South Korea deploys 'floating toilets' after US warning

SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea will spend over half a million dollars on building floating toilets around shellfish farms to boost sanitary controls, officials said on Wednesday, after United States (US) health authorities warned of contamination.

The first of 11 facilities, which each cost 60 million won (S$65,420), appeared on Tuesday off the southern port city of Tongyeong as part of a 1.1-billion-won project by South Gyeongsang province.

The toilets, to be used by crew of the small fishing vessels who work the farms, sit on a floating pontoon that contains a state-of-the-art purification system.

The project was launched after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in June urged restaurants and food outlets to stop selling all fresh, frozen and canned oysters, clams and mussels from South Korea.