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TOXIC WASTE TO BE DUMPED IN TAIWAN

by CHRIS FONTAINE, Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, 1 April 1999, -- Nearly 3,000 tons of mercury-laced sludge dumped in Cambodia will be sent back to Taiwan rather than shipped to a U.S. dump, a disposal company said Thursday.

California-based Safety-Kleen Corp. said in a statement that the waste produced by the Taiwanese petrochemical giant Formosa Plastics Corp. was ``more complex than initially believed,'' forcing it to end plans to dispose of it at its landfill in Westmoreland, Calif., near Los Angeles.

``Formosa Plastics Corporation has made the decision to move the material back to Taiwan where it can be segregated and thoroughly analyzed,'' Safety-Kleen said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday rescinded approval of the waste's import after it received information disputing Safety-Kleen's initial claim that its mercury content was below required safety standards of 0.025 parts per million.

Several independent tests of the waste produced a wide range of toxicity levels, suggesting that its mercury content is not uniform.

The waste was secretly dumped Dec. 5 a few miles from Cambodia's only seaport, the southwestern town of Sihanoukville.

Its discovery and the subsequent death of a dock worker who handled it sparked hysteria and rioting. Four people were killed in traffic accidents when panicked residents fled. Another person who rummaged through the waste also died.

Formosa apologized to Cambodia but refused to accept responsibility or pay compensation. The company agreed to clean up the waste last month, an operation which was being completed Thursday.

The last of 357 freight containers packed with the waste and about 2,000 tons of topsoil were being loaded onto a ship in Sihanoukville, customs officials said Thursday.

California environmentalists hailed the EPA's decision.

``This is an enormous victory for health and environmental justice, and a big defeat for Safety-Kleen and Formosa Plastics who had hoped to turn tiny Westmoreland into an international toxic dump,'' Bradley Angel of Greenaction said Thursday.

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