A Vietnamese government minister said it’s now secure to swim on most beaches in 4 central provinces where a mass fish kill occurred greater than 4 months ago on account of toxic chemicals released by a Taiwanese steel company.
Online newspaper VnExpress quoted Environment Minister Tran Hong Ha as saying at Monday’s conference that aquaculture is now also secure in most areas, but research by the Ministry of Health is required to find out whether it’s fit for human consumption fish caught inside a 37 km radius of coasts from the 4 affected provinces.
Professor Mai Trong Nhuan, who led a team of Vietnamese and foreign scientists commissioned by the federal government to check the consequences of the disaster, told the conference that chemicals including cyanide and carbolic acids were becoming more dilute, in accordance with VnExpress.
Nhuan said the marine ecosystem, including coral reefs, seagrasses and other marine resources that had been severely damaged, had begun to get well.
The factory, owned by Formosa Plastics Group, admitted in June that it was accountable for pollution that killed large numbers of fish off Vietnam’s central coast, and pledged to pay $500 million for cleanup and compensation for those affected.
The country’s worst environmental disaster has devastated the region’s fishing and tourism sectors.
In a July report back to the National Assembly, the federal government said the disaster had deprived greater than 200,000 people of their livelihoods, including 41,000 fishermen.
The report shows that around 115 tonnes of fish washed ashore on greater than 200 km of the central coast in April. The pollution sparked rare protests across the country.
The $10.6 billion Formosa Plastics steel complex in Ha Tinh Province, which incorporates a steel plant, power plant and deep sea port, is one in all the biggest foreign investments in Vietnam.
