Taiwan government awaits scrutiny results of recent fires at Formosa

30-Jul-10

To conclude whether the recent fires at Formosa Petrochemical crackers need to be factored into the environmental impact assessment for expansion of the complex, the government of Taiwan awaits results of a probe. If these fires at the complex are found to be isolated incidents, they would not be considered in the environmental impact assessment for the expansion project, but will be subject to scrutiny if findings indicate that the fires resulted from systematic problems. If of the local farmers’ complaints that the fire has polluted rice paddies and fish farms in the neighborhood is pinned to FPG, the company will have to compensate the affected farmers. On 7 July, an explosion halted operations at Formosa’s 700,000 tpa naphtha cracker in Mailiao. This was followed by an explosion at Formosa's No. 6 naphtha crackers’ 73,000 bpd desulphurisation unit at the same site. The two plants were ordered to suspend operations and will not be allowed to resume work until they get the go ahead based on inspections by the Environmental Protection Administration, Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) and fire authorities.