Dangkao Gets Waste Moved

The waste dumped into a Dang­­kao district rice paddy on the outskirts of Phnom Penh has been removed to an old sewage pit at the Stung Meanchey district dump, municipal officials said Tuesday.

“The sludge has already been removed,” said Dangkao District Governor Krouch Phan. “There is no longer a problem.”

Dangkao commune residents also seemed to feel better, after reporting headaches and vom­iting from the waste. Krouch Phan said the waste did not thr­eaten nearby crops or water.

Test results are not yet available. Cambodia pollution con­­trol director Heng Nareth, who sent a team to the site last week, could not be reached for comment.

The local rights group Licadho continues to monitor the area after examining residents last week, Director Eva Galabru said Tuesday. “The important thing now is to get the stuff tested,” she said. “And that’s not such an easy thing to do in Phnom Penh.”

Phnom Penh Gov­­ernor Chea Sophara has issued a directive to all the city’s 142 factories, requiring them to treat their own waste before having it re­moved.

He and other municipal officials have repeatedly maintained that the city needs to find a new site with proper storage facilities for the growing amount of gar­bage and sewage.

“Now we have a landfill problem,” said Chiep Sivoeun, di­­rector of the municipal environment department. “Garbage and fact­ory waste have to be properly managed.”

 

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