7/4/2016
In news that has surprised approximately no one, Vietnamese officials announced at a press conference last Thursday that a discharge of toxic chemicals from the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel plant was the cause of massive fish deaths along the country’s central coast.
In early April, tons of dead fish began washing up along the coast of Ha Tinh province and neighboring Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue provinces. The government officials said the plant discharged waste water containing toxins including cyanide and phenol into the ocean.
Chen Yuan Cheng (top C), chairman of Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp, delivers an apology in a video clip projected during a press conference announcing the reason of the recent mass fish deaths in central Vietnam, in Hanoi on June 30, 2016.A Taiwanese steel mill has agreed to pay 500 million USD compensation for discharging pollution that decimated Vietnam’s fishing industry in several central provinces this year, officials said. (HOANG DINH NAM/AFP/Getty Images)
Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group, has been ordered to pay $500 million to compensate local fishing communities that have been devastated by the incident, in addition to making significant improvements to the waste treatment facilities at the plant.
The CEO of the steel producer, Chen Yuan Cheng, apologized for the incident in a pre-recorded video shown at the press conference.
So, what are the takeaways from this whole thing? There is no doubt half a billion dollars is a serious whack, but there has been no suggestion of any individuals being held accountable, much less there being any prosecutions. The steel plant is one of the largest foreign investment projects in the country, but the deal gives the impression large corporations can buy their way out of trouble, even if the price tag is extremely high.
It was also announced that the government will assign various ministries, agencies and local authorities to form compensation plans to determine how this money will be dispersed and to help people in affected communities find new jobs.
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Firstly, that is a lot of layers of administration. It can only be hoped that some of that money makes its way to the people who have been impacted by the disaster. Secondly, how you help people who have been fishermen all their lives, from families that have been fishing for a livelihood for generations, and who live in communities where fishing is the main industry find new jobs is an open question and one that is not easily answered.
And then there is the timing and manner of this long delayed announcement. From the beginning, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel was the prime suspect, yet the company strenuously denied it was behind the incident. This was somewhat undermined by the company’s director of PR saying, in essence, that such things were the price you pay for economic development. He was swiftly removed from his position.
Vietnam’s environment minister told local media it took three months to make the official determination because experts from other countries needed to be called in to assist local agencies, and that they didn’t want to make an accusation without sufficient evidence for fear of being sued. It was perhaps a mistake then for the ministry to have announced three weeks after the tons of dead fish began washing ashore that initial tests had cleared the steel plant of any responsibility.
It is not easy to find any positives to come out of this whole thing. However there have been statements from senior officials that environmental regulations around such projects will be tightened and that development will not be pursued at the cost of the environment. Vietnam faces a lot of challenges in this area, but perhaps the harsh spotlight thrown onto the issue because of this incident will spur real action.
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