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TAIWAN CHEMICAL GIANT SEEKING ALTERNATIVE SITE FOR INDUSTRIAL WASTE

Agence France Presse

TAIPEI, Taiwan, 3 May 1999 -- Taiwan petrochemical giant Formosa Plastics Corp. is seeking another site overseas to handle its mercury-contaminated waste after being forced to ship it out of Cambodia, a company official said Monday. The 2,700 tonnes of waste was shipped back from Cambodia to the southern port of Kaohsiung on April 8, the official said.

Formosa Plastics did not apply to re-import the waste and harbor authorities had allowed it to be stored onshore for two months pending reshipment, he said.

The company was looking for an overseas site to process the waste, he said, declining to give details.

The official said Los Angeles authorities had refused to accept the shipment due to incomplete documents and efforts were being made to have the waste processed elsewhere in the US.

Formosa Plastics was forced to remove the waste from Cambodia's southern coastal town of Sihanoukville following riots sparked by rumors that the shipment was linked to two deaths.

The company had claimed the waste was non-toxic and the mercury it contained was within safety standards.

But it was forced to ship the waste out after Taiwan authorities discovered that the mercury level was 0.284 ppm, higher than the 0.22 ppm safety standard.

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