Environmental Disaster Essay

It has been two weeks since Vietnamese officials announced the cause of massive fish deaths along the country's central coast. This is the worst environmental disasters in Vietnam which has caused rare public outrage, with months of mystery and controversies. Whether or not the final decision can make positive changes, however, many deleterious consequences are still ongoing.

Tonnes of fish have been discovered on beaches along Vietnam's central coastal provinces in early April. Other types such as shrimps, clams and squids have also died en mass. After a two-month investigation, Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Corp. took full responsibility for a toxic discharge which led to the environmental disaster. The 10.6$ billion Formosa Steel Plant agreed

However, the two-month findings now said the discharged toxins were phenol, cyanide and ferrous hydroxide which are poisonous substances and may cause harmful effects to the nerve and heart system. Previously, Le Van Ngay, a diver died after diving in the water near the Formosa project due to breathing problems. Five others have been diagnosed with similar symptoms.

This story did not come as a surprise to residents in Taiwan. In 2010, an engineer presented evidence of increasing cancer rates in five rural townships near a Formosa Plastic Group (FPG) in Mailiao, Taiwan.

Taiwanese senior lawmaker Su Chih-feng of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party said: "For me, the Formosa steel plant is a giant monster." She added that Yunlin Country, where FPG's sixth naphtha cracker in Taiwan was located, was so poor that lots of companies wanted to make a long-term investment. However, most of them ended up causing a detrimental effect on public health and environment.

Perhaps we should stop and ask: How could this allowed to come to such a pass in the first place? How could this plant have been allowed to contaminate the sea for so long? Can we imagine there is a proposal to dump such toxins near big cities, such as Da Nang City or Hai Phong