The fourth environmental review meeting for the revised Kuokuang Petrochemical Project was held on Thursday, but no consensus was reached as the company's claims of reduced environmental impact failed to convince the assessment committee.

Several hundred fishermen and students from Changhua gathered outside the Environmental Protection Administration to protest Kuokuang Petrochemical's new development project.

The company recently reduced the scale of the project by 25%, and says that the change will decrease water usage by 45% and wastewater production and greenhouse gas emissions by 40%.

Kuokuang also says that it will create a corridor off of the industrial harbor for Chinese white dolphins, but Changhua residents are unconvinced of Kuokuang's argument that it is not Formosa Plastics.

During the environmental impact review, experts determined that the project, when combined with the effects of the recent fire at Formosa Plastics' sixth naphtha cracker plant, would increase the number of cancer deaths per year by 4,260.

Poet Wu Sheng, meanwhile, told EPA officials that their decision was one of conscience.

A number of committee members found problems with Kuokuang's application, finding parts of it too vague.

Others were opposed to the company's plans to source water from Chuoshui River.

However, only two committee members rejected the application outright, while the majority felt that further reviews were needed to address nine major issues. The next review is expected to take place after Chinese New Year.

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