Ha Tay: 22 people have died of cancer

After the "Cancer Village" in Thach Son (Phu Tho), at present, people in Thong Nhat village, Dong Lo commune, Ung Hoa district, Ha Tay province are very worried because too many people die from cancer. Many local people said that it is possible that the use of water from borehole contaminated with arsenic is the cause.

Authorities are examining water quality in Thach Son commune, Phu Tho (Photo: VNN)

The family of Nguyen Thi Le, Thong Nhat village has two people who died of cancer. In 2000, her mother-in-law died of liver cancer. Three years later, Mr. Pham Van Huong also left because of this illness when he was 47 years old. For 10 years now, her family still uses water from drilled wells 20m deep to serve their daily needs.

Some villagers said that when the water was pumped up, it was clear that for a while like rice water, the filter was not edible, it was very unpleasant and often itchy.

Pham Duc Hoanh - who has just been concluded with skin cancer. Four years ago, his father also died of kidney cancer. He could not know the cause of the disease, and if he did not use well water, there would be no other source of water .

According to the statistics of Dong Lo Commune People's Committee, in the past 10 years, Thong Nhat hamlet has 30 deaths, 22 people died of cancer. These people are aged 45-55 years old.

At the end of 2005, Ha Tay Center for Domestic Water and Environmental Sanitation sampled water from wells of more than 100 families in Dong Lo commune. The results showed that arsenic concentration of most samples exceeded 5-6 times the permitted level. Although there is no conclusion that the cause of cancer is caused by water, but treating arsenic-contaminated water is the right thing to do, and not too complicated, the right filter can reduce 90% of arsenic. .

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Noi - Director of Ha Tay Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Center: "Through the inspection, most of the filter tanks here are too small, not enough specifications, the filter layer is too thin, the rigs are not available. In general, the filter tanks here do not meet the requirements ".

Ung Hoa District Health Center has advised families not to eat or drink with drilled wells, but to build rainwater tanks. But most people in Thong Nhat village do not have conditions to build tanks. And surface water from dug wells and ponds cannot be used, because pollutants from Nhue river flowing through the village are absorbed into the water source.

Until now, people in Thong Nhat village still have to continue using arsenic-contaminated groundwater in fear of cancer.