Updates on Industrial Wastewater
management in (Lao PDR)
SengKeo TASAKETH

The 18th WEPA Annual Meeting
8 February 2023

contents
1)

Overview;

2)

Regulatory framework for industrial waste water management;

3)

Industrial effluent standards;

4)

Status of effluent monitoring/inspection;

5)

Compliance with regulations for effluent standards ;6)

Issues and challenges;

7)

Conclusion.

1. Overview ofofindustrial
Introduction
Lao PDR waste water as pollution sources• Lao PDR is a landlocked country surrounded byChina, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar.
• Total land area: 236,800 km²• Population: 7,598,176 (2022).
• GDP per capital: US$2,551 (2022

The country depends on natural resources
for growth and exports, in particular,agriculture and forestry products, miningand hydroelectricity.

Industrial sector is mostly natural resourcebased, and while manufacturing appears to
be immature and small

3

2. Regulatory framework for industrial waste water management
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Environment Impact Assessment Decree (2019 Amendment 2022)
Agreement of water sue (2019 Amendment 2022)
National Environmental Standard (2017)
Water and Water Resources Law (2017 Amendment 2022)
Industry Processing Law (2013)
Environment Protection Law (2012)
Waste from Industry Processing Management Regulation (2012); andIndustry Wastewater Discharge Regulation (2005).

Water and Water Resources Law (2017 Amendment 2022 )Article 30 Water Quality Standards and Wastewater Discharge Standards(revised)
Article 31Wastewater discharge Permission (New)

Environment Protection Law (2012 Amendment 2022)
Article 3 Pollution Control Measures (revised)
Article 41 Environmental Certification (new)Article 42 Permission on Pollution Emission (new)Article 43 Environmental Compliance Certificate and Pollution Permit (new)Agreement of water sue (2019 Amendment 2022)
Article 9 Project types or activities to apply use water permission(Surface water)

Article 23 Project types or activities to apply use water permission(Surface water)
Article 48 Certificate on water use permit

3 Industrial effluent standards
National environment standards 2017 (Standards for Water Pollution Control from General Industries)

Parameters

potential of Hydrogen
Total Dissolved Solid

Symbols Standards
valuesthatallowspH
6-8.5≤2,500
TDS

Unit

Analysis methodology-pH Meter
Dry evaporation at temperature103-105 °C, 1 hour
Glass Fiber Filter Disc
Temperature MeterGeneral
Titration
Distillation and Pyridine
Barbituric Acid
Solvent Extraction by Weight
Spectrophotometry
Distillation and Aminoantipyrine
Method 4
Lodometric Method
GCAzide Modification at 20 °C, 5days
Kjeldahl
Potassium Dichromate Digestion

mg/LTotal Suspended Solid
Temperature
Color and Odor
Hydrogen Sulfide

TSS
T
H2S

≤50
≤40None≤1.0mg/L°C
mg/L

Cyanide

CN-

≤0.2

mg/L

Fat, Oil and Grease
Formaldehyde

FOG
CH2O

≤5.0
≤1.0mg/L
mg/L

PhenolC6H5OH≤1.0mg/LCl-≤1.0None
≤30

mg/L
mg/L≤ 100≤120mg/L

Chlorine
Pesticide
Biological Oxygen
Demand 5 Days
Total Nitrogen
Chemical Oxygen

BOD5TKN
COD

mg/L

mg/L

National environment standards 2017
(Standards for Water Pollution Control from General Industries)
Heavy metals
ZincZn≤5.0

mg/L

Chromium Hexavalent

Cr+6

≤0.25

mg/L

Chromium Trivalent

Cr+3

≤0.75

mg/L

CopperCu≤2.0mg/L

Cadmium

Cd

≤0.03

mg/L

BariumBa≤1.0mg/L

AA/AES; ICP

AA/AES; ICP

LeadPb≤0.2mg/L

NickelNi≤1.0mg/L

ManganeseMn≤5.0mg/L

ArsenicAs

≤0.25

mg/L

SeleniumSe≤0.02

mg/L

MercuryHg≤0.005mg/L

AA-Hydride
Generation or ICP
AA - Cold Vapour
Techique4. Status of effluent monitoring/inspection
1.

Project proponents must submit the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)
Report and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) to Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment (MONRE) for requesting EIA permission.
MONRE plays the role of monitoring the following EMP;

2.

Project proponents must submit the project proposal to Ministry of Industryand Commerce (MOIC) for requesting industrial permission. MOIC plays arole of monitoring the wastewater management and treatment process before
its discharge to the environment;

3.

Responsibilities for effluent industry wastewater inspection:➢The central government follows EIA and EPM once time peryear;➢ The local government monitoring follows Initial Environment
Examination (IEE) tow times per year;➢Project owner monitoring daily, weekly and monthly and thenreporting of monitoring result to central and local government.

5. Compliance with regulations for effluent standards• For example: Changes of violation of treated wastewater
quality➢Normally we rely on each facility to monitor and inspectindustrial effluent themselves and report to the Departmentof Natural Resources and Environment Inspection MORE;➢According to the information on EMP report form ownerproject on themselves monitoring result of water quality andcentral/local government almost of industries are following

to EMP and EIA permission are meet the environmental
quality standards.

6. Issues and challenges, future targets/plans for properindustrial wastewater management
1) Access to wastewater treatment technology is still
demitted because most of it is imported from oversea ;2) Investors have not paid enough attention to environmental
management they are use medium- or low-technology for
wastewater treatment plant;
3) Industrial wastewater management must promote quality
investment, innovation/ smart technology and supportedby the government;
4) Human capital development, advanced to monitoring
industrial wastewater effluence and law enforcement;
5) Lack of efficient and accurate water quality data &information sharing7. Conclusion▪ Lao PDR will only be able to rely on growth based on its
natural resources and low-tech industry;▪ The development of industrial zone will take into account astechnologyofwastewater

treatment

plant

must

be

standardized, if increasing volumes of untreated wastewater
discharge to the waterbody/rivers, water environment may

further deteriorate.

Thank you for your Attention
Q&A