A new international study conducted by Professor Mai Thi Nguyen, co-director Center for Housing Policy and Design, and collaborators shows that people in Vietnam living near Hanoi’s rapidly expanding industrial zones face previously underexamined environmental health risks from contaminated drinking water and unsafe air quality.
“Vietnam’s economic growth has lifted millions of people out of poverty, but our findings show that the environmental conditions where workers live deserve much greater attention,” said Professor Mai Thi Nguyen.
In addition to Professor Nguyen, Dr. Tho Tran of Texas A&M University and RTI’s Jennifer Hoponick Redmon designed and implemented the study.
Additional collaborators included the National University of Civil Engineering and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), highlighting the importance of global collaboration to better understand how rapid urbanization affects worker health.
The study builds on a related prior study focused on the qualitative effects of living and working in industrial zones. Geographically, the Noi Bai district, near the international airport, showed the highest concentrations of lead and manganese in water. Quang Minh and Bac Thang Long recorded the highest PM2.5 levels, and workers living in those neighborhoods also reported poorer health outcomes, including higher depression index scores and more doctor visits.
These findings from can help inform policies to improve housing, environmental monitoring and public health protections in industrializing cities.
Read the full study here.
