Explosion at Vietnamese Steel Plant

An explosion rocked Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastics Group's new steel plant in Vietnam late on Tuesday, a day after it resumed test operations for the first time since causing one of the country's worst environmental disasters. "The so-called dust explosion was caused by the combustion of fine particles in the air as a result of an equipment malfunction," Chang Fu-ning, an executive vice president of Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, told Reuters.  The incident is likely to raise fresh concerns about the safety of the $11 billion plant although Chang said there were no casualties and it would have little impact on preparations for the launch of production. "Our equipment, which collects dust, suffered an explosion. We immediately cut off the power supply for a security check. We're trying to find out what caused it," Chang said. The Formosa Ha Tinh Steel plant spilled toxic waste that polluted more than 200 km (125 miles) of Vietnam's coastline in 2016, devastating sea life and local economies dependent on fishing and tourism.