Formosa Plastics Group

Explosion, fire at Formosa Plastics refinery injures 3, causes pollution spike

refinery fire yunlin county
Environment 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Three people were injured after an explosion and fire at the Formosa Plastics Mialiao No. 6 refinery in Yunlin County this morning, and the company will be fined for breaches of the Air Pollution Control law. Twenty-three fire trucks and 76 personnel were dispatched from nearby fire stations after reports of the explosion and blaze at around 9:00 am. Yunlin County Fire Department Chief Lin Wen-shan said that the primary combustion material consisted of heavy oil and hydrogen, burning an

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Chemical plant explosion rocks southern Taiwan, heard more than 30 kilometers away

fire at chemical plant in Yunlin County, Taiwan, April 7, 2019
Breaking News 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

An explosion at a chemical plant in an industrial zone in Yunlin county shattered glass in buildings up to two kilometers away, shook houses five kilometers away, and was heard more than 30 kilometers away, according to media reports, today, April 7. Fortunately, there were no human casualties. The explosion occurred at 2:04pm at the Formosa Plastics Group Taihua aromatics plant, at the petrochemical conglomerate’s refinery complex in the Mailiao Industrial Park, and was followed by an intense fire emitting

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People Injured in Worker’s Protest

Business and Economy Protest 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Sixty people, including police and reporters were injured during a protest in Changhua County when protesters clashed with police over the closing down of a chemical plant. Workers at the Formosa Plastics Group factory are facing unemployment after the Changhua County Environmental Protection Agency refused to renew the plant’s operating license. Seven people required treatment at a local hospital after the clash, including a police officer who suffered a fractured finger. A news reporter was also injured. Protesters hurled full

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Vietnam Government Comes Clean on Toxic Waste: Formosa to Blame

protesters hold banners condemning Formosa Plastics Group
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

The government of Vietnam has at last announced the results of an investigation into a massive fish-kill in the central coastal provinces. The fish-kill was caused by toxic pollutants released from a steel-mill owned by Taiwan-based industrial conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group. The announcement was made late afternoon Thursday June 30. Citizens have long known the steel-mill in Ha Tinh Province was responsible for the disaster, but the government, who didn’t respond to the environmental emergency for the first two weeks

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Vietnam Marine Environmental Disaster a Threat to Taiwan’s New South Policy

the greiving wife of a fishing vessel's captain who was killed by a naval missile strike
Business and Economy Environment 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Democratic People’s Party legislator Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) today urged the government of Taiwan to confront the issue of the massive fish-kill in Vietnam that the Vietnamese people are blaming on pollution from a steel mill in Ha Tinh Province controlled by Formosa Plastics Group. Su also called on the Taiwanese industrial giant, and other Taiwanese corporations investing in the region to show corporate responsibility, including respect for the environment and human rights. Su, who represents constituents in Yunlin County pointed

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Vietnam Activists Call for Protests over Fishkill: Obama Petitioned

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan speaks during a press briefing over an environmental crisis concerning mass fish deaths in central Vietnam on April 27, 2016.
Environment 
Phillip Charlier 4 Comments , , ,

Environmental and social activists in Vietnam are calling for protests May 1 after a massive fish-kill, and the government’s failure to act against industrial giant Formosa Plastics Group. While the Vietnam government claimed Wednesday that they have no proof the environmental disaster was linked to the Formosa Group’s steel mill in Ha Tinh Province, they have called for the company to dig up an illegal pipeline that citizens believe discharged toxic chemicals into the ocean. The government has also sent

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Taiwan Company Under Fire for Fish Kill in Vietnam

A Vietnamese villager shows dead fish washed up on the beach
Environment 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

officials could not have anticipated the unprecedented scale of the disaster. ~deputy prime minister, Trinh Dinh Dung A Taiwanese-owned steel mill in Vietnam’s Ha Tinh Province is being blamed for a marine ecological disaster after tonnes of dead fish washed up near a waste-water pipeline that extends 1.5 kilometers into the sea. Vietnam’s normally staid state-media is on the attack (The Nation). Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation operates as a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Corporation (Bloomberg). According to media reports

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