Experts have called for the government to install a comprehensive pipeline monitoring system to avoid a repetition of the gas explosions that took place in Greater Kaohsiung on Thursday night and early Friday morning, causing at least 28 deaths and leaving 286 people injured.
Petrochemical companies have vast networks of underground pipelines in Kaohsiung, said Chen Chih-yung (陳志勇), professor of chemical engineering at National Cheng Kung University.
“To prevent such a tragedy from recurring, we must have transparency. People have the right to know the real information,” said Chen, who also serves on the board of CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) as an independent director.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
“The government should inform the public where the petrochemical pipelines are buried, then a monitoring system must be installed for the entire petrochemical pipeline network in the city. Also, the government must establish standard operating procedures for emergency responses,” he said.
Chen said the most important thing now is for the government to calm public fears.
“Of course, we must find out who is responsible for the gas explosions, but that is not the priority at this time,” he said. “The first thing to do is to tell the public where the pipelines are laid and where there are no pipelines. Like when an earthquake strikes, information on the epicenter is reported on the news, so people can be alert.”
However, Chen said he knows that if maps of underground pipelines were published, they might affect real-estate prices.
“However, people have the right to know. To understand a situation better can help in prevention. It’s not knowing what and where [the pipelines are] that is most frightening to people,” Chen said.
“CPC is the top boss of Taiwan’s petrochemical industry, so it should be the first to come out and make a comprehensive examination of all the old and aging pipelines,” he added, saying that all petrochemical companies have installed pressure gauges at both ends of pipelines, which help to detect leaks.
However, he said he was not sure whether there are pressure gauges throughout other sections of pipe and added that there are other engineering methods to check on leaks.
“For example, in culvert pipes, monitoring devices are installed at regular intervals. It costs more money to install such systems and there are other factors considered. So we are not sure whether Taiwan’s petrochemical companies have done so,” Chen said.
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’