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Premier sets deadline for probe report on refinery fire
2010/07/31 20:00:56 |
Taipei, July 31 (CNA) Premier Wu Den-yih ordered Saturday that Formosa Petrochemical Corp. submit an investigation report on Aug. 6 detailing reasons behind a recent fire at its Mailiao oil refinery in Yunlin County and plans for improvement.
"Formosa Petrochemical's No. 6 naphtha cracker plant in Mailiao will not be allowed to re-open unless the cause of the fire is discovered and operating safety is fully guaranteed, " Wu said while on an inspection tour of the Taichung area in central Taiwan.
Wu said the Council of Labor Affairs will invite academics to take part in the review, following a suggestion by Yunlin County Magistrate Su Chih-fen.
"The most important thing for now is to mitigate the damage of the fire, regardless of political affiliation in central and local governments," Wu said, adding that "everyone knows very clearly which party was in power in the central government from 2000-2008."
The fire at the company's No. 6 naphtha cracker plant on July 25 -- the second fire in a month -- provoked anger from local residents, but the premier praised the handling of the incident by both the Yunlin County government and Formosa Petrochemical.
"Both have properly dealt with the fire," he said.
Wu inspected the facility Friday and ordered the plant to remain closed. Operations have been suspended since the fire broke out.
It is estimated Formosa Petrochemical could suffer losses of about NT$20 billion monthly while the plant is shut, undermining the profits of its affiliates.
Formosa Petrochemical Chairman Wang Wen-yuan made a public apology on Friday, offering assurances that his company will take good care of the problem and issue compensation where necessary.
Commenting on a Taipei High Administrative Court ruling Friday that an expansion project at the Central Taiwan Science Park in Erlin Township, Changhua County be shelved temporarily due to environmental concerns, the premier said he will ask government agencies to review the issue.
The Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) approved the project last November after it passed an environment impact assessment. Erlin residents filed an appeal with the Taipei High Administrative Court, however, asking that the project be halted or scrapped because of EPA negligence in the assessment. The court ruled in their favor.
The panel of judges said the ruling was not a final verdict, but a contingency measure to safeguard the interests of local farmers who are losing land because of the science park expansion. (By C. P. Chen and Flor Wang) enditem/bc
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