Toxic Dumping by Formosa Plastics Group
in Cambodia (CAMWASTE)
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I. Identification
On November 30, 1998, a shipment of compressed industrial ash arrived in Sihanoukville, a sea-side town 115 miles south-west of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. The 3,000 ton shipment, made up of large blocks of material partly encased in plastic, passed through the port without incident and was unloaded from the Taiwanese vessel Chang Shun by dock-workers. The waste was then transferred to a dumpsite in the outskirts of Sihanoukville, roughly 1000 meters away from the Battrang commune where almost 3000 villagers lived.
The dumpsite was left unguarded. The plastic sheeting that covered the waste was extremely attractive to the local people, who could use it to waterproof huts and build fences. According to a report by Human Rights Watch, within hours the dumpsite became overrun with villagers. Scavenging in the waste, they detached the valuable plastic sheeting with knives, hands and teeth. Like the dock-workers who had unloaded the consignment in the port, the villagers were completely unaware of what the blocks of material they were handling contained. [Human Rights Watch Report]
Within a few days, villagers began complaining of fever and diarrhea. One of the dock-workers responsible for cleaning the hold of the Chang Shun was hospitalized on December 16, 1998, and died that same day. Environmental officials sent samples of the waste to laboratories for tests that concluded the material contained dangerously high levels of mercury. The discovery that the waste was toxic sparked chaos in and around Sihanoukville. In the three days of demonstrations and rioting that followed, parts of the town were ransacked and government buildings came under attack. The Deputy First Governor of Sihanoukville, Khim Bo, tried to calm the crowds, but his house became a target of the angry residents. The frenzied exodus of up to 10,000 people from Sihanoukville resulted in another five fatalities on the roads toward the capital, Phnom Penh.
After the misery of previous decades, the toxic dumping presented the Cambodian people with yet another threat to their safety. In the early 1970s, Cambodia endured B-52 carpet bombing by the U.S. that killed thousands of civilians. Before the country could even begin to recover, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge wiped out around 2 million people (a quarter of Cambodia's population) in the 'killing fields' in the late 1970s.
UN-administered elections and the re-instatement of Norodom Sihanouk as King of Cambodia brought some stability in the early 1990s. In 1997-8, however, after a period of stronger economic performance and relative stability, civil violence and the Asian economic crisis resulted in further problems in Cambodia. The tourism industry that had been growing steadily began to decline, affecting places like Sihanoukville that was being developed as a tourist attraction. As if all this wasn't enough, at the end of the 1990s this economically and politically ravaged nation seemed to have become a dumping ground for potentially deadly waste.
When questioned about the shipment, a FPG spokesman admitted that some of the waste might "slightly exceed" recommendations for safe mercury levels. However, tests carried out in laboratories in various parts of Southeast Asia all showed dangerously high levels of mercury. One test, carried out by a laboratory in Hong Kong, revealed that the material contained up to 10,971 parts per million, more than "slightly" exceeding the safe limit of 0.2 parts per million set by Taiwanese regulations.
Mercury that is ingested by humans through contaminated food or water can inflict serious damage to the brain and central nervous system [Environment Cluster]. Because of the great health risk to residents should their water supply become contaminated, tests were also run to determine if the mercury had 'leached' out into the soil. The 'toxic characteristic leaching procedure' (tclp) carried out by the Taiwanese Environmental Protection Agency showed levels that slightly exceeded Taiwanese regulations, therefore proving potentially hazardous for people living around the Sihanoukville dumpsite. As a result of this discovery, the Taiwanese EPA concluded that FPG had unlawfully exported the waste and ordered its removal from Cambodian soil.
The waste was stored from April in a the hold of a ship in Kaohsiung Harbor, south Taiwan. Harbor officials were reluctant to store the 35 barrels, but agreed to do so on the condition that this was a temporary arrangement. Lily Hsueh of the Taiwan Environmental Action Network said her organization was very happy the waste had finally been removed from Cambodian soil. 'Now', she continues, 'international groups must stand vigilant and in solidarity to ensure this waste is stored safely and above-ground on Formosa Plastics' property.' It seems Hsueh may have her wish. FPG experienced major difficulties finding another disposal site overseas. In August 1999 the Environmental Protection Agency in Taiwan granted FPG permission to dispose of the waste at its petrochemical complex in Mailiao and at another plant in Kaohsiung County, Taiwan. However, protests by angry residents near the two sites mean that FPG may continue to deal with the fall-out from this incident for some time.
| TED Cases | BASEL case BASMEX case | BENIN case FLORIDO case | MINAMATA case NIGERIA case | NKORNUKE case SOMALIA case |
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| Related Sites | Greenpeace: Toxic Free Future | Human Rights Watch: Cambodia Toxic Dumping Report | Basel Action Network
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Keyword Clusters
(1): Trade Product = WASTE
(2): Bio-geography = Tropical [TROP]
(3): Environmental Problem = Land Pollution [POLL]
II. Legal ClusterIn June, 1999, two Taiwanese men were convicted in absentia in a Cambodian municipal court for their role in the dumping. The men, Chang Ku Fung and Kao Chee Song, were employed by Jade Fortune International Ltd., a Taiwanese company contracted by Formosa Plastics to export waste in 1998. The men were accused of falsifying the documents necessary for allowing the shipment into Cambodia. They were fined $480,000 and sentenced to five years of jail for violating health, safety and environmental laws.
Charges were dropped against three other Cambodian officials who were also due to stand trial. Sihanoukville court prosecutor Mam Mith explained that those three officials 'just performed their duty, and they did not know that the nearly 3,000 tons of waste was contaminated.' The prosecutor described the two convicted men employed by Jade Fortune, on the other hand, as responsible for 'bringing the mercury-tainted waste into Cambodia.' Jade Fortune, known also as Ching Fu Enterprise, is not certified by the Taiwanese EPA to handle hazardous material, making FPG's shipment of the waste and the convicted men's role even more unlawful.
The booming global trade in poisonous wastes prompted representatives of the world’s governments to gather in Basel in 1989 to sign the first ever agreement on the regulation of the toxic waste trade. The specific focus of the meeting was the control of toxic wastes produced in industrialized countries being exported to the developing world, whose countries are often the most ill-equipped for the safe disposal of poisonous material. The Convention was signed by 115 countries and has entered into international law.[BASEL case]
The UNEP 'Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste' (Basel Convention) states the following definitiions and obligations its signatories:
Though the Basel procedure of prior informed consent was clearly violated in the CAMWASTE incident, neither Cambodia or Taiwan are signatories of the Basel Convention. As the Basel Convention does not, therefore, apply to this case, the two countries are attempting to deal with the incident through their own courts.
The Cambodian investigation into the waste importation has been conducted by Chief Judge Huon Mony, who named nine of the officials suspended in connection with the incident as targets of the investigation. Judge Huon Mony's task was made difficult by the fact that, at the time of the dumping, Cambodia had no law explicitly forbidding toxic waste imports. Furthermore, the two Taiwanese businessmen accused of orchestrating the trade for Formosa Plastics had long fled Cambodia, making their prosecution in a Cambodian municipal court a mere formality. Taiwan is facing similar problems in addressing the incident. The maximum fine that can be imposed on Formosa Plastics by the Taiwanese government is US$4600: hardly a sufficient punishment for the damage caused to the health and environment of Sihanoukville's residents. Formosa Plastics has, however, agreed to pay some compensation. In February, 1999, the company accepted partial responsibility for the medical treatment of those residents affected by the waste. Under the agreement made in Phnom Penh, any person diagnosed as suffering from the effects of the waste for a period of one year will be granted medical care by the company.
III. Geographic Clustera. Geographic Domain: ASIA
b. Geographic Site: EAST ASIA
c. Geographic Impact: CAMBODIA
Cambodia is a tropical country that shares borders with Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. The country is a little smaller than Oklahoma, and is home to roughly 11.5 million people. Cambodia's land consists of mostly low, flat plains, dominated by forests and paddy-fields. The great Tonle Sap lake in the north and the Mekong river that runs through the country are two striking natural features of Cambodia's landscape. The country's monsoon season extends from May to November, its dry season from December through April.
Sihanoukville is Cambodia's only port and is currently being pushed as a tourist attraction due to its miles of white sand beaches. Known also as Kampong Saom, it is located on the Gulf of Thailand 115 miles southwest of the capital, Phnom Penh. The dumping of the toxic waste there by FPG was carried out at the beginning of the dry season: the one fortunate aspect of the Sihanoukville case for its residents. Because of the lack of rainfall, the mercury had less chance of seeping into the water supply of the local people.[Environment Cluster]
IV. Trade Clustera. Directly Related to Product: YES: Waste
b. Indirectly Related to Product: NO
c. Not Related to Product: NO
d. Related to Process: YES: Pollution, Land
V. Environment Cluster Toxic waste, when not contained or disposed of effectively, can have serious implications for the health of local people and the environment in which they live. Mercury is a particularly hazardous pollutant. Humans are at risk of poisoning if they inhale vapors, absorb mercury through their skin or ingest contaminated food or water. Chronic, long-term mercury poisoning can attack the brain and cause permanent damage to the nervous system. Such poisoning has proved devastating in Asia in the past. 
In the 1950s, residents of Minamata, an industrial town in southwestern Japan, were poisoned after years of eating fish from waters contaminated by a local chemical factory. Victims suffered damage to speech and vision and experienced violent shaking of the limbs. The damage to health was long-term: for years afterward, women affected by the poisoning were giving birth to deformed babies. As a result of this tragedy, mercury poisoning is often referred to now as 'Minamata disease.'[MINAMATA case]
The health risk to local people seemed to be confirmed by complaints of residents ranging from dizziness and fatigue to fever, exhaustion, diarrhea, vomiting and severe stomach pains. Human Rights Watch estimates that some fifty percent of the villages in one of the three sections of Battrang commune fell ill within a few days of the dumping. The tragic death of Pich Sovann, the dock-worker who cleaned the hold of the Chang Shun, on December 16 seemed to confirm how hazardous the waste was to local people. The waste has now been removed from Cambodian soil. Japan's National Institute for Minamata Disease reported that one 'redeeming feature' in what they referred to as 'a tragic affair' was the lack of rainfall during the time the waste was left exposed. Because the shipment had been dumped during Cambodia's dry season, little rain had fallen that could have resulted in seepage of the mercury into the water supply. The fact that the mercury was discovered and removed relatively quickly is a positive sign for the health of local residents. However, only time will tell whether or not there will be long term effects on the Sihanoukville environment.
VI. Other FactorsThe human rights of the residents of Sihanoukville were violated by the Formosa Plastics incident. The toxic materials were dumped without any regard to the health and safety of these residents. Though the material has now been removed, the environmental implications of the incident are still unknown.
"Tests Show High Mercury at Cambodia Dump Site", New York Times, December 26, 1998.
"Hold the Garbage, Thanks: Forty million tons of toxic trash a year trades globally. It must stop", Asiaweek, January 15, 1999.
"Cambodia Wallows in Toxic Waste", Nation: Emerging Markets Datafile, January 27, 1999.
"Group Against Taiwan Waste in Cambodia ending in U.S.", Japan Economic Newswire, April 1, 1999
"Formosa Plastics still plans to send waste from Cambodia to U.S.", Deutsche Presse-Agenteur, April,1, 1999
"Cambodian court sentences Taiwanese duo in toxic waste scandal", Deutsche Press-Agentur, June 16, 1999.
"Group against Taiwan waste in Cambodia ending in the U.S.", Japan Economic Newswire, April 1, 1999.
"Cambodia- Rights lobby backs rioting- Part of human rights claim," Business News Review (Cambodia), May 31, 1999
"European Chemical New - Waste Fine", FT Asia Intelligence Wire, Chemical News Database, July, 7, 1999
Human Rights Watch 1999 Report:'Toxic Justice: Human Rights, Justice and Toxic Waste in Cambodia
EarthAction: "Bury the Toxic Waste Trade" http://www.earthaction.org/en/Past/96-07-Toxic/bground.html
[visited September 9, 1999]
Christoph Hilz. The International Toxic Waste Trade. New York: Van Nostrand, 1992.
Dean D. Murphy (1993). ‘The Basel Convention on Hazardous Wastes.’ Environment, 35:2, pp. 42-3.
b. Graphics
Matt Barka, 1999