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by Stephanie LOW, Taipei Times

Residents of Kaohsiung County's Jenwu township protested angrily yesterday against a plan by the Formosa Plastics Group's (FPG) plan to return a consignment of toxic waste -- rejected by Cambodia after being discovered there, and since then rejected by the US -- to its Jenwu plant for storage.

Members of the Jenwu's public hazard prevention and supervision committee, led by township chief Liu Lung-chuan, adopted a unanimous resolution against the plan, announcing that they would station themselves around the plant starting yesterday to block any attempts to move the shipment. It is currently in temporary storage in Kaohsiung Harbor.

The industrial waste, originating from FPG's Jenwu plant, was deemed in December 1998 by international health and environmental groups to contain excessively high levels of mercury -- soon after it had been sent by a private waste disposal handler to Cambodia.

After the Cambodian government's order to remove the waste from its country, FPG sent it back to Kaohsiung Harbor in April in preparation for transshipment to the US for professional disposal. The plan, however, was subsequently blocked after protests by US environmentalists.

FPG has since proposed plans to build disposal facilities either at its plant in Mailiao, Yunlin County, or at its Jenwu plant, but both the Yunlin and Kaohsiung county governments have rejected the plans.

As the waste's second temporary storage period at Kaohsiung Harbor is scheduled to expire tomorrow, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Wednesday approved the waste's import back into the country so that it can be transported to the Jenwu plant for "temporary storage."

In response to local residents' protests, FPG officials have promised the waste will be properly sealed during transportation and be will be re-processed before it is stored. However, Ting Shan-lung, director of Kaohsiung County's Bureau of Environmental Protection, yesterday expressed concern as to whether FPG would keep its promises.

"Formosa Plastics is not a law-abiding company, but a troublemaker," Ting said. "There is no guarantee that they will do what they say they will."

Ting said the EPA will be held responsible for defying public opinion and for any "consequences" stemming from its decision to allow the company to ship the waste back to the county.

"Also, if residents besiege the plant in demonstration, then the EPA should be held responsible for that as well," Ting added.

Officials from the EPA's Solid Waste Control Bureau said the EPA has demanded that FPG work out a detailed disposal plan that includes preparations for disposal facilities to be built prior to September 2000.

FPG will still need to obtain permission from the local government before undertaking any permanent disposal process.