Experts from Vietnam learned the on-site analysis of heavy metals in soils

From November 5^th to 8^th 2018, UfU organized a course about the use of mobile X-ray fluorescence analysis for the fast detection of heavy metals in soils. This year’s course was organized in cooperation with Mientrung Institute for Scientific Research in Huế and is part of the project CapaViet, financed by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

After mRFA-workshops have been carried out in Northern Vietnam in the last years, this year’s workshop took place in the University city Huế in Central Vietnam.

22 scientists and technical personal from environmental departments of the provinces Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Tri, Quang Ngai and Huế learned in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Tim Mansfeldt, professor for soil geography and soil sciences at the Department for Geosciences at the Geographic Institute of the University of Cologne, how they can use the mRFA-technology for their work.

Besides theoretical lectures and work in the laboratory, the hands-on experience of using the spectrometers in the field was especially useful: The participants could use the mRFA-spectrometers to analyse the heavy metal contents in rice fields near Thanh Toan, in the sludge of a wastewater treatment station at an industrial area near Huế and in a handicraft village specialized in the production of bronze statues.

For the first time, the experts had the opportunity to exchange their knowledge about the state of contaminated soils with specialists from other provinces.

Within the workshop, a new publication has been presented, too: The Manual  „Registration of Contaminated Sites in Vietnam: Part 1: Basic Information“, developed from Harald Mark (MSP Bochum) and UfU can be used by the expert to push forward the registration of contaminated areas in their provinces.