A decade ago, bicycles and three-wheeled pedal taxis rode quietly down the tree-lined streets of Vietnam's capital.
Now, 1.8 million motorcycles and scooters buzz through Hanoi every day in a confused and unrelieved cacophony.
Motorcycles have become the symbol of economic freedom in Vietnam, as its economy surges. But they are also the main source, together with a growing number of cars, of worrying levels of air pollution, officials and experts say.
Hoping to avoid the "grow first, clean up later" pattern that most Asian countries have followed, Vietnam decided several years ago to tighten its lax vehicle emissions laws. But after numerous missed deadlines and sparring between government ministries, environmental groups now say air pollution in Vietnam could get worse before it gets better.
The air in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City contains dangerous levels of benzene and sulfur dioxide, experts say. Levels of one of the most dangerous pollutants, microscopic dust known as PM10, are moderate compared with other developing Asian cities, but could worsen if Vietnam chooses to build coal-fired power plants to meet the demand for electricity, which is growing at double-digit annual rates.
Pham Duy Hien, an expert on pollution, says Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have PM10 levels of about 80 micrograms per cubic meter, double the level in Bangkok and well above the guideline of 20 set by the World Health Organization. Beijing and New Delhi have dirtier air, with levels of 142 and 115, respectively.
At the heart of Vietnam's air pollution problem is dirty fuel, according to Hoang Hai Van, managing editor of the Thanh Nien newspaper, which recently published a series of groundbreaking articles on the topic.
Van says the Vietnamese companies authorized to import fuel are resisting buying higher-quality fuel because it is more expensive.
"The point is that they don't want to import fuel of better quality because they don't want to see a fall in profits," he said in an e-mail message.
The government is divided on the issue, Van and others say. The Ministry of Trade sees the fuel import business as a cash cow, while the Vehicle Registration and Inspection Agency says poor-quality fuel is negating any benefits of higher emissions standards.
In February, car makers based in the country, represented by the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association, sent a letter to the prime minister's office complaining that newer engines would be damaged by the low-quality fuel.
"The issue of fuel quality will have to be addressed sooner or later, but we can't do it all at once," said Dang Duong Binh, director of the environment section of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources, Environment and Housing.
As of July 1, all gasoline stations in Vietnam were supposed to carry fuel compatible with Euro II standards, which were in place in the EU until 2000 and limit levels of benzene, sulfur and microscopic dust, among other pollutants. The EU now imposes significantly stricter regulations, known as Euro IV.
But Van says poor-quality fuel is still being sold.
"In reality, diesel for vehicle use is not up to standards," he said.
The irony for Vietnam is that for several years, it has pumped higher-quality "sweet" crude oil offshore that could produce clean-burning fuel if refined properly, according to Hoang Viet Cuong, a technical consultant and a former employee of Petrolimex, the Vietnamese national oil company.
But with no refineries of its own, Vietnam must send the crude abroad.
"We have very high-quality sweet crude, but then we import low-quality refined oil," Cuong said.
Vietnam is building a refinery, but it will not be working until 2010. Another problem is lax enforcement. Vehicle inspectors have a reputation for accepting bribes, vehicle owners and drivers say. The going rate for a passing grade is around 200,000 dong, or about US$12, they say.
At an inspection station in the Phap Van neighborhood of Hanoi, Do Van Hoa, the head of the station, says about 30 percent of vehicles do not even pass the existing emissions tests, which are well below Euro II standards and do not apply to motorcycles. But Hoa denies accepting bribes.
"It is not the case that we pass the vehicles if someone offers us money," Hoa said.
"We have cameras," he added, pointing to the four corners of an inspection station reeking of car emissions.
Euro II regulations apply only to new vehicles, said Thanh, and there was no plan to subject existing cars and motorcycles to more-rigorous inspections.
"You'll have to be patient and wait until they die out," he said.
But there are also signs of rising awareness about air quality, environmentalists say, and they are encouraged that in a country where information is still tightly controlled, the authorities allowed publication of critical articles like the series in Van's newspaper.
"People were recently outraged after 17 local brands of soy sauce were found to contain a carcinogenic chemical," he wrote in an editorial.
"They should, however, realize that fuels with high pollutant levels are worse than soy sauce since, no matter who uses the fuels, everyone breathes the same air," he wrote.
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