PHÚ THỌ — Police in the northern province of Phú Thọ are investigating allegations that a private company has been transporting sulfur through residential areas without proper licensing and conditions.

Residents in the province’s main city, Việt Trì, have for years been complaining about the sulfur from Bình Sơn Wharf on the Red River being transported through residential areas, allegedly causing air pollution.

Trần Văn Du, 84, living in the city’s Bến Gót Ward, said that for years, local residents suffered from dust and noise from trucks that carry coal, sand and sulfur from the wharf.

“The trucks drop the materials on roads, dust penetrates our houses,” he said, blaming it for an increase of respiratory diseases.

At Bình Sơn Wharf, tens of cranes unload sulfur that is gathered in huge dunes outdoors.

The wharf manager, Ngô Văn Bình, told Vietnam News Agency that the Bình Sơn Private Company was licensed to transport sulfur.

However, the licence granted by the Port Authority of Inland Waterway Area No 2 to the company reveals that the company was permitted to load and unload conventional goods, not sulfur.

According to Phú Thọ province’s Department of Industry and Trade, the transport and storage of sulfur at the wharf must be reported and controlled - but for years, local companies did not fulfill these obligations.

As sulfur is a flammable chemical, it must be stored and carried under conditions meeting safety requirements and in specialised trucks.

Vice director of the province’s Public Security Department, Phùng Đức Quang, said police were investigating the allegations.

Transport firms and truck drivers would be suspended and punished if found violating rules. — VNS