Leaked report faults Nordic hydro consultants in Vietnam dam tragedy

SWECO failed to warn Vietnam about downstream risks. Experienced hydro consultants could have predicted the catastrophic damages caused by Vietnam’s Yali dam but SWECO – Sweden’s largest engineering consulting firm and Vietnam’s longtime hydro advisors – failed to do so, according to a leaked Asian Development Bank report. Large spills from the Yali dam killed approximately 25 people in 1999 and 2000, while thousands more are suffering recurring damage to their crops and property several hundred kilometres downstream in Cambodia. [2000, Vol.1, 1-2/1-3]
The report by Australian engineering consultants, Worley, states that Yali discharges transformed the Se San River into a “lethal turbulent channel in which people cannot survive. . . . People being swept down rocky chutes suffer numerous violent collisions with rocks which eventually kill them, or leave them too damaged to swim, so that they drown even in the relatively calm waters downstream of the chute.”  [Emphasis added by Worley] [2000, Vol.1, 2-23]
The owner of Yali dam, Electricity of Vietnam, “will be considered liable” for damages,  according to Worley. [2000, Vol.2, 3-4] But the report also criticizes EVN’s consultants, particularly SWECO, for underestimating the downstream effects of Yali and Se San 3, a second dam now under construction. [2001, 1-6] “Although the general consequences of reservoir filling, commissioning, seasonal flow regulation, and peaking operation of Yali and Se San 3 were predictable,” writes Worley, “previous studies gave incomplete warning of them.” [2001, 1-6]
Worley’s report is part of the Asian Development Bank’s 2000 appraisal of Se San 3, a second dam recommended by SWECO in 1999, the year Yali began operating. “It would have been a simple step,” the report states, “ to appreciate that closure of the main Se San river at Yali or Se San 3 dam sites for 14 or 18 hours daily, or for longer periods. . .would have critical impacts on downstream populations and ecosystems.” [2000, Vol.1, 2-31]
According to Worley, “[SWECO’s] belief that negative impacts of intermittent discharges will extend only 20 kilometres below the dam, even for a 6 hour closure of the turbine flows, is unfounded, and no experienced consultant could hold it.” [2000, Vol.1, 66] Worley also points out SWECO wrongly assumed only a few houses existed downstream of the dam sites. Worley estimates 1,400  houses living along the first 100 kilometres downstream of Yali, and that 2,500 households are entitled to immediate cash compensation for damages. [2000, Vol.1, ES-15; Vol.2, 3-4] Worley describes SWECO’s analysis of Se San 3 impacts as “bad science” and its assumptions “unrealistic.” [2000, Vol.1, ES-13/14] “A wider and more scientific analysis, less dedicated to a single site [Se San 3] and, dare one say, future consultant engineering work,” is needed. [2000, Vol.1, 2-25] Worley concludes that SWECO’s overall approach to hydro planning is flawed:  “SWECO’s ranking of Projects is a mere shuffling of cards . . . It does not represent a sound basin wide strategy for using water or other resources, and will lead to serious conflicts between water users within the basin in Vietnam, and between Vietnam and Cambodia.” [2000, Vol.1, 2-28]
Worley’s report, classified confidential by the Asian Development Bank, recommends that Electricity of Vietnam take immediate steps to
improve public safety and prevent recurring damages downstream. SWECO, meanwhile, has won contracts for work on the Se San 3  dam and EVN’s National Hydropower Plan.
Yali and Se San 3 are two of six large-scale hydro dams planned for the Se San River, a major Mekong tributary flowing from Vietnam’s central highlands through northeast Cambodia.

Notes

1. Worley reports reviewed by Probe International:“Yali/Se San3 Environmental and Social Impact Analysis Study,” April 2000, Asian Development Bank, PPTA 31362-01-VIE, 2 Volumes. Summary Environmental Impact Assessment, Phase II Final Report - Environmental, Social and Technical Analysis for Se San 3 Hydropower Project, February 2001, Asian Development Bank TA: 322-VIE.
2. See also “Leaked report criticizes Vietnam for unsafe dam operation,” Probe International Press Advisory, September 23, 2003 at:
http://www.probeinternational.org/pi/mekong/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=8397
3. For further critical analysis of SWECO’s Se San 3 recommendations, see
http://www.probeinternational.org/pi/documents/mekong/feasibilityconstraints.html

Probe International Briefing
October 3, 2003

RISKS FROM MAN-MADE CHEMICALS ARE INCREASINGLY PUTTING WOMEN AND CHILDREN  IN DANGER

Major Global Meeting Called to Find Means to Reduce Vulnerability to these  Major Health Hazards
Bangkok, 1 November 2003 - The use of man-made chemicals, such as  pesticides, has increased substantially over the last several decades.
Output of chemicals has increased from US $171billion in 1970 to US $1503  billion in 1998, and will continue to grow over the next 20 years.
Exposure to dangerous chemicals can lead to a range of consequences, from the development of cancer and chronic respiratory diseases, to
death. The populations most vulnerable to health risks due to chemical exposures are the poor, in particular women and children. Workers and consumers are also at risk if not properly informed about chemical risks. The International Labour Organization estimates that occupational
exposure to hazardous substances may be responsible for around 340,000 deaths per year globally. These deaths can be prevented.
There is an urgent need to find effective, low-cost means of reducing death and injury from unsafe chemical exposures, according to the
Intergovernmental  Forum on Chemical Safety. Over 600 leading international experts and officials from government, the private sector and  non-governmental organizations are meeting this week in Bangkok with the aim of scaling up critical actions to protect vulnerable populations from chemical threats. "Chemicals are necessary elements in everyday life, but to use them safely is essential for the well-being of millions of
people and for protecting the environment in both the industrialized and developing world," said Henrique Cavalcanti, President of the
Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety and former Minister of Environment and the Amazon, Brazil. "The Forum offers a unique opportunity for all its participants, public, private and international, to address this problem and provide guidance and solutions for managing the risks of exposure to toxic substances."
Unintentional poisonings account for 50,000 deaths of children aged 0-14 years, according to estimates by the World Health Organization. ''We urgently need to focus on the special vulnerability of children exposed to serious health threats from chemicals. The statistics are alarming. We must put children and their mothers at the centre of our efforts. We need develop ways of facilitating collaborative national and
international research, and then we will be in a position to use our knowledge to reduce the terrible toll of childhood deaths," said Professor Gyorgy Ungvary, Chief Medical Officer of State, Hungary. There are tens of thousands of synthetic chemicals being produced  commercially worldwide, yet there is a lack of adequate safety information about the great majority of these chemicals and their health and environmental effects. Putting basic information about chemical hazards into the hands of the public is one of the most powerful tools available for the protection of public health and the environment. Determining the roles and responsibilities of the chemical industry, as well as governments, in providing hazard information will be a key undertaking at this Fourth Session of the IFCS (Forum IV). Forum IV will call for new efforts by industry and governments to generate and make available practical information on hazardous chemicals.
Governments and stakeholders will be asked to prepare national assessments on children's health and chemical safety as a basic information
tool to identify priority concerns. Governments will also be asked to implement the Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). The GHS, a global hazard communication system with standardized chemical labels and safety information, will enhance workers "right-to-know" about chemical hazards and how to better protect themselves. Labelling will also greatly reduce  inadvertent exposures and poisonings of consumers.
"Success depends on sincere partnership among stakeholders in the conference, i.e., governments, civil societies, private sectors, academics
and international organizations," said Dr Suwit Wibulpolprasert, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Public Health at the Ministry of Public Health,
Thailand. Forum IV will also examine and call for action on the problems associated  with acutely toxic pesticides; the widening gap in the ability of developing countries to keep pace with developed countries in implementing chemical safety policies and conventions; and capacity building for the sound management of chemicals. The meeting will take place from 1-7 November 2003. The IFCS is a broad based alliance of all stakeholders concerned with the sound management of chemicals.  It operates on the basis of full and open participation of all partners, offering  representatives the opportunity to meet to build partnerships, provide advice and guidance, make recommendations and monitor progress.
Forum IV will be opened by Professor Dr Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol of Thailand.