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TOXIC WASTE SPARKS EXODUS FROM CAMBODIA PORT CITY

by CHHAY SOPHAL, Reuters

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia, 28 December 1998 -- Nearly 50,000 residents of Cambodia's southern province of Sihanoukville have fled their homes in fear of waste believed to be toxic that was dumped in the area by a Taiwan firm, police said on Tuesday.

Sihanoukville's police commissioner, Em Bun Sath, told Reuters four people died and 13 were injured in car crashes on Monday as they left the port city in heavy rain.

"Some 30 percent of residents of Sihanoukville province have left (for the capital Phnom Penh) because they are worried (about the waste)," he said.

Sihanoukville's population is just over 150,000. Health Minister Mam Bunheng said the deaths of at least two local residents and five cases of dizziness appeared linked to their involvement in the movement of the waste.

Environment Minister Mok Mareth sought to stem the exodus by appealing to residents not to join in, saying any harmful effect from the waste would be limited to the area it had been dumped.

People should steer clear only of the protective zone near the dump, he added. "I informed them the impact of the waste was limited and does not cover the whole coastal area," he told reporters.

The industrial waste was exported by Taiwan petrochemical giant Formosa Plastics and dumped about 10 km (six miles) from Sihanoukville.

The waste is believed by local environmental inspectors to be compressed ash from an industrial waste incinerator and to also contain hazardous material such as lead, zinc and mercury.

Formosa Plastics has said the material is industrial waste with traces of mercury, but had been certified by Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration as well below hazardous levels and safe for landfill disposal.

Mareth said: "I don't accept the response from the Taiwan company that this material is not toxic.

Mercury is a toxic substance.

"If they thought this waste was really not hazardous why did they ship it to Cambodia at such a high cost?" he asked. Taiwan has said its Environmental Protection Administration hoped to send a team to Phnom Penh to help assess the nature and toxicity of the dumped waste.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the waste sent back to Taiwan immediately, without waiting for results of toxicology tests ordered from Hong Kong and Singapore.

One Cambodian protester died in weekend rioting in Sihanoukville when more than 1,000 protesters sacked the offices of local officials who allowed the waste to be imported.

So far, 30 Sihanoukville officials from the customs, port and police forces, including their chiefs, had been suspended as the investigation continued, officials said.

The streets of Sihanoukville were calm on Tuesday after violent protests by residents over the weekend.

Minister Mok Mareth said more containers and storage materials were being sent to Sihanoukville from Phnom Penh so that workers could prepare to collect and contain the waste.

A team of Thai army and chemistry department officials were expected to come to Cambodia on Tuesay to visit the dump site and offer technical advice, he added.

The Vietnamese government responded to a Cambodian appeal and was sending 500 protective uniforms and masks for workers at the dump to wear when work starts.

(C) Reuters Limited 1998.

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