NOT IN OUR BACKYARD

But, for Ut Touch and her eight children, that's exactly what has happened.

Korean waste, this time, again at Sihanoukville.

SIHANOUKVILLE - Ut Touch and her eight children know exactly what it means to live

next to a dumpsite. Since May, the family have woken up every morning to 650 tons

of Korean waste, which was dumped unceremoniously next to their house.

The shipment, which appears to be mostly plastic-based, was to be used to make nylon

rope, according to Em Bunsat, Chief Police Com-msioner of Sihanoukville.

But, he added, a local RCAF official, Khieu Sophat, whose company Sophat International

imported the waste, was now in jail because he did not have a license to import the

material.

"Before, we were alright, but after the people were talking about the poisoning,

we feel sick", said 45-years-old Touch Jan 2.

She said that since the story of the Taiwanese toxic dump became known, the owner

of the company came to the site near her house to put the waste into bags and build

a fence around the dump. He asked her to help collect the waste and paid her 300

riel to collect fifty sackloads.

Minister of Environment Dr Mok Mareth said that samples from this second dump had

been sent for testing in Thailand.

He was expecting results in the near future. He added that representatives of the

Korean Embassy had been to see him to express their concern about the site.

"The Korean Embassy are wondering why this waste has been dumped in Cambodia",

he said. The officials said the waste was supposed to go to another country.

"This waste must be sent back," said Mareth. "It cannot be buried

in this country".