A polluted river in Ung Hoa district of Hanoi (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA)
– The Ministry of Health has denied the existence of 10 so-called cancer
villages, as their rates of cancer were found to be no higher than the national
average.
The Vietnam Health
Environment Management Agency (VIHEMA) said that residents living in those
villages had cancer rates ranging from 73 to 169 per 100,000 people. These
numbers were no higher than the national cancer rates of 135 for women and 181
for men, per 100,000.
“We have yet to see
an abnormal cancer rate in the 10 villages being investigated,” announced
the VIHEMA last week.
The villages included Thong
Nhat and Lung Vỵ in Hanoi, Man Xa in Bac Ninh Province, Tho Vỵ in Thanh Hoa
Province, Yen Lao in Ha Nam Province, Co Do in Nghe An Province, and An Loc in
Ha Tinh Province, together with Phuoc Thien in Quang Ngai Province, Xuan Vinh
in Binh Dinh Province and Me Pu in Binh Thuan Province.
These villages were
earlier dubbed “” by the National Centre for Water
Resources Planning and Investigation (NCWRPI) last year, following a nationwide
investigation entitled “Search for hygienic water resources for Vietnam’s
cancer villages”.
The cancers were thought
to be caused by severe .
The NCWRPI was expected
to hand over its data to the VIHEMA for reassessment early next year, said the
VIHEMA.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
