150,000 to 200,000 persons; trained labourers have been increasing, meeting the requirements of the province's industrialization and modernization.

The status of infrastructure

Traffic routes

The traffic network includes overland roads, waterways and railways. They are reasonably well distributed facilitating provincial exchanges.

a. Roads:

4 national roads are running through the province with a total length of 99 km. It concerns grade I roads with 4 lanes:

• National road No.5 is running from Hanoi to Haiphong port with 44 km via the province. This is an important strategic road for the development of the national economy, transporting export goods from Northern provinces to Haiphong port and vice-versa.

• National Road No.18 is running from Hanoi to Cai Lan port, Quang Ninh province - a coal area of the country, via the province with in total 20 km.

• National Road No.183, a connection of National road No.5 and National road No.18, is the Grade I plain road.

• National Road No.37 is running via the province with 12.4 km. This is a national strategic outskirt road, directly serving the tourist area Con Son - Kiep Bac.

• National Road No.38, 14 km long, is the grade III plain road.

Provincial roads: The province has 13 grade III plain roads totaling 258 km.

The province also has district roads of 352.4 km and village roads of 1448 km,accepting all cars around the year.

b. Railway:

• Hanoi-Haiphong railway is running along the National road No.5, transporting goods and passengers to 7 terminals within the province.

• Kep - Bai Chay route, running via Chi Linh district, is the main transportation route for exporting forestrial and agricultural products from mountain provinces in the North via Cai Lan port as well as receiving imported goods and coal for the provinces in the North.

c. Waterways

The province has 400 km of river-ways, accepting vessels of up to 500 tons.

With a total capacity of 300.000 tons per year, Cong Cau river-port has been equipped with loading/discharging facilities.

The above-mentioned traffic network is paying the way for the economic exchanges of the province with other provinces and foreign countries as well.


Power

The Pha Lai Thernal power plant of 1040 MW, with a rather complete network ensures supplying sufficient electricity to the province and country. There are 5 transformer stations of 110/35kW with a total volume of 197MVA and 11 transformer stations of 35/10 kV, supplying electricity for production/businesses and for domestic use.

In the Chi Linh District 19 out of 20 villages with 27.033 out of 28.829 households receive full power supply. Only in the Kenh Giang community there is a lack of power availability.

At Pha Lai town there is already an electricity supply for a long time.

Water, drainage and environmental sanitation

The water company of the Ba Ria Vung Tare Province supplies a capacity of 13 000m³/24h. The PLPP takes water for the processes from Thai Binh River and discharges to the Kinh Thay and the Thai Binh river. For tap water (domestic purpose) use is made from 2 sources (underground and river water). After treatment water is pumped to the distribution network and into an elevated tank for common use.

According to plan, the waste water is been primarily treated (locally) inside the PLPP. Thereupon it will be transferred to the Central Waste water treatment plant of the industry park. However, at present this treatment plant is not yet completed. Therefore all enterprises are required to treat their waste water to comply with the TCVN 5945-2006 (class B) standards before discharge to the river.

The drainage system of rain water is separated from the waste water. All branches of the culvert flow to the main culvert and further on to the common wastewater system.

Information/communication

Post office: The telecommunication and post network covers the whole province. All towns and villages of the province have access to direct communication lines.

Banking network: Branches of the State Bank of Vietnam, the Industrial and Commercial Bank, the Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development of Vietnam, the Bank for Investment & Development of Vietnam are available in the province. Join-stock agricultural bank and 79 people's credit funds are also present, satisfying credit needs of the people.

The existing infrastructure of Hai Duong province has been gradually upgraded to welcome foreign and local investors as well as tourists.

Some information about Duc Long commune, Que Vo District, Bac Ninh Province

Duc Long is a plain region along the river banks. Three sides of Duc Long are enclosed by rivers. The East is Thai Binh river, the North is Cau river, the South is Duong river. Because topography of Duc Long is low and the system of flood controlling dikes wasn’t in good condition, Duc Long frequently suffered flooding during the rainy season. From 1992 until now, the flooding control system was improved and the flooding problem was solved.

Total area of Duc Long includes:

• Agricultural land: 540 ha (in particular rice cultivation)

• Lakes and ponds: 45.7 ha


In 2007, Duc Long counted 5,991 people and 1,246 households. Males represented 2,771 persons (46.3% of total population). Populaton increase rate is 1.5%/year. Population is growing faster than in any other commune in the Que Vo district, but slower than in Bac Ninh province with a growing rate of 1.9%.

99.5 of the total population is working in agriculture. Only 28 people do not. Duc Long can be described as an agricultural commune. The income entirely depends on agriculture.

THE STATUS OF INFRASTRUCTURE

Duc Long has 10 km asphalted roads going along every commune from West to East and more than 6 km pathways to traffic inside the commune.

Duc Long has 9 km of wires to supply electricity to every household in the commune.

Most of the households use rain water to cook and wash. Rain water is stored in tanks with a volume of 3 to 10 m3. This volume of water is used during the year. However, sometimes in dry season this volume is not sufficient and people need to use water from wells and from the river with a bad quality. There are 646 households having wells. However the quality of water is not good enough for cooking. It is only safe for washing. There are 200 households using river water and 400 households using pond water for washing.

Living-standards of the inhabitants is very low. People’s income depends on agriculture. Because of flooding however, productivity is low and incomes are not stable. 26% of the total population in this area is poor.

There are two schools (1 junior school, 1 major school) with 37 teachers and 1,160 pupils.

ARCADIS BELGIUM Impact Assessment Site specific "Environmental Impact Assessment": Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

6 IMPACT ASSESSMENT

6.1 ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTS ON AIR, CLIMATE AND NOISE

6.1.1 Emissions and contribution to environmental quality

AIR

Based upon the description of the project, the following emission sources can be identified:

• Actual situation: PCB emissions from the transformers in operation

• During project implementation:

- Emissions during construction of storage facility: dust

- Emissions during removal of transformers

- Emissions from transport: dust, NOx, CO, VOC

- Emissions from the stored transformers

Some emission factors exist on the PCB emissions originating from transformers. However it should be kept in mind that PCB emission estimates from electrical equipment (and from other closed applications) are highly uncertain (EMEP/CORINAIR, 20075)

According to the European environment Agency (2007) emissions from transformers during normal operation are negligible. Since actual operation at Pha Lai can be considered to be “normal” operation and no signs of leaks or other abnormalities form the past could be observed, the actual emission to the air is assumed to be negligible.

When a storage facility would be constructed, some emissions into air may occur during ground works. Since no data are available on the construction method, however, it is not possible to quantify these emissions with a high degree of precision. Anyway, taking into account a total dust production of 2.69 kg/Ha/month and taking into consideration that the storage facility would not encompass a surface of about 300 m², a total emission of at maximum 0,08 kg/month is to be expected during the construction period of about 1 month.

For potential emissions during disconnection of transformers for removal, no data or emission factors exist. However the duration of these emissions will be very limited and the amount emitted will be minimal.

For the implementation of the project and the storage of the transformers some transport activities will be needed on the internal roads of the plant. This will lead to some emissions related to traffic. However these will be minimal. Assuming 20 transfers of on the average 5 km, a total emission of respectively:

• NOx 2500g

• CO 200g

• TSP 250g

• VOC 250g

will be reached based on the World Bank6, (1996) emission factors.

5 EMEP (Corinair Emission Inventory Guidebook 2007. European Environment Agency. Technical Report N. 16/2007


Emission from transformers during transport to the storage facility can only occur in case of an incident when removing, lifting or transporting the transformers. When the transformers undergo damage in this way, a leak may occur. Since an incident may be the origin of environmental pollution and risk to man, an environmental risk assessment for accidents has been carried out in the framework of this EIA. According to the manual of Lees (2003) the following scenarios of an accident are the most likely scenarios to occur as a result of the project activities (labelling, removing, transporting and storage of PCB containing transformers :

• Small leak resulting from transport accident: chance for 20 transformers: 9.8 x 10-8 In this case the calculated amount that would be released is < 15kg.

• Medium leak resulting from transport accident: chance for 20 transformers: 2.4 x 10-7 In this case the calculated amount that would be released would range between 15 and 150 kg.

Taking into account that the oil is composed of 90% pentachlorobiphenyls, the maximum evaporation rate was calculated to be 2,7 g/m²/hr (see Arcadis Belgium, 2008 – Framework EIA report).

For the estimation of the emissions to air of the stored transformers an emission factor of 0,006% year is put forward, if storage is carried out as described in the project description.

This would mean that for the actual situation, assuming 1000 kg oil/transformer, a total quantity of 1,14 kg of PCB would be emitted. The transformers at the Pha Lai plant contain SOVTOL-oil, which is for 90% composed of pentachlorobiphenyl (EMEP, 2000). This means that evaporation rate will be lower than for PCB’s with a lower level of chlorination. The exact PCB content of the oil is not known, so that an exact prediction of the potential emission is not possible. Since SOVTOL contains 90% of pentachlorobiphenyl an emission of about 1kg/year would be a fair estimate however.

NOISE

The project will only give rise to some noise production during the construction phase of a storage facility on the one hand and resulting from the transport of the transformers on the other hand.

As far as the construction phase is concerned operation of machinery, groundwork’s and internal transport will lead to an increase in noise levels. Taking into consideration that the storage facility to be constructed is small and that construction activities will be limited in time, this increase will be temporarily and low. Moreover the construction will take place in the premises of the power plant at a distance of at least 300 m from houses.

For transport a sound power level of 105 up to 110 dB (A) can be put forward. At a distance of 300 m this would result in a sound pressure level of 43 up to 48 dB (A) according to the formula Lp = Lw - 20log r + 10 log q – 11 – D

Whereby

R= distance form reception point to the source (in m)

Lp= sound pressure level in dB (A) at a distance r from the source

Lw= noise capacity of the source concerned

q= factor of direction (q=2 for sound distribution according to a semi circle)

D= reduction factor as a consequence of various factors, e.g. molecular air absorption, soil effect, vegetation effect …; in the model applied a reduction factor of 1,5 dB (A) per 100m is used (some vegetation present).

6 World Bank 1996: air pollution from major vehicles: standards and technologies for controlling emissions. The world bank Washington DC.


6.1.2 Assessment of impacts.

From the emission data it clearly appears that the emissions related to the project are extremely small. In comparison to the many tonnes of NOx, CO, TSP and VOC emitted by the total of the activities at the power plant, the contribution from construction activities and traffic to the emission situation is extremely low and does not justify any further calculation. When applying the Gaussian distribution model to calculate the distribution of pollutants, contribution to air pollution will always be below 0,1 µg/m³.

This value is only a fraction of the air quality standards of application in Vietnam on the one hand and internationally applied standards on the other hand.

For Vietnam the standards are (TCVN 5937-2005)

• CO : 30 000 µg/m³ (1hr) and 10 000 µg/m³ (8hr)

• NOx : 200 µgm² (1hr) and 40 µg/m³ (year)

• SO2: 350 µg/m³ (1hr) and 125 µg/m³ (24hr)

• Dust : 300 µg/m³ (1hr) and 150 µg/m³ (24hr)

International standards range from 200 µg/m³ for NOx to 125 µg/m³ (24hr) for SO2 and to 50 µg/m³ (24hr) for PM10 (see table 6.1).

Tabel 6-1: Standards and guidelines for air quality (WHO, 2000, TCVN 5937,2005)

Parameter Vietnam International

WHO

guideline

EU

standard

CO (µg/m³) 10000 (8hr)

30000 (1hr)

10.000 (max)

NOx (µg/m³) 40(year)

200(hr)

40 (year) 40 (year)

200 (hr)7

SO2 (µg/m³) 50 (year)

125 (24 hr)

350 (1 hr)

125 (24 hr) 20 (year)8

125 (24 hr)

PM10 (µg/m³) 150 (24 hr)

50 (year)

300 (1hr)

709 (24 hr) 50 (24 hr)

40 (year)

PCB (mg/m³) 0,510

It can thus be concluded that neither the construction activities of the storage facility nor the limited transport activities related to the project will provoke an effect of any significance on air quality (effect=0) under normal conditions.

7 NOx: EU standard for ecosystem protection: 30µg/m³ (year)

8 For ecosystem protection

9 WHO prescribed exposure effect analysis

10 TCL (Baars et al., 2001)


The transfer (disconnection – lifting – transport – storage) may only lead to emissions and consequent air pollution from PCB in case of an accident. From the risk assessment carried out, it appears that the chance for such an accident is very low. The chance is smaller than 1 x 10-6 and thus in terms of risk assessment acceptable. In the case that an accident would occur and a transformer would leak, a representative scenario for maximal leakage appears to be a 25 mm leak. In this case the duration of the leaking could be 626 sec. Under free flow conditions the dispersion has been calculated using the PHAST 6.51 software developed by DNV (Londen). Phast allows to estimate all effects of an emission by use of dispersion models based upon the Cook 2 Woodward method. The dispersion calculations have been carried out under conservative conditions (windspeed 1m/s’ and stable weather: stability class F). Under these conditions the concentration levels calculated are:

• 25.4 mg/m³ at a distance of 20 m

• 7.3 mg/m³ at a distance of 50 m

• 0.5 mg/m³ at a distance of >120 m

These concentration levels are only reached during some 10 min. When leakage would occur during 1 hr concentration would drop to 3.3 mg/m³ at 50 m and 0.5 mg/m³ at >80 m. The value of 0.5 mg/m³ is the TLV (tolerance limit value for 8 hr exposure).

It can thus be concluded that in the exceptional case of an accident, for a short time air could be polluted with PCB’s in the immediate neighbourhood of the leak for a very short time (effect 0/-).

Preventive measures to prevent an incident and to assure proper response are recommended.

The actual emissions to be expected from the transformers in operation are extremely low. No leaks could be noted. This is confirmed in EMEP (2000) where it is stated that ‘PCB emissions from transformers and capacitors during normal operation are negligible’ . It should be clear that no significant impact on air quality on the working floor is to be expected (effect=0).

When the storage is carried out with the required preventive measures and is conducted in a proper way as described in the project, the maximal emission calculated would be about 1 kg PCB’s/year. This means an emission of about 110 mg/h. When proper ventilation is operating as foreseen in the project description, this will not lead to a risk that the proposed TLV of 0,5 – 1 mg/m³ will be reached in the storage place. The potential emissions are not to be neglected (effect -) and should be prevented by a proper control of leakages (see mitigation measures).

As far as noise is concerned, it should be stressed that all activities will take place in the power plant at distance of 300 to more than 1000m from houses. Furthermore the noise production will be very limited in time both during construction and during transport of the transformers. The maximum noise output from the project will range between 43 and 48 dB (A). When comparing to the guideline values for community noise (WHO, 1995) it appears that noise levels will not surpass the guideline values four outdoor living area of 50 dB (A) outside the power plant.

Irrespective of the alternative location of the storage facility emissions into air and noise disturbance will be not significant. However some slight differences may be noted with respect to:

• Construction activities: in case of alternative A no construction activities are needed so that no noise at all will be produced and no dust and emissions from traffic will be noted; in case of alternative B no ground works will be needed so that no dust is expected to be emitted; no excavation will be carried out so that construction work noise will almost be non existing; in case of alternative C all construction activities are needed.

• Operation: alternatives B and C are situated more close by to the border of the power plant area; noise emissions are however to low to result in a different noise level outside the power plant borders.


There will be no difference in effect on air pollution between the three alternatives.

6.2 IMPACTS ON SOIL AND GROUNDWATER

CONSTRUCTION PHASE

When a storage facility has to be constructed, which is the case for alternative C, the following possible direct impacts on soil can occur:

• Permanent alterations in soil composition and structure

• Soil contamination due to accidental spills of products used during construction, for example oil and lubricants used for machinery, etc.

• Soil erosion due to the clearance of vegetation

Ground works, soil excavation and soil storage can cause alterations in the original soil structure. Working with heavy machinery leads to soil compaction, which results in reorientation of soil aggregates; Soil structure becomes layered or stacked and pore volume decreases. In view of the fact that the soil at the construction location is rather sandy, the soil is not expected to be very susceptible to soil compaction. Moreover the construction of the storage facility is rather a ‘light’ construction not needing lowering the ground water table or other heavy ground works. The effect will thus be slightly negative (-). For the alternatives A en B for which no alterations in soil structure will be noted, there is no effect (0).

During construction, some soil pollution may originate from accidental spills of products used, for example lubricants and oil for machinery. These accidental spills are difficult to be quantified. Assuming only small amounts of oil, lubricants or other pollutants will be spilled into the ground, and considering spills will be noticed quickly, possible soil contamination will remain local and limited (-). In case of such calamities, the contractor must immediately take action and take the necessary measures to exclude oil spreading into the soil and to groundwater. For the alternatives A and B this possible effect dos not exist (0).

Erosion is not considered to be of any importance here (effect 0), since the construction area is flat and the surface for the construction is small (~300m²).

PHASE OF OPERATION

The most relevant potential impact is the impact on soil and groundwater quality. This impact may occur as a result of:

• The actual situation involving the operation of 19 PCB containing transformers

• Accidents during the removal and transport of the transformers

• Unproper storage of the transformers.

As far as the actual situation is concerned, the following assessment can be made based upon a visual inspection of the 20 PCB containing transformers. All transformers are placed on an impermeable floor; 4 transformers are located on the ground floor, 11 transformers are located on the first floor of a building and 5 transformers are located on the 2nd or even the 3rd floor of the building. They are all situated in a closed building and are not subjected to weather conditions.

No single transformer showed signs of actual or historical leaks. The location of the transformers on an impermeable floor (often on the second floor) prevents any form of soil pollution and subsequent ground water pollution. Actually there is no impact on soil and groundwater pollution. (effect 0)


For the removal and transport of the transformers a number of preventive measures have to be foreseen to prevent accidental spills and as such soil pollution. In the project description these measures are described as being part of the PCB management project. In the above mentioned scenario upon an incident during transfer of the transformers a leak of 15 to 150 l may result in pollution of soil. The maximal diameter of the pool would be 7.4 m for the 25 mm leak scenario. It should be noted however that streets in the Pha Lai plant are usphalted so that clean up is possible without further risk for spreading into soil and groundwater. The risk for such an incident is very low since a lot of measures to prevent such an incident are already foreseen in the project. Nevertheless it cannot be 100% excluded so that a potential effect remains (effect 0/-) and a response plan to incidents will be needed so that spilled oil is removed quickly in a save way and further stored safely in closed recipients.

For storage, three possible alternative locations exist. The first location is situated in building 36 where actually three transformers are located. It concerns a closed room with an impermeable floor. As a result of these conditions there is no risk for soil contamination due to eventual leaks from the transformers (effect 0).

The second location concerns a site actually used for storage of barrels with (used )oil. The storage site is foreseen with a fence and can be locked. The transformers would be stored in a semi closed building with a concrete floor and foreseen with a roof. The sides of the building are partly open so that the transformers would not be entirely free from weather impact. As foreseen in the project description the storage site needs still some construction works i.e:

• Foresee in a separation between the transformer storage location and the storage for oil drums; each space could cover some 8m x 25m

• Raising a 15 cm high wall to hold liquids resulting from eventual leaks.

Upon completion of these works the site will be perfectly suited for storage of the transformers without risk for soil and groundwater pollution (effect 0).

The third alternative is the storage site C to be developed. Since it concerns a new storage facility it is assumed that it will be constructed according to the state of the art with respect to the measures to be foreseen to prevent environmental pollution. The construction measures to be foreseen have already been described in the chapter on the project description. When these construction measures to prevent pollution are foreseen, no risk for soil pollution exists (effect 0).

6.3 IMPACTS ON WATER AND AQUATIC RESOURCES

During the construction phase (alternative C) no impacts on surface water will occur. The location of the foreseen storage facility is indeed at a sufficient distance of any surface water so that the hydrographical characteristics of the surface water will not be altered. Furthermore no spills can reach the surface water. A slight alteration may occur with respect to the water balance nearby the site. The construction of 300m³ storage facility will indeed locally prevent rainwater to drain into the soil. At an average rainfall of 1250 mm this means that on an annual basis over 300m³ of water can be conducted to the sewer or can possibly be used as cooling water. This small effect is to be neglected however, in relation to the total water balance.

During the phase of operation, under normal conditions the project will not lead to any effect on surface water. Under no circumstance (during the actual situation, removal and transport, storage) wastewater is expected to be produced. There is and will be no effect in water quality under these conditions. Only in case of an incident a spill may end up in the surface water. However, there is no direct link between the storage sites and the surface water on the one hand and the internal transports of the transformers do not have to cross surface waters on the other hand. As a result the likelihood of surface water contamination with PCB’s is practically non existent (effect=0).


6.4 FAUNA AND FLORA

The only direct effect of the project on fauna and flora is possible when a new construction is erected. In this case there will be occupancy of land and habitat loss through the clearance of the project site.

Since there will be no significant emissions of dangerous substances into the air, no significant pollution of soil and groundwater and no discharges to surface water no indirect effect on fauna and flora as a consequence of a deterioration of the living conditions will occur.

Only alternative C will foresee in the clearance of a site of approximately 300 to 500m³. The site is located on the property of the power plant in an industrial zone, meant to be further developed for industry. It has no ecological value and consists of grasses and some scrub and conifers, (see Figure 3.5) Given this low habitat value and the small surface to be cleared, the direct effects of land clearance can be evaluated as not relevant (effect 0). There will be no deterioration of ecosystem quality.

For the alternatives A and B no land clearance and as a consequence no habitat reduction will take place.


6.5 LANDUSE, LANDSCAPE AND ARCHEOLOGICAL, HISTORICAL AND

CULTURAL VALUES

All three alternative storage sites are situated within the boundaries of the power plant. The construction and operation of a storage facility will thus be in compliance with the land use category of the site (industrial estate). In none of the three cases there will be any alteration in land use (effect 0).

From the description of the baseline situation, it appears that no places of archeological, historical and cultural value can be found within the neighbourhood of the power plant in general and of the three alternative locations for the operation of the storage site in particular. So no effect will occur within this regard.

In order to evaluate the impact on the aesthetic value of the landscape, the visibility effects have been assessed. For the alternatives A (storage building nr 36, see Figure 3.3) and B (storage in existing building see Figure 3.4) the visibility will not be altered. For alternative C, the visual effect will change. In Figure 3.5 the actual situation is provided. Although on the site the visual impression will change, this will not be recorded by the inhabitants living in the neighbourhood of the power plant (see figure 5.1). The plant itself will remain the dominant feature in the landscape; the existence of the storage facility (alternative C) will not influence the visual perception of the plant. (Effect 0).

6.6 IMPACTS ON MAN AND HIS SOCIAL ECONOMIC LIVING CONDITIONS

HUMAN HEALTH

For assessing the potential impacts to human health, a risk analysis will be carried out in order to:

• Identify the potential exposure routes; if exposure appears to be significant exposure should be quantified;

• Identify and describe the toxicological profile and the standards and guidelines for PCB’s;

• Assess the risk by combining the exposure data and the effect data (only in case exposure can be recorded)

Two subsets of the population may be affected as a result of the PCB management project at Pha Lai:

• The workers responsible for the removal, the transport and storage of the transformers;

• The residents in the neighbourhood of the PCB storage facilities

The general population (the residents) in the neighbourhood may be exposed to PCB’s by inhaling contaminated air, ingesting contaminated food and drinking contaminated groundwater or surface water. In the previous chapters however we have learned that in the actual situation there is no relevant emission of PCB’s into the air, no discharge to surface water and no soil and groundwater contamination. This means that there is no exposure to PCB’s for the general population from the operation of the 19 PCB containing transformers. When the project is carried out according to the description in chapter 3 including the preventive measures for safety and for preventing leaks to occur, the general population in the neighbourhood will not be exposed to PCB’s during the project.

The workers may be exposed to PCB’s as a result of:


• Direct contact to the skin or in the eyes with PCB’s: this may occur when removal of the transformers is not carried out correctly or in case the transformers leak during removal; it may also occur as a result of inaccurate contact with a (leaking) transformer during storage or when cleaning a leak without care.

• Inhalation of PCB containing air: this may occur when removing the transformer in case a fit is not well sealed or when cleaning a leak without care it may also be the case when entering a storage facility without proper ventilation (when one of the stored transformers is leaking)

In Pha Lai the number of workers which actually may be exposed to PCBs is very low. As already mentioned earlier a specialised company carries out the control activities on the existing transformers. The number of workers regularly present nearby the transformers amounts no more than 10. Furthermore since the transformers are sealed off and no leaks occur, actually no exposure is expected and thus no effects of PCB poisoning are expected among the workers.

Although the actual exposure and risk for toxic effects is non existent, this does not exclude potential effects on health for the future. The transformers are indeed aging and it is to be expected that in the future leaks may occur. As a result workers may be exposed and health effects may occur. An important impact of the planned project for safe storage and management of the transformers is the avoidance of negative effects in the future; this is an significant overall positive effect of the project (effect +).

The following effects that may occur (not all potential effects of PCB poisoning are provided here; only these effects that are related to the possible exposure are given below), will thus be avoided for the future:

• Dermal effects:

Chloracne and other dermal alterations are well known markers of exposure to PCBs and structurally related halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons. Chloracne and other dermal alterations have been reported in subjects occupationally exposed to PCBs and in individuals exposed by accidental ingestion of rice oil contaminated with high concentrations of PCBs and related chemicals. In general, chloracne appears in individuals with serum PCB levels 10–20 times higher than those of the general population, but there is great variability among individuals. Therefore, chloracne is not a sensitive marker of PCB exposure.

• Ocular effects:

Along with dermal alterations, adverse ocular effects are markers of exposure to PCBs and structurally related halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons. Ocular effects consisting primarily of hypersecretion of the Meibomian glands and abnormal pigmentation of the conjunctiva have been reported in subjects occupationally exposed to PCBs and in individuals exposed by accidental ingestion of rice oil contaminated with high concentrations of PCBs and related chemicals. In general, these effects appear in individuals with serum PCB levels 10–20 times higher than those of the general population, but there is great variability among individuals.

Effects reported to occur among workers further include:

• Endocrine effects:

A number of studies have examined the relationships between PCB exposure and thyroid hormone status in both children and adults. The results suggest that PCBs can induce thyroid toxicity as well as a variety of changes in thyroid hormone levels. Increased thyroid gland volume has been found among workers at PCB production facilities as well as among nearby residents.

• Carcinogenicity:


The carcinogenicity of PCBs in humans has been investigated in several studies that investigated cancer in exposed workers. Some of the mortality studies suggest that occupational exposures to PCBs were associated with cancer at several sites, particularly the liver, biliary tract, intestines, and skin (melanoma). According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) the carcinogenic classification of PCBs is Group 2A: probably carcinogenic to humans. The US Environmental Protection Agency cancer classification is B2: sufficient evidence from animal studies to assume probable human carcinogen

Other effects are rather associated with the consumption of PCB contaminated food: it concerns

• Immunological effects

• Neurological effects

• Reproductive effects

• Developmental effects

For the removal, the transport and storage of PCB’s the number of workers involved will be low. According to the plant owners and external specialised company will be contracted for carrying out the disconnection and the transport of the transformers. Some supervising, assisting workers from Pha Lai will complete the team. In total not more than 10 workers will be involved.

This means that the number of people that may be exposed is very limited. Furthermore the likelihood to direct contact is very low. The lack of awareness however may be a risk for exposure. It is not to be excluded that a few non informed workers come in contact with PCB oil. In this case the dermal effect i.e. chloracne may occur. Provided that all workers involved have protective clothing no direct contact is to be expected and the above mentioned dermal effects and ocular effects are not expected to occur.

Exposure will also be possible in case of an accident. In a representative scenario for maximal leakage it was calculated that for a short period of time the concentration of PCB’s in air could amount up to 25.4 mg/m³ at a distance of 20 m of the center of the leak. This means that in this case the workers would be exposed to a concentration largely exceeding the tolerance limit value and the permissible exposure limit of 0.5 – 1 mg/m³. This limits may be surpassed up to a distance of 80 to 120 m from the center of the leak. Although these limits are valid for an exposure time of 8 hours while for the leakage scenario exposure is limited to 10 min up to 1 hour it is not to be excluded that ocular effects such as hypersecretion of the Meibomian glands and abnormal pigmentation may occur. Upon contact with the oil chloracne may occur.

The concentration in the air would also lead to exceeding the tolerable daily intake of 1-4 pg TEQ/kg bodyweight/day for that day. However the exposure will be very limited in time and as such it is not expected that long term negative health effects occur, since:

• the chance for an accident is very low (<1 x 10-6);

• in case of an incident the exposure and health effect will be very limited in time

• the number of people is low (<10)

the impact is judged to be slightly negative. Wearing protective clothing including a gass mask when transferring the transformers is the mitigation measure to prevent this effect.

During storage it is unlikely that the tolerance limit value (8 hour TWA) of 0,5 – 1mg/m³ (ATSDR, 2000) will be reached. Toxicity effects are thus unlikely. The effect (if any) is thus also considered to be low or negligible (0/-). However care should be taken to implement the prescribed preventive measures and to foresee in sensibilisation and information of workers.


SOCIO ECONOMIC EFFECTS

The assessment of the impact on socio-economic conditions is based on the analysis of the existing conditions and an estimation of the expected changes. The impacts of projects in general on the socio-economic conditions may be multiple and may include impacts with respect to:

• Nuisances in general

• Resettlement needs

• Employment/economics

• Transportation and traffic

• Education

• Communication

• Use of resources: water, power, waste production

The project of PCB management in the Pha Lai power plant however hardly gives rise to any of these impacts. Indeed, the project is carried out entirely within the boundaries of the plant. In the previous chapters it has been demonstrated that no effects of noise or dust are expected to be noticeable beyond the borders of the plant. So no nuisance effects to the habitants from the surroundings are expected (effect 0). Also the transport of the transformers is taking place inside the boundaries of the plant. As such no effects on transportation or traffic will occur. The only effect will be the transport of the 19 new transformers to be installed in the plant.

Since there will be no alteration in land use outside the plant there will neither be any need for resettlement. The project is limited in scope and will only engage additional employment for a few people (in particular during the construction phase for alternative 3)

Neither education needs/possibilities for the residents nor communication needs/possibilities will be affected. There is no need for extra supply of water or power, nor will there be a production of additional waste to be treated, exception made for some soil from the excavation activities during the construction phase and some construction residues.

7 COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES

In order to able to compare the different alternatives, the assessment of the impacts to be expected is summarised in the table below. Three alternatives are compared:

• Alternative A: temporary storage at a workplace on the second floor;

• Alternative B: temporary storage at a storage facility at the western side of the Pha Lai power plant;

• Alternative C: temporary storage at a storage facility to be build on a piece of bare ground at the western side of the Pha Lai power plant site.

Table 7.1: Comparison of alternatives

Impact Alternative A Alternative B Alternative C

Presence of PCB containing materials

Soil contamination 0 0 0

Air emissions of POP’s 0 0 0

Labelling/Removal

Direct health 0/- 0/- 0/-


Impact Alternative A Alternative B Alternative C

Internal transport

Ground water contamination 0 0 0

Soil contamination 0/- 0/- 0/-

Air pollution 0/- 0/- 0/-

Noise Production 0 0 0

Direct health (workers) 0/- 0/- 0/-

Nuisance 0 0 0

Storage (inclusive construction works)

Ground water contamination 0 0 0

Surface water contamination 0 0 0

Soil contamination 0 0 0/-11

Alterations in soil composition and structure 0 0 -

Erosion 0 0 0

Waste production 0 0 0

Air emissions of POP’s 0 0 0

Ecotoxicity to terrestrial life and aquatic life 0 0 0

Alternation in land use 0 0 0

Landscape 0 0 0

Health in general (avoidance of future effects) + + +

Direct health (workers) 0/- 0/- 0/-

Indirect Health (population) 0 0 0

Nuisance 0 0 0

Resettlement 0 0 0

Other social impacts 0 0 0

Table 7.1 shows that no major environmental or social impacts are to be expected for any of the alternatives. The scores for the alternatives A and B are equal for all potential impacts. Alternative C includes construction works which will have some, although minor, effects on soil. Therefore it is from the environmental point of view maybe the least suitable solution for storage of the PCB containing transformers. However it should be said that none of the three alternatives will lead to any environmental and social effect that would not be acceptable. The alternative B thus appears to be the best alternative to be used as a storage side for the transformers for the following reasons:

• Alternative B does not necessitate the use of new land within the limits of the Pha Lai plant so that the land may be used for other purposes;

• Since there is no new construction, there will be no ground works and no impacts on the soil composition and structure; neither will there be a risk of soil contamination during construction;

11 During construction works


• Contrary to the other alternatives, alternative B concerns a facility which is already used as a storage site and for which a number of safety measures have been implemented (fence, guard, safety material)

• In contrast to alternative A, alternative B is located on the ground floor which has some advantages in accessibility and transport and reduces the consequences of accidents.

ARCADIS BELGIUM Gaps in knowledge Site specific "Environmental Impact Assessment": Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

8 GAPS IN KNOWLEDGE

Up to date the exact PCB content of the oils in the transformers is not known. As a result is was not possible to calculate exact emissions. From literature (Emission Inventory Guidebook, 2000) however it appears that the oil that is present in the Pha Lai transformers, namely SOVTOL-10, contains 90% penta chlorobiphenyls and 10% trichlorobenzene. As a consequence an emission assessment could be carried out with a sufficient degree of confidence.

ARCADIS BELGIUM Environmental and social management and monitoring plan Site specific "Environmental Impact Assessment": Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

9 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT AND

MONITORING PLAN

9.1 OBJECTIVES AND BACKGROUND OF THE ESMP

The objectives of this ESMP are to provide a detailed plan for the prevention, mitigation and compensation of negative impacts on the environment during all stages of the project. The project includes the retirement of 20 PCB containing transformers at the Pha Lai plant in Vietnam. The transformers will be disconnected and transported to a temporary storage warehouse on the site of the plant. Three alternative storage sites were considered for possible implementation of the project, and these three sites were studied for environmental and social impacts.

From this assessment it appears that in no case there is an unacceptable effect on the environment to be expected. This means that from the environmental point of view all alternatives may be selected.

Originally the PCB management project was rated a Category A project by the World Bank, implying full Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and the development of an Environmental and Social Management Plan. Recently however it has been stated by the World Bank that at least all “PCB management” components of the “PCB management and disposal demonstration project in Vietnam” are to be categorized as category B. This rating is further supported in the EIA document for the PCB management project of the Pha Lai power plant. It indeed appears that when the project is carried out according to the state of the art as provided in the project description, environmental and social effects will be minimal.

9.2 SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS

The results of the impact identification and assessment are presented in chapter 4 of the EIA. In chapter 0 of this document a comparison of the alternatives is carried out.

The assessment has been carried out making maximum use of quantitative elements and assessment criteria. Both Vietnamese and international standards have been taken into consideration when relevant. The assessment output has been based on the following criteria:

• magnitude: referring to the quantum of change to be expected;

• extent: referring to the area which will be affected;

• significance: referring to the importance of the magnitude considering the present situation;

• special sensitivity: referring to the location or region specific situation of sensitivity, e.g. protected areas.

From the assessment carried out it is clear that the project of PCB management at the Pha Lai power plant, i.e. the retirement and (temporary) storage of 20 PCB containing transformers in a storage facility (to be constructed) on the site of the plant, will not provoke major environmental and social effects. In the long term the PCB management plan is meant to be advantageous for man and environment.

For most environmental and social components no effects of any significance are expected to occur when the project is implemented as described in the project description. This is the case for the following impacts analysed:

• climate;

• noise;

• surface water pollution;


• ground water contamination;

• waste production;

• ecotoxicity to terrestrial and aquatic life;

• loss of sites with cultural or historical value;

• loss of ecologically valuable areas;

• nuisance to man;

• resettlement needs;

• employment;

• transportation and communication;

• direct and indirect health to residents.

The effects that have been identified and that justify mitigation measures are:

• emissions to the air from transformers resulting form an incident leading to a leak during transfer of the transformers to the storage site: along with the foreseen preventive measures for transport a response plan will be needed

• spills on the soil resulting from an incident during the transfer of the tranformers: again a contingency response plan will be needed

• health effects to workers as a result of direct contact due to unawareness of the dangers of PCB’s: awareness rising and the use of protective clothing are the mitigation measures needed here

• health effects due to exposure to PCB’s upon evaporation as a result of an incident or a leak: protective clothing and gass masks during operation are the recommended mitigation measures here as well as inspection.

The other effects that may occur during construction for alternative C are:

• alteration in soil composition and structure resulting from the construction of a storage facility this effect will not further deteriorate the environment;

• soil contamination during construction activities as a result of incidents;

9.3 ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

The environmental and social management plan (ESMP) has for objective to ensure the compliance of all activities undertaken during implementation of the PCB management project at the Pha Lai power plant with the environmental and social safeguard requirements of both the World Bank and of the Vietnamese Government. Furthermore it aims at integrating the environmental and social components of the project with existing initiatives and programmes in this field, and by doing so it will strengthen the overall capacity for environmentally and socially sustainable development. The plan consists of the mitigation and monitoring needs and - if necessary - also of the institutional measures to be taken during implementation and operation of the project to eliminate adverse environmental and social impacts or to reduce them to acceptable levels.

The possible adverse impacts of the implementation and operation of the PCB management project at Pha Lai have been assessed. The number and magnitude of adverse environmental and social impacts is very limited in case the project is carried out as described (already taking into consideration a number of measure to prevent pollution). For the sake of completeness these measures are repeated as “foreseen project measures” in the mitigation plan. Since these preventive measures are supposed to be part of the project however, only the issue, the target and the activity are provided. The responsible is always the operator of the project and the cost should be included in the project.


Apart from these measures the limited number of additional mitigation measures are summarized in Table 9.1 which represents the mitigation plan. In Table 9.2 the monitoring need is provided.

Today the measures proposed are hardly covered by any Vietnamese regulations or standards (see also policy needs analysis in Annexe 2). Furthermore it is the aim of the PCB management demonstration project to develop PCB technical and administration guidelines i.e. on transfer and storage.

For the measures proposed no specific institutional framework has to be installed. All measures are to be implemented by the plant owner possibly in collaboration with EVN and controlled by the DONRE and VEPA. The monitoring needs proposed here are quite limited. This is justified since under normal circumstances the project will not generate emissions into air, water or soil. The aim of the project is to prevent such emissions as a result of a proper management and storage of the transformers. Therefor, apart from inspection no further monitoring is needed.


68

Table 9-1 Mitigation plan

1. Project measures (preventive measures)

Issue Target Activity

PCB transportation Prevention of incidents (health effects) and soil and (ground)water pollution

• Safety controls of trucks

• Route planning

• Inspection of transformers and vehicles

• Training of transportation team

• Protective clothing

PCB storage facility infrastructure Prevention of soil and ground water pollution • Impermeable floor

• Leachate collection systems

• Covered

• Curb surrounding storage

Prevention of air pollution and health effects • Ventilation

Prevention health risk • Separation from other dangerous goods

PCB storage operation Prevention of emissions and of health effects • Proper labelling of transformers

• Analysis of PCB content

• Record available of all transformers and their characteristics

• Definition of clean up procedure


69

2. Additional mitigation measures

Issue Target Activity Indicator Responsible Timing Cost

Removal and transportation of transformers

Health protection Sensibilisation and information of all workers likely to be in contact with PCB’s:

• Their characteristics

• Protective measures

• Actions in case of exposure

Training sessions Project operator12 Before transport Should be included in the project cost estimate

Response to incidents

Reduction of pollution and health effects

• Preparation of contingency and response plan in case of accidents

• Training of personal on contingency measures

Contingency plan ready

Training sessions

Project operator8 Before start of project

To be included in PCB management programme.

To be repeated yearly.

12 Could also be integrated in the global training activities of the PCB management programme in which case EVN could be the organisor


70

Table 9-2 Monitoring Plan

Parameter of concern Target Description (collection, handling, analysis)

Cost Assessment criteria

PCB Detection of potential pollution

Visual inspection for leaks at storage facility (weekly)

Included in normal operating costs

Detection of leak

PCB Detection of air pollution Monitor air quality in storage facility in case leak has been detected

1000 USD 0.5mg/m³

ARCADIS BELGIUM Appendices Site specific "Environmental Impact Assessment": Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

10 RESULTS OF PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS

10.1 INTRODUCTION

The Wolrd Bank as well as Vietnamese legislation requires a public consultation in which project-affected groups and local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are informed about the project’s environmental aspects and takes their views into account.

Two public consultation rounds have been organised following the requirements as specified for Category A projects:

• after the environmental screening was finalized: on the 14th of August 2008; and

• once a first draft EA report was prepared: on the 27th of August 2008.

Minutes of both public consultations are provided in following paragraph. A list of people who attended the consultations is included in appendix. Comments made during the consultation rounds are indicated in the minutes and have been taken into account in the EIA report together with the additional remarks made by VEPA and EVN.


10.2 MINUTES AND COMMENTS MADE DURING THE TWO WORKSHOPS

PCB Management Demonstration Project (PDF-B)

Consulting Service 6 – Environmental Impact Assessment

Public consultation meeting minutes

August 14, 2008

Time: 9:00 – 11:30

Location: Meeting room of Pha Lai Power Plant, Chi Linh District, Hai Duong Province.

Subject: Public consultation on “Environmental and Social Impact Assessment” - Pha Lai Power Plant PCB management project

Lead by: Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Quynh – Vice director of Division on Science, Technology and Environment, Vietnam Electricity (EVN)

Participants:

1. From Government Agencies: Representatives of Vietnam Environment Protection Agency (VEPA), Technical Safety and Industrial Environment Agency of the Ministry of Industry and Trade

2. From EVN: Department of Science-Technology & Environment, PC Hai Duong. 3. Representatives of Hai Duong Provincial Departments: Department of Industry and Trade

(DOIT). 4. From Pha Lai Power Plant: Technical Safety and Environment Division, Transformer Operator

Division, and related workers 5. From Local community: Chi Linh People’s committee, Chi Linh Fatherland Front Committee. 6. From PCB-WB Project Office and Consultants Vidaneco.

Major contents

A – Opening

1. Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Quynh welcomed participants and presented the objectives of the meeting as well as general information of the PCB project and CS6.


2. Representative of the consulting firm Vidaneco, Mr. Thinh – presented the draft framework report on the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. After the presentation, the consultant asked participants to provide comments and have discussion on the potential impacts.

B – Discussion

• Mr. Thanh-Transformer Operator Division – Pha Lai Power Plant) shared information: He knew someone who in the past directly contacted with PCB oil. It is the fact that man does not has children. He was wondering whether the reason is due to PCB?

• Ms. Quynh-EVN responded: We can not conclude that it was because of PCB poison. However, people now recognize the impact of PCB so people should take care when have to work with PCB instead of directly exposure to PCB.

• Mr. Binh-Department of Industry and Trade of Hai Duong province talked:

In his understanding, a public consultation should mention about a specific project according to the Circular 08/2006/TT-BTNMT dated on September 8, 2006 of MONRE. Based on the consultant’s presentation, the participants will have comments on the project. However, he can not have any comments since Mr. Thinh’s presentation is so general. In conclusion, he said the objective of the meeting is not clear.

• Mr. Thanh - Technical Safety and Environment Division, Transformer Operator Division: Pha Lai Power Plant talked about what he knew about PCB oil in the plant: The smell is uncomfortable which makes healthy people feel dizzy and headache. Especially when people are exposed with the leakage of transformer(s). This will happen normally after few-minute contact. It happens frequently to male more than female.

• Mr. Nhat-Manager of Transformer Operator Division shared his knowledge: He knew that although the smell of oil in these 19 transformers is very uncomfortable, the toxicity of PCB does not come from the smell. He also shared that the 19 PCB containing transformers have never been maintained or fixed. Therefore, the oil inside is unlikely to has impact on environment at the moment. Finally, he was wondering whether the PCB goes into human body through dermal route or inhalation?

• Ms. Quynh-EVN answered: PCB could go into human body through dermal route or inhalation? However, the evaporation rate of PCB is small so for worker who has contact with PCB oil, the dermal route is more likely.

• Mr. Doan-Project office- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-responded to Mr. Binh (DOIT) o It is expected that the warehouse will be built to store these 19 transformers which

contains the PCB. o The objective of this first public consultation meeting is just to let stakeholders know

about the project. The consultant will present much clearer at the second round of consultation and hopefully participant will attend the meeting again to provide more comments.

• Mr. An-Technical Safety and Environment Division-Pha Lai Power Plant: Proposed that it would be better to build up a national storehouse for PCB equipment somewhere else. He did not want to build it at Pha Lai Power Plant since he was worrying about the safety of PCB storage process.

• Ms. Quynh responded: When a warehouse is builded up, all safety procedure would be followed to make sure PCB will be stored in a safe conditions. On the other hand, the responsibility of management of these PCB transformers belongs to Pha Lai Power Plant anyway.


• Mr. Hai – Technical Department of Pha Lai Power Plant asked: Whether the project has plan to conduct trainings on emergency response for the workers in case of combustion and detonation.

• Ms. Quynh-EVN answered: The project will conduct training when building up the warehouse • Mr. Son: Chi Linh Fatherland Front Committee suggested: The project should invite people who

are living around Pha lai area to attend the next meeting.

• Ms. Quynh responded: Will invite residents according to Mr. Son’s suggestion next time.

C – Closing

3. On behalf of EVN – the leading of CS6, Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Quynh acknowledged suggestions and comments from participants and EVN would work with Consultant to complete EIA report.

Do Tien Doan

Note

The minutes of meeting on August 27, 2008 is missing.


APPENDICES


APPENDIX 1: REFERENCES

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 2000. Toxicological prfile for polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB’s)

Arcadis Belgium (2008) Environmental and Social Framework report. PCB Management Demonstration Project CS6 Environmental Impact assessment. Vietnam Electricity (EVN).

Baars, A.J. Theilen; T.M.C. Janssen, P-J.C.M; Hesse J.M.; Van Apeldoorn, M.E., Heyerinck, M.E.M, Verdam, L, Zechmaker M.J. (2001). Re-evaluation of human toxicological maximum permissible risk levels, Bilthoven, Netherlands RIVM Report 7117 01025

EMEP (Corinair Emission Inventory Guidebook 2007. European Environment Agency. Technical Report N. 16/2007

Lees (2003). Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 23/24

Pha Lai Power Plant (2007). Pha Lai Environmental Monitoring Report 2007

Pha Lai Power Plant (2008): Pha Lai Monitoring Report 2008

Vidaneco (2008): Data collected on environmental and social baseline conditions

Vietnam Environment Monitor (2005) World Bank, Ministry of Natural Recources and Environment, Sida Sweden (EDS). Biodiversity, 77pp.

World Bank 1996: air pollution from major vehicles: standards and technologies for controlling emissions. The world bank Washington DC.

WHO (2000) Air quality guidelines for Europe, WHO regional publications. European series no 91 Vietnam environment


APPENDIX 2: LISTS OF ATTENDEES OF PUBLIC CONSULTANCY

MEETINGS

To be received


APPENDIX 3: RESULTS OF THE MONITORING OF AIR QUALITY IN

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE PHA LAI POWER PLANT.

Dust and air

No

Time Locate Velocity

(m/s) Direction

of wind Suspended

dust µg/m3 CO

µg/m3 SO2

µg/m3 NO2

µg/m3

8h 03/06/2008

Before Phả Lại hotel: 1km

from chimney (follow wind direction)

1,65 ĐB 158 630 66 38

10h30 03/06/2008

-nt- 1,65 ĐB 156 640 67 37

1

12h25 03/06/2008

-nt- 1,70 ĐB 152 645 69 36

8h25 03/06/2008

Electric store Đức Thịnh of 2km from

chimney (follow wind direction)

2,10 ĐB 183 635 72 41

10h05 03/06/2008

-nt- 1,75 ĐB 187 640 74 43

2

10h55 03/06/2008

-nt- 1,65 ĐB 196 650 73 41

8h50 03/06/2008

Super market Thiên Ân: 3 km from chimney (follow wind direction)

1,55 ĐB 215 640 67 37

8h40 03/06/2008

-nt- 1,45 ĐB 220 660 62 36

3

11h20 03/06/2008

-nt- 1,40 ĐB 218 670 63 38

4 9h15 03/06/2008

Before households: Vũ Thị Điệp, Hữu Lộc, Văn An: 4

km from chimney (follow wind direction)

1,55 ĐB 270 650 65 39


11h45 03/06/2008

-nt- 1,50 ĐB 280 660 63 38

12h 03/06/2008

-nt- 1,50 ĐB 280 660 64 36

13h30 03/06/2008

At ground of Sông Đà cinter station, at the east of factory.

0,85 ĐN 295 880 76 42

17h05

05/06/2008

-nt- 0,80 ĐN 290 870 78 44

5

7h30 05/06/2008

-nt- 0,82 ĐN 295 860 71 43

14h35 03/06/2008

At ground of Cao Cường

cinter station, in Bình Giang

lake

0,78 ĐN 550 890 124 68

8h 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,87 ĐN 555 870 115 69

6

15h50 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,86 ĐN 380 880 158 73

15h 03/06/2008

At ground of Bắc Sơn cinter station, in Bình Giang lake

0,85 ĐN 370 1020 152 71

8h20

06/06/2008

-nt- 0,86 ĐN 380 1100 158 73

7

15h20 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,89 ĐN 380 1060 167 74

14h15 03/06/2008

Bình Giang cinter station

1,02 ĐN 315 540 78 45

8h50 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,98 ĐN 320 580 81 46

8

14h50 06/06/2008

-nt- 1,03 ĐN 320 560 77 43

9 18h15 03/06/2008

Khe Lăng cinter station

0,96 ĐN 450 610 73 43


9h10 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,87 ĐN 455 640 75 43

14h30 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,92 ĐN 455 690 76 44

13h55 03/06/2008

House hold: Lê Văn Quyên, group 3, Bình

Giảng communal, Phả

Lại town

0,53 ĐN 270 620 65 36

17h35 05/06/2008

-nt- 0,67 ĐN 275 650 62 38

10

9h30 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,59 ĐN 270 630 63 37

15h30 13/11/2007

House hold: Vũ Văn Sơn group 6, Phao Sơn communal, Phả

Lại town

0,98 ĐN 295 580 59 33

17h20 13/11/2007

-nt- 0,88 ĐN 290 560 58 34

11

9h20 14/11/2007

-nt- 0,95 ĐN 290 570 59 36

10h30 14/11/2007

House hold: Trần Đoàn Ngọc, Cao Đường, Lác

communal, Phả Lại town

0,29 ĐN 275 550 57 32

13h45 14/11/2007

-nt- 0,34 ĐN 280 530 56 34

12

10h15 15/11/2007

-nt- 0,32 ĐN 80 540 58 33

10h50 14/11/2007

At ground of sông Đà 12

stock company , Bãi Bông

communal, Phả Lại town

0,65 ĐN 520 550 56 35 13

10h40 15/11/2007

-nt- 0,71 ĐN 525 560 57 37


13h30 15/11/2007

-nt- 0,69 ĐN 525 570 56 38

17h05 03/06/2008

At ground of Văn An

committee, Chí Linh district

0,34 ĐN 230 680 48 24

17h50 05/06/2008

-nt- 0,42 ĐN 235 650 51 19

14

10h20 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,41 ĐN 230 670 52 21

16h20 03/06/2008

At ground of Cổ Thành


0,53 ĐN 200 530 53 22

17h10

05/06/2008

-nt- 0,49 ĐN 196 570 56 24

15

10h30 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,51 ĐN 205 560 55 25

16h40 03/06/2008

At ground of Nhân Huệ


0,21 ĐN 215 540 53 24

17h30 05/06/2008

-nt- 0,32 ĐN 215 520 56 25

16

14h 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,28 ĐN 210 530 55 23

11h30 03/06/2008

At ground of Kiếp Bạc

temple, Chí Linh district

0,16 ĐN 255 420 42 18

15h 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,25 ĐN 250 410 44 20

17

15h45 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,29 ĐN 250 440 43 19

18 8h 05/06/2008

At ground of Đức Long committee, Quế Võ

disctrict, Bắc

0,46 ĐN 230 530 57 31


Ninh province

13h55 05/06/2008

-nt- 0,53 ĐN 235 550 58 32

7h30 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,56 ĐN 230 580 57 30

8h50 05/06/2008

At ground of Châu Phong committee, Quế Võ

disctrict, Bắc Ninh province

0,34 ĐN 200 610 51 33

14h40 05/06/2008

-nt- 0,36 ĐN 205 630 54 32

19

8h20 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,32 ĐN 205 640 53 33

8h30

05/06/2008

At ground of Phù Lãng committee, Quế Võ

disctrict, Bắc Ninh province

0,45 ĐN 260 680 63 36

14h20 05/06/2008

-nt- 0,39 ĐN 265 690 68 38

20

8h 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,44 ĐN 265 670 66 35

9h10 05/06/2008

At ground of Vạn Ninh

committee, Gia Bình disctrict, Bắc Ninh province

0,58 ĐN 241 570 53 34

15h10 05/06/2008

-nt- 0,62 ĐN 240 560 54 32

21

9h10 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,64 ĐN 245 550 53 35

22 9h30 05/06/2008

At ground of Cao Đức


0,62 ĐN 270 490 51 30


15h30 05/06/2008

-nt- 0,57 ĐN 275 480 49 31

9h30 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,61 ĐN 275 510 50 29

10h40 05/06/2008

At ground of Thái Bảo


0,32 ĐN 260 570 52 29

16h40 05/06/2008

-nt- 0,28 ĐN 260 520 53 27

23

9h 06/06/2008

-nt- 0,31 ĐN 265 550 56 31

10h15 05/06/2008

At ground of An Thịnh committee, Lương Tài disctrict, Bắc Ninh province

0,78 ĐN 270 530 49 32

16h15 05/06/2008

-nt- 0,82 ĐN 275 510 48 33

24

10h30

06/06/2008

-nt- 0,81 ĐN 275 510 51 31

9h55

05/06/2008

Next to sluice of Trung Kiên commune , Lương Tài disctrict, Bắc Ninh province

0,79 ĐN 265 520 48 29

15h55

05/06/2008

-nt- 0,83 ĐN 260 540 49 30

25

10h

06/06/2008

-nt- 0,81 ĐN 265 560 48 24

26 10h25

04/06/2008

At ground of Tư Mại

committee Yên Dũng disctrict, Bắc Giang

0,87 ĐN 240 670 56 26


province

11h30

04/06/2008

-nt- 1,17 ĐN 245 660 57 28

13h

04/06/2008

-nt- 0,96 ĐN 245 680 55 28

10h

04/06/2008

Next to sluice of Tư Mại commune,

opposite Phù Lãng ponton

0,78 ĐN 285 720 47 24

10h55

04/06/2008

-nt- 0,37 ĐN 295 760 46 21

27

13h30

04/06/2008

-nt- 0,65 ĐN 295 740 48 23

9h

04/06/2008

At ground of Tư Mại Đồng Phúc commune

Yên Dũng disctrict, Bắc

Giang

0,71 ĐN 240 630 53 31

15h10

04/06/2008

-nt- 4,42 ĐN 245 650 56 30

28

16h15

04/06/2008

-nt- 0,96 ĐN 245 680 51 28

9h30

04/06/2008

Next to pump station Cựu Dưới hamlet, Đồng Phúc

commune,, Yên Dũng, Bắc Giang

1,76 ĐN 270 580 49 21

14h20 04/06/2008

-nt- 0,84 ĐN 274 590 47 22

29

15h40 04/06/2008

-nt- 1,35 ĐN 270 620 47 24

30 8h30 At ground of Đồng Việt

0,69 ĐN 275 580 56 25


04/06/2008 committee,

Thượng hamlet Yên Dũng

disctrict, Bắc Giang

17h

04/06/2008

-nt- 1,4 ĐN 270 590 58 21

17h55

04/06/2008

-nt- 0,88 ĐN 275 570 57 24

8h

04/06/2008

Đồng Việt ferry, thôn Thượng, Yên Dũng district, Bắc Giang

1,18 ĐN 230 650 53 23

17h25

04/06/2008

-nt- 1,27 ĐN 235 630 54 22

31

18h25

04/06/2008

-nt- 1,56 ĐN 230 640 53 23

TCVN 5937-2005 300 30000 350 225


APPENDIX 4: LOCATION AND STATUS OF 20 TRANSFORMERS AT

PHA LAI POWER PLANT

public disclosure authorized á3 %3b22

Documents