Vietnam conducts public consultation to revise environmental standards for water, air and soil quality

NOTE:
On March 13, 2023, the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) promulgated the Circular No. 01/2023/TT-BTNMT, officially establishing new National Technical Regulations (QCVN) on water, air and soil. See more details below:
Vietnam renews environmental quality standards for water, air and soil

On November 17, 2020, the Vietnam Environment Administration under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment publicized draft national technical regulations (QCVNs) on environmental qualities as follows and invited comments from the public.

• • National Technical Regulation on Surface Water Quality
  • National Technical Regulation on Underground Water Quality
  • National Technical Regulation on Marine Water Quality
  • National Technical Regulation on Ambient Air Quality
  • National Technical Regulation on Allowable Limits for Pollutants in Soil

These draft regulations can be downloaded at:
http://vea.gov.vn/detail?$id=1023

The overview of each draft is as follows.

National Technical Regulation on Surface Water Quality:

This technical regulation stipulates the allowable limit values, measurement method, and management of surface water quality. It applies to the evaluation, classification, control of emission sources, and measures for improvement of surface water quality. The draft sets technical regulations in Tables 1-3:

• Table 1: Allowable limit values for substances with potential health hazards in surface water (39 items)
• Table 2: Water quality classification for rivers, canals, ditches, etc. and allowable limit values ​​for surface water quality in terms of protection of underwater ecological environment
• Table 3: Water quality classification for lakes, ponds, swamps, etc. and allowable limit values​​ for surface water quality in terms of protection of underwater ecological environment

National Technical Regulation on Underground Water Quality:

This technical regulation stipulates the allowable limit values, measurement method, and management of underground water quality. It applies to the evaluation and monitoring of underground water quality. The draft sets technical regulations on 41 items in its Tables 1:

National Technical Regulation on Marine Water Quality:

This technical regulation stipulates the allowable limit values, measurement method, and management of marine water quality. It applies to the evaluation and control of marine water quality. The draft gives technical regulations in Tables 1-4:

• Table 1: Allowable limit values ​​for coastal marine water quality in terms of protection of ecological environment
• Table 2: Allowable limit values ​​for coastal marine water quality in terms of protection of human health
• Table 3: Allowable limit values ​​for marine water quality in coastal zones
• Table 4: Allowable limit values ​​for marine water quality in offshore zones

National Technical Regulation on Ambient Air Quality:

This technical regulation stipulates the allowable limit values for fundamental elements and hazardous substances, measurement method, and management of ambient air quality. It applies to the evaluation and monitoring of ambient air quality. Note that indoor air quality in manufacturing facilities is not covered by this regulation. The draft gives technical regulations in Tables 1-2:

• Table 1: Allowable limit values for fundamental elements in ambient air (8 items)
• Table 2: Allowable limit values for hazardous substances in ambient air (36 items)

National Technical Regulation on Allowable Limits for Pollutants in Soil:

This technical regulation stipulates the allowable limit values, measurement method, and management for different pollutant substances in soils. The draft gives technical regulations in its Tables 1 “Allowable limit values for pollutants in the soils.” Under the current system, the following two technical regulations give the allowable limit values for heavy metals (6 substances) and chemical substances for agricultural pesticide use (39 substances). On the other hand, this draft includes limit values for heavy metals (8 substances), chemical substances for agricultural pesticide use (42 substances), and hazardous chemical substances (22 substances). However, the allowable limit values are divided into three levels according to the land uses.

• National Technical Regulation QCVN 03-MT:2015/BTNMT on the Allowable Limits of Heavy Metals in the Soils
• National Technical Regulation QCVN 04:2008/BTNMT on the Allowable Limits of Pesticide Residues in the Soils