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ONE DEAD IN CAMBODIAN PROTESTS AGAINST TOXIC WASTE

Reuters

SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia, 20 December 1998 (Reuters) -- One rioter died on Sunday morning as 1,000 people stormed offices of local authorities in the Cambodian port city of Sihanoukville, police said on Sunday.

Chanting dock workers and residents were protesting against allegedly toxic waste imports from Taiwan that may have killed two people and sickened others.

In a second day of unrest, protesters burst into the offices of the Cambodian Shipping Agency Broker, KAMSHAB, near the port and began throwing office furniture from the top floor of the government agency.

``One demonstrator died when he was trying to take property from the government building of KAMSHAB. He fell out of building,'' said Kheng Wicheth, chief of an immigration police base at the scene of the violence.

Two passersby were also injured by falling furniture, he added. The crowds later burnt some office furniture and a motorcycle.

The protests were aimed against company and government officials who had cleared the import of 3,000 tonnes of industrial waste from Taiwan petrochemical giant Formosa Plastics.

The waste had been dumped about 10 km (six miles) from Sihanoukville. It 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 that did contain traces of mercury, but had been certified by Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration as being well below hazardous levels and was safe for landfill disposal.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has demanded that the waste be sent back to Taiwan immediately and appealed for help from the United Nations, World Health Organisation and other world environment agencies to resolve the problem.

Health Minister Mam Bunheng said the deaths of at least two people and five cases of dizziness appeared connected to those involved with the movement of the waste.

Kheng Wicheth said the demonstration had spun out of control and that police lacked equipment to control the crowds.

One of the protesters, Hen Yon, 42, who lives near the dump site site said local people were angry and frustrated.

``I want the corrupt officials to send back home the waste immediately,'' he told Reuters. ``I worry about my family's health because of the Taiwanese waste.''

Premier Hun Sen has warned that any government official found to be involved in the incident would be suspended and punished.

The director of a Cambodian company that imported the waste is still being questioned by police.

Cambodia's environment minister, Mok Mareth, told Reuters on Sunday that work would begin immediately to prevent the waste contaminating water supplies.

``We need to cover the waste immediately with plastic so it will prevent any further damage to the surrounding area,'' he said. ``We will use bulldozers and tractors to create a protective soil wall around the dump.''

Samples of the waste have been taken to Hong Kong for testing, but no results have been released. Cambodia lacks the facilities and expertise to carry out any testing itself.

A technical expert from the United Nations is expected to arrive in Cambodia on Monday to help analyse the suspect material.

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