In the News

Formosa Plastics asked to submit detailed safety report

• Publication Date：08/02/2011
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Aaron Hsu

The Industrial Development Bureau ordered on Aug. 1 the Formosa Plastics Group to provide a detailed report within a week describing the steps it will take to ensure safety at its plants.

The IDB made the move one day after the Executive Yuan said the company will soon have to shut down parts of its Mailiao petrochemical complex in Yunlin County.

A total of seven fires have broken out at FPG plants since July 2010, raising serious concerns about the company’s ability to implement safety procedures.

Some reports have suggested that in its determination to cut back operating costs, FPG has sacrificed safety.

According to IDB Director-General Woody T.J. Duh, in its report FPG must provide explanations on why each of the seven fires broke out.

The report also has to list the steps the nation’s largest petrochemical producer will take to prevent other accidents from taking place, Duh said.

The IDB said it will commission a taskforce comprising officials, scholars and industrial experts to assess whether the FPG report is adequate.

“Unless FPG makes an overhaul of its operations and is able to convince the taskforce that it is ready to resume operations, the suspension will continue,” he said.

FPG officials attributed its latest fire to a cracked hydrogen pipeline, but government officials said faulty pressure containers could also be to blame.

To minimize the economic impact that a shutdown could have, the government will require FPG to close one part of its Mailiao plant at a time, government officials said.

Details of the shutdown, including its starting date, still need to be ironed out, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. But the process will begin no later than the end of August, it added.

Some analysts have criticized FPG for not hiring sufficient numbers of patrol officers to monitor facilities. In response, FPG said it would triple the number of safety patrol officers by the end of the year. (HZW)

Write to Aaron Hsu at pj1210meister@mail.gio.gov.tw