ANDY-Vietnamese's BLOG

VietNamNet Bridge – No matter where are you in Quang Ninh province’s Mao Khe Town - the kingdom of coal - inside your room or out on the street, you will have to use a mask to shield your face from the dense coal dust. Mao Khe is now called the black town.

Over the past three years, 250 to 300 trucks with tonnage of 15 to 20 tonnes carrying coal run through this town each day, torturing the local people.

Most children under five catch lung-related diseases. Local people tried to sweep and collect the dust in their houses and within a single day there was a startling amount: 8kg of coal dust per family per day.

Serious pollution in this region has been reported to the local administration but the only step taken is spraying more water throughout the town.

VietNamNet captured this black spot on the Vietnamese map through photos.

The never ending night

Masks are the only protection

Layered in black

A swept balcony lasts no more than a few minutes

Even at home, locals cannot escape the dust

What use is a car wash?	A sweep of the hand leaves a fistful of sand
Coal, coal everywhere, from rice cookers…	… to glasses and bowls
… beds	….And staircases too

Water isn’t the answer

You simply get a sludgy mud that dries and becomes coal dust again
From doing housework to watching TV, masks are permanent, like a nose, mouth or ear	An Insurmountable obstacle

An Insurmountable obstacle

The futility of a vacuum cleaner	The town of closed doors
Even an evening stroll requires a mask

Hundreds of coal trucks daily scatter their dust like a black cloud of despair