Liquid waste from a mango processing plant has contaminated public water sources in Phnom Sruoch district, Kampong Speu province. Environment ministry
More than 30 factories and companies were identified as improperly discharging liquid waste in the first five months of the year.
The Ministry of Environment reported that these factories and companies were in violation of environmental technical standards and the Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Code, as they had failed to install automatic monitoring equipment and lacked wastewater treatment systems.
Among them, one has already complied with the ministry’s corrective orders, while seventeen are in the process of doing so.
An additional 13 are preparing documentation to comply with the regulations.
On May 22, the Environmental Compliance Task Force, under the General Department of Environmental Protection, identified two additional companies responsible for environmental pollution. They are Boeung Ket Planting & Industrial Co., Ltd. and Four Seasons Food Taste Co., Ltd, both mango processing facilities in Kampong Speu province’s Treng Trayeng commune, in Phnom Sruoch district.
“The task force found that Boeung Ket Planting & Industrial directly discharged untreated liquid waste into the Peam Tung canal, causing a foul odour and contaminating a local water source used by more than 100 households,” said an environment ministry statement.
Four Seasons was found to be discharging untreated wastewater from storage tanks into a low-lying area to the east of the company’s location. The waste continued to flow into a public drainage canal and then into a natural stream leading toward the Peam Tung reservoir. This has also caused a foul odour and affected the local water supply.
Both companies violated Articles 156, 173, 176, 286, 287, 644, and 826 of the Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Code. The ministry is currently pursuing legal action against them.
The ministry has called on all factory and company owners to refrain from discharging untreated liquid waste, as this negatively affects livelihoods, public health, the environment and the peaceful coexistence of humans and nature. The ministry emphasised that such actions tarnish the reputation and dignity of companies that are complying with the law in Cambodia.
