Inspection results pending from Formosa steel plant

Representatives from the ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Science and Technology, Construction, Industry and Trade, Public Security, National Defense and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology have taken part in the investigation.

No final official results have been confirmed yet as information gathered during the inspection will be analyzed in Hanoi, an official from Ha Tinh's Department of Natural Resources and Environment told VnExpress.

The delegation had a meeting with the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp. on May 4, and the six groups in the delegation conducted inspections in the Vung Ang Economic Zone during the following days.

Since early April, a reported seventy tons of fish have washed up dead in the central coastal provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien - Hue. On April 27, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said there are two possible reasons for the mass fish deaths.

One is toxic chemicals released by human activities. The other is an abnormal natural phenomenon that causes algae in the water to bloom at an accelerated rate, commonly known as a “red tide”.