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ACCORD TO SHIP TAIWAN WASTE OUT OF CAMBODIA IN TWO MONTHS

Agence France Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan, 5 February 1998 -- Taiwan's petrochemical giant Formosa Plastics Corp. Friday guaranteed it would remove alleged toxic waste that sparked an environmental scare in Cambodia within two months, officials said.

"Formosa Plastics agreed to complete the entire process of clearing the dumping site, repacking the waste and of shipping to a third country in the next 60 days," according to the agreement signed here Friday with three Cambodian officials.

The Cambodian government meanwhile "promised to issue certificates required for the removal of the waste in 30 days."

Formosa Plastics, which insists the waste is not toxic, said on January 3 it would probably be shipped to the United States or Europe for processing.

The waste has been packed into containers to await transportation, but the waste site remains covered in grey debris and witnesses say locals including children continue to pass by it unprotected.

Both Formosa Plastics and Cambodian representatives were tight-lipped about any compensation.

"They did not mention compensation issues," Formosa Plastics President Lee Chih-tsun said.

Om Yim Tieng, an advisor to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, told reporters after the signing of the agreement: "This is a legal affair.

We don't have the right to decide. Formosa also don't have the right."

Om and two other Cambodian environmental protection officials identified as Heng Nareth and So Suvuth arrived in Taipei Thursday.

Local televisions said compensation could be the focus of further negotiations when Lee flies to Phnom Penh at a later date.

The 2,700 tonnes of industrial waste, which Cambodian authorities alleged was contaminated with toxic levels of mercury, was shipped to the port town of Sihanoukville in late November.

After two deaths that were reportedly linked to the consignment, rioting broke out in which the home of the governor was gutted and local government offices were ransacked.

Taiwanese authorities ordered Formosa to recover the waste after tests by a local environment group showed last month it contained 0.284 parts per million of mercury, surpassing safety levels of 0.22 ppm.

Tests carried out by a Japanese expert assigned by the World Health Organization has shown the waste contained harzardous levels of mercury.

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