Police arrested three men and accused them of transporting alleged toxic waste after discovering more than 64 tons of “plastic waste” en route from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh, authorities said.
The three men arrested—Ing Bunheng, Sim Meang and Lach Tharo—were all employed by the Sepakuet import-export company and police suspect the waste was exported illegally to Cambodia from Shanghai, China.
The waste, shipped in five containers and totaling 64 tons and 260 kg, was imported to a dry dock in Phnom Penh from Sihanoukville on Sept 9, So Nguon, chief of the So Nguon Dry Dock where the waste was found, said Tuesday.
He said officials were alerted to the waste on Saturday after they smelled an overpowering stench coming from the five containers.
So Nguon, said he is not involved in transporting or dumping the waste, adding that the So Nguon Dry Dock company receives a fee from customers for holding imported material.
“This is the first time [Ministry of Interior] police seized the plastic waste with this smell,” said Colonel Long Sreng, with the Ministry of Interior. He added that the three suspects are currently being held at the Ministry of Interior, where they will be interrogated.
The authorities did not know how the waste materials came through the port in Sihanoukville, but said it was most likely intended to be dumped at some location in Phnom Penh, Long Sreng said.
One Ministry of Interior official said some countries consider Cambodia a “dumpsite” for their waste.
“This effects our people’s health, but we couldn’t even estimate how much it will effect it because we don’t have test equipment,” the official said.
Although the five containers of waste will be sent back to China, the government has not yet set a date for the waste’s expulsion from Cambodia, said Pen Siman, chief of the customs department.
“We do not permit the import of plastic waste into our country—it is too dangerous,” Pen Siman said.
Toxic waste from foreign countries such as China or Taiwan has reportedly come through Sihanoukville on several occasions. In one high-profile 1998 incident, environmental officials discovered a toxic waste site outside of Sihanoukville which was filled with 3,000 tons of waste allegedly exported from Taiwan.
