A Taipei Times special investigative report into the aftermath of the Formosa Plastics Group's dumping of toxic waste in the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville in December 1998, has prompted Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) to demand a reinvestigation of the safety of the former dumpsite and the health condition of nearby villagers and port workers "as soon as possible."
Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) recently was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
In a letter to The Phnom Penh Post, MSF's Cambodian representative Maurits Van Pelt describes the Taipei Times report of chronic illnesses and the deaths of as many as 14 residents of the Bettrang Commune -- directly downstream from the former dump site -- as "alarming news ... not what we expected to happen."
"We thought the health problems would disappear rather quickly," Van Pelt said. "However, if, as we read, by now 14 strong and healthy people have died, it strengthens earlier suspicions that other toxins [besides mercury] are involved as well."
MSF provided treatment to port workers and Sihanoukville residents who handled the 2,900 tons of FPG mercury-tainted waste that were dumped in an open field some 15km outside Sihanoukville last December. In February 1999, MSF conducted a one-month study of 1,300 individuals exposed to the waste that indicated the health effects were strictly short-term.
Two individuals died displaying symptoms of acute mercury poisoning just days after the dump-ing, while nearby residents and Sihanoukville port workers complained of chronic fatigue and dizziness since exposure to the waste.
"As it looks, it is recommended to appoint as soon as possible a highly qualified independent toxicologist to reinvestigate the situation," Van Pelt said..
Although he further noted that the type of sophisticated testing required to establish links between the FPG waste and chronic health problems "far exceeds [MSF] competence," he has offered to provide "many thousands of pages of health data" gathered by MSF teams to more qualified investigators.
"Hopefully, these medical records can help independent scientists to establish objectively the deterioration of the health of the victims as a consequence of their contact with [FPG] waste," Van Pelt wrote in his letter to the Post.
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