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Reuters

The foreign ministry said Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration hoped to send a team to Phmon Penh to help assess the nature and toxicity of the waste, which was found dumped outside the port of Sihanoukville in early December.

"We're willing to help," a foreign ministry statement said.

The environmental agency said it hoped Cambodian officials would protect the integrity of the dump site and allow Taiwan experts to join the inquiry to determine how it got there.

"We want to see where the responsibility lies," the agency said in a statement.

Taiwan's Formosa Plastics has acknowledged being the source of the 3,000 tonnes of waste and that it contained traces of mercury, but said it was certified in Taiwan as safe for landfill disposal.

On Monday, a Formosa executive said the petrochemical giant would respect any Cambodian decision but stopped short of saying it was preparing to bring the waste back to Taiwan.

Taiwan's environmental agency said Formosa would be responsible for returning the waste to Taiwan if it is found to be toxic.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the waste sent back to Taiwan immediately, not waiting for the results of toxicology tests ordered from Hong Kong and Singapore.

The case has claimed at least one and possibly six lives.

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

Health authorities were looking into unconfirmed reports that two Sihanoukville residents had died and five suffered dizziness after coming into contact with the waste.

Three people were reported killed on Monday in road accidents as they fled the affected area.

Cambodian residents reportedly had salvaged some of the bags for rice storage before being alerted to the potential danger.

As of Monday, 30 Sihanoukville customs, port and police officials, including their chiefs, had been suspended as the investigation continued, officials said.

Cambodian inspectors said some of the waste appeared to be compressed ash from an industrial waste incinerator, possibly containing hazardous material such as lead, zinc and mercury.

Taiwan's foreign ministry, which has no diplomatic ties with Phnom Penh, said action was impossible without fuller details of the incident, noting that it had been relying on news reports.

Cambodia recognises only Taiwan's arch rival, China.

Formosa said the material found in Cambodia actually dated back to 1993, when it was first certified it as having safely low levels of mercury contamination.

The problem was no landfill in Taiwan would take it in the face of protests by local opponents, Formosa said.

(C) Reuters Limited 1998.