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JAPAN EXPERT SAYS CAMBODIA WASTE MUST BE MOVED

Reuters

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, 27 December 1998 -- (Reuters) - An adviser to the World Health Organisation said on Sunday that mercury-tainted industrial waste from Taiwan dumped in Cambodia may be a long-term health hazard and should be removed as soon as possible.

Mineshi Sakamoto, a mercury poisoning expert from the Japanese environmental agency's Minamata Institute, said available data, including tests conducted in Singapore, were not sufficient to make any firm conclusion about the toxicity of the waste.

His report said that the 3,000 tonnes of waste, which came from Taiwanese industrial giant Formosa Plastics Corp, did not pose an ``immediate or short-term threat'' to the population of Sihanoukville, the province where it was dumped. But it added: ``As the waste may pose long-term risks to the population in the area, it should be removed as soon as possible in a safe way.''

News of the waste sparked riots in the port of Sihanoukville a week ago in which one person was killed as protesters sacked offices of officials they blamed for allowing its import.

Four more died in a panicked exodus of more than 10,000 people fearing contamination, while the Health Ministry has said the deaths of at least two residents appeared linked to unprotected movement of the waste.

Sakamoto, who was brought in by the WHO to help assess the extent of the problem, said tests he had conducted at the site had detected no abnormal radiation or mercury vapour.

But he said the dump site about 10 km (six miles) from Sihanoukville town should be secured from scavengers, children and other unauthorised persons as well as domestic animals.

He said soldiers and workers involved in clearing the waste should wear protective suits and anyone who had taken waste from the site should notify the authorities to have it removed.

Sakamoto said he was taking samples of the waste for tests in Japan as well as of blood, urine and hair from port workers who had complained of sickness after handling the waste.

On Friday, Sakamoto said preliminary tests results from Singapore released by Cambodia's Environment Ministry showed a ``very high'' and potentially dangerous concentration of mercury.

Analysis of samples from the site showed a total mercury concentration of 675 parts per million but Sakamoto said further tests would be needed to determine the type of mercury concentration and therefore how dangerous it was.

Formosa has said the cement-like material is tainted with mercury but has been certified by Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration as safe for landfill disposal.

The firm said on Saturday it would send environmental experts and lawyers to Cambodia to try resolve the row but stopped short of saying whether it would take back the waste as demanded by Phnom Penh.

Cambodia has threatened to sue Formosa to compensate for the damage the waste had inflicted at Sihanoukville, where it turned up in early December.

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