Red streaks of sea water found near Taiwanese fish killer's plant in Vietnam

By Duc Hung   February 19, 2017 | 09:00 am PT
Red streaks of sea water found near Taiwanese fish killer's plant in Vietnam
Part of a red strip of sea water detected near Taiwanese Formosa Ha Tinh Steel plant on February 18, 2017. Photo by VnExpress
Authorities say a similar phenomenon observed near Formosa's plant last month was caused by organic pollution.

Workers at Taiwanese Formosa Ha Tinh Steel notorious for last year's mass fish kill have reported two red streaks of sea water at a port near the plant.

One 50-meter stretch ran along the Son Duong Port in Ha Tinh’s Vung Ang Economic Zone in Ky Anh Town, where Formosa is located. It disappeared after a few hours on February 18. The other was detected outside a dam which protects the port from the sea, according to some workers.

Local authorities have taken samples of the water in the area for analysis, said Phan Duy Vinh, deputy mayor of Ky Anh.

The phenomenon is normal, a worker said, adding that no sea creatures had been found dead in the area.

A local floating restaurant owner in Ky Loi Commune said another stretch has also been spotted near Vung Ang Port in the last few days, but it was a regular occurrence. It came up in the afternoon and then quickly disappeared, the owner said.

On January 19, a similar 100-meter long stretch of red sea water was discovered in the area. Analysis has shown that it was caused by organic pollution and waste discharged by humans, said deputy mayor Vinh.

In April 2016, waste water from the Vietnamese unit of Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group killed tons of fish along 200 kilometers of Vietnam’s central coastline.

Formosa Ha Tinh Steel made a public apology and fulfilled its compensation commitment after transferring $500 million to the Vietnamese government in August last year.

Vietnam's central region is expected to take a decade to completely recover from this industrial accident, termed by the government as the country's worst ever environmental disaster.

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