Pollution and waste violations
In 1999, Formosa Plastics used bribes to dump 3000 tons of mercury-laden waste in Sihanoukville, Cambodia – three local villagers died shortly afterwards, although a report commissioned by the World Health Organization concluded it was unlikely the deaths were due to mercury poisoning.[18][19][20] The company later tried to ship the waste to a hazardous waste site in Nevada.[21]
A 2002 survey undertaken by Scorecard, an environmental watch group, rated Formosa Plastics' facilities in the 90th percentile of the worst environmental polluters.[22]
In 2009, the Taiwanese Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) found that the soil and the groundwater in the area close to Formosa Plastics' Renwu plant had been polluted by benzene, chloroform, dichloromethane, 1,1,2-Trichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, and vinylchloride. The pollutants were all present at levels over 20 times the government standard; and most frighteningly, the levels of 1,2-dichloroethane were 30,000 times higher than the standard.[23]
In September 2009, the United States Environmental Protection Agency announced that Formosa Plastics would spend more than US$10 million to address air, water, and hazardous waste violations from two of the company's plants in Point Comfort and Baton Rouge, after inspectors found leak detection and repair and waste violations at the facilities. Formosa Plastics also agreed to pay an additional civil penalty of US$2.8 million for numerous federal law violations.[24]
In April 2012, Formosa Plastics filed a US$1.3 million civil suit for a tort claim and a criminal suit for defamation against Tsuang Ben-jei, a scientist who works at National Chung Hsing University in Taichung, for presenting evidence of increased cancer risk in the vicinity of the Formosa Plastic Group hydrocarbon-processing facility in Mailiao at a scientific meeting and in a paper. More than 1,000 academics, including chemistry Nobel laureate Yuan T. Lee, signed a letter of support for Tsuang. In September 2013, judges at Taipei District Court ruled against Formosa Plastics.[25]
In April 2016, Formosa Plastics was blamed by numerous protesters and media outlets for mass fish deaths in four provinces of Vietnam since 6 April. On 30 June 2016, the Vietnamese government officially concluded that the local Formosa Plastics affiliate steel plant was responsible for the marine ecological disaster. Formosa Plastics agreed to pay compensation of US$500 million and publicly apologized for the disaster.[26] Controversy grew over rumors that the apology was issued under coercion from the Vietnamese government.[27]
In July 2017, retired shrimper Diane Wilson sued Formosa Plastics in Federal court for up to US$184 million for damages relating to the company's noncompliance with state and federal environmental permits and laws that require companies to report all waste violations, particularly with the discharge of plastic pellets into Lavaca Bay and other waterways from the company's Point Comfort plant.[28]
In March 2019, the trial began and in June 2019, U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt ruled against Formosa Plastics, noting the company's consistent violation of state-issued permits and federal laws.[29] In October 2019, Formosa Plastics agreed to pay US$50 million over five years in a settlement to fund projects reversing water pollution damage in Calhoun County and also comply with "zero discharge" of plastic pollutants in the future, making it the largest settlement of a Clean Water Act suit filed by private individuals.[30] This controversy was portrayed in episode 12 ("Point Comfort") of the Netflix series Dirty Money in 2020.
Plastic pollution continued in Lavaca Bay even after the court settlement.[31]
