An international seminar on the application of the biotic ligand model
(BLM) in environmental management was held in Hanoi on March 4.
The event, co-chaired by the General Office of Environment under the
Ministry of National Resources and Environment (MoNRE), Loyola
University Chicago, and the Asia Pacific Medical Toxicology
Association, saw the participation of nearly 100 environmental
scientists and administrators from Southeast Asian nations.
MoNRE Deputy Minister Bui Cach Tuyen said that the seminar aims to
discuss opportunities and challenges, and share experience during the
application of the model to evaluate pollution levels in Asian
countries, including Vietnam.
BLM will be
used to evaluate the impact of heavy metals such as Copper (Cu), Zinc
(Zn) and Nickel (Ni) on creatures on land and in the water. However,
figuring out a common poisonous level for all metals is impossible due
to the diverse impacts that substances have on different ecosystems.
One of the challenges facing Vietnam in environmental pollution
management is the lack of a perfect model for heavy metal treatment that
meets all technical, socio-economic and environmental criteria.
According to a draft on standards for environmental quality recently
approved by the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development, the
content of heavy metal in soil and vegetables are not allowed to
exceed permitted levels.-VNA