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Over 200,000 people affected by toxic pollution by Taiwanese firm, says Vietnam

The pollution from a unit of Formosa Plastics Group caused at estimated 115 tonnes of fish to wash ashore and also decimated tourism in central provinces

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Tran Hong Ha, Vietnam’s minister of natural resources and environment. Photo: AFP
Associated Press

The Vietnamese government said the toxic pollution a Taiwanese-owned company has acknowledged discharging from its steel complex has harmed the livelihoods of more than 200,000 people, including 41,000 fishermen.

The pollution from a unit of Formosa Plastics Group also decimated tourism in central provinces, the Thanh Nien newspaper on Friday quoted the government saying in a report to the National Assembly.

Formosa acknowledged late last month that it was responsible for the pollution and pledged to pay US$500 million to clean it up and compensate affected people.

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An estimated 115 tonnes of fish washed ashore along more than 200km of Vietnam’s central coast in April, the report said adding 14 tonnes of farmed fish and 67 tonnes of farmed clams have died.

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The incidents sparked rare protests across the country. Photo: AFP
The incidents sparked rare protests across the country. Photo: AFP
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