Vietnam Blames Toxic Waste Water From Steel Plant For Mass Fish Deaths

"Vietnam’s government has said toxic discharges from a Taiwanese-owned steel plant were responsible for massive fish deaths that have decimated tourism and fishing in four provinces and highlighted the risks of rapid growth in foreign investment.

An estimated 70 tonnes of dead fish washed ashore along more than 200 km (125 miles) of Vietnam’s central coastline in early April, sparking rare protests across the country after the Taiwanese company denied any wrongdoing.

A government minister, Mai Tien Dung, told reporters on Thursday that Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp, a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group, admitted it had caused the environmental disaster and has pledged $500m to clean up the environment and compensate affected people, including helping fishermen to find new jobs."

The Associated Press had the story July 1, 2016.