10/10/2016
On June 30th, 2016, the Government of Việt Nam organized an official press conference to announce: the Formosa Hatinh Steel Corporation caused the environmental problem leading to the mass of dead fish along the coastal of four Central provinces.
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| Representative of Formosa Company publicly appologized Vietnamese |
The scientists determined that a huge amount of wastewater was generated from Vũng Áng, Hà Tĩnh province. The wastewater contains extremely toxic substances such as phenol and cyanide in combination with iron hydroxide to form a compound which has higher density than sea water. Then it moves with sea current from Hà Tĩnh to Thừa Thiên - Huế province. This compound is the reason for the mass of dead fish and other sea species, especially at the seabed. The extremely toxic compound had polluted over 200 km of coastal, leading to the death of nearly 100 tons of natural fish and 70 tons of farming seafood, causing seriously economic losses.
Formosa had to admit a breakdown in their wastewater treatment system related to activation of microorganism. It leads to the wastewater discharged into the sea without treatment. Formosa admitted their violation and publicly apologized to the Party, State, National Assembly, Government and Vietnamese.
5 commitments of Formosa
Besides the official apology, the Formosa Hatinh Steel Corporation also pronounced 4 commitments: compensation for economic losses and supporting for employment change; responsibility for pollution treatment and environmental recovery in the coastal of four Central provinces of Việt Nam with total amount of 11,500 billion VND (about 500 million USD); complete improvement and strict solving limitations of wastewater treatment system, improvement of production and guarantee for strict treatment of waste before discharging into the environment to meet the environmental standards, regulations of authorities at both central and provincial levels.
At the same time, Formosa will coordinate closely with Ministries and sectors at Central and provincial levels to implement comprehensive solutions for controlling pollution on coastal regions, preventing pollution. For long term, Formosa will fully and exactly implement the mentioned commitments, not repeating the violation. If not, the Company will have to receive strict penalties according to Vietnam’s law and regulations.
Continue to repair the damages and recover environment
To gradually recover environment and production activities, the Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc requested relevant Ministries, sectors and provincial authorities urgently and comprehensively carry out: compensation and supporting for changing employment of local residents in accordance with regulations andpractical situation; ensure transparency; with participation and supervision of community. In addition, the Prime Minister asked the Formosa Hatinh Steel Corporation to fully and strictly implement their commitments; install environmental monitoring system in the coastal region of four Central provinces; publicize information on environmental quality; carry out solutions to recover polluted coastal environment; develop local economy; protect proper benefits of residents and enterprises.
Phạm Đình
