Vietnam revised permissible limits of heavy metals in soil 
On December 21, 2015, Vietnam enacted the Circular No. 64/2015/TT-BTNMT to set technical standard on soil environment. This circular came into effect on March 1, 2016 and accordingly, the previous QCVN 03:2008/BTNMT became invalid.
The circular is accompanied by the “National Technical Standard QCVN 03-MT: 2015/BTNMT on the allowable limits of heavy metals in the soils”. This Standard specifies the permissible values of heavy metals in topsoil (up to 30 cm deep from the surface of the land) and applies to five areas: agricultural land, forest land, residential land, industrial land, and commercial and service land. For these five land uses, the respective heavy metal limits are defined as follows, with six heavy metals being regulated, of which only chromium (Cr) is a new regulated substance that is not included in the previous technical standard QCVN 03:2008/BTNMT.
|
No. |
Heavy Metals | Agriculture | Forest | Residence | Industry |
Commerce and Service |
|
1 |
Arsenic (As) |
15 |
20 |
15 | 25 |
20 |
|
2 |
Cadmium (Cd) |
1.5 |
3 |
2 | 10 |
5 |
|
3 |
Lead (Pb) |
70 |
100 |
70 | 300 |
200 |
|
4 |
Chromium (Cr) |
150 |
200 |
200 | 250 |
250 |
|
5 |
Copper (Cu) |
100 |
150 |
100 | 300 |
200 |
| 6 | Zinc (Zn) |
200 |
200 | 200 | 300 |
300 |
In addition, the standard also stipulates testing method for soil sampling and heavy metal determination.
The original text of this circular can be downloaded from:
http://www.donre.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/Lists/vanbanmoi/Attachments/539/64_2015_TT_BTNMT.pdf
