A coalition of environmental groups, an immigrant workers’ rights group and politicians on Saturday issued a statement calling on Formosa Plastics Corp to reveal the results of an investigation about a pollution incident in Vietnam in April that caused mass fish deaths.
Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp, a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics that runs a steel mill in Vitenam’s Ha Tinh Province, on Thursday admitted that it was responsible for the disaster that caused massive fish deaths in coastal provinces, and delivered an apology, saying it would provide US$500 million in compensation for those affected by the disaster.
While Formosa Plastics accepted responsibility for the pollution, it should make public the Vietnamese government’s investigation, the plant’s pollution monitoring data and a list of 384 tonnes of chemicals used in waste pipes to ascertain the cause of the pollution, the joint statement by the Environmental Jurists Association, Vietnamese Migrant Workers and Brides Office, Taiwan Association for Human Rights and Covenants Watch said.
The company should explain what caused the pollution and how it was caused, as well as its pollution remediation plan, while the fishermen, farmers, families of disaster victims and people who were forced to relocate should be eligible to file for compensation, the statement said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Kun-yuh (吳焜裕), who endorsed the statement, yesterday said the real cause of the pollution remains unknown.
The Taiwanese government must instruct Taiwanese companies to recognize their corporate social responsibilities and take care of the environment and workers when establishing businesses in foreign nations, or the government’s “southbound policy” would be hamstrung if Southeast Asian nations mistrusted Taiwanese business practices, Wu said.
Environmental Jurists Association secretary-general Lin Jen-hui (林仁惠) said Formosa Plastics has yet to reveal what chemicals caused the fish deaths or ensure that future sewage treatment of the plant would not endanger the environment.
“We do not target Formosa Plastics Group for no reason. The company has had a bad record in many nations, including pollution caused by an oil refinery in Texas in the US and a naphtha cracker in Yunlin County, but Formosa Plastics is not willing to properly deal with the pollution it causes,” Lin said.
“Formosa Plastics agreed to the compensation terms with the Vietnamese government without having to go through a legal process. However, the company knows how to take advantage of loopholes in Taiwan’s legal system to avoid taking responsibility for the pollution it causes and it even sued an academic whose study pointed to the pollution caused by the company’s plants,” Lin said, reiterating that the company should make public its environmental monitoring data.
While the company has not replied to the groups’ requests, a company official at an annual meeting of shareholders last month said Formosa Plastics would make public the investigation results of the Vietnam pollution incident, Lin said.
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