A new, advanced analyzer will make it much easier for the Environ-mental Protection Administration (EPA) to study mercury levels in the environment, as well as the metal's effects on public health.
The newly-purchased mercury analyzer, which costs NT$2 million, will mainly be operated by the administration's Environmental Analysis Laboratory.
It will be used to examine samples collected from seriously polluted rivers, such as the Erjen River in Tainan County, to map out a clear picture of the distribution of mercury in the environment.
Whereas conventional methods of measuring mercury levels in people's hair take up to five hours, the new analyzer is able to produce a result in seven minutes.
"With the efficient mercury analyzer, Taiwan's investigations into mercury levels in the environment and on the health effects of low-level exposure to mercury can be carried out efficiently," deputy EPA administrator Tsay Ting-kuei (
Hair is regarded as a meaningful and representative body tissue for the biological monitoring of most toxic metals, such as mercury and lead. Scientists have suggested that the relationship between levels of metal in hair and human health is a complex process related to exposure, absorption and tissue distribution of essential and toxic elements.
In 2000, scientists claimed that lead poisoning had caused the composer Ludwig van Beethoven's chronic illness. Beethoven died in 1827 at age 57. Researchers found unusually high levels of lead in eight strands of Beethoven's hair, with concentrations 100 times the levels of lead commonly found in people today.
Nowadays, in addition to lead, mercury has become a hot topic among Western scientists.
The chemical is found naturally in the environment in several forms. In its elemental form, mercury is a shiny, silver-white, liquid metal used in thermometers and some electrical switches. It can also be combined with other elements to form inorganic compounds.
A trial analysis has been conducted at the EPA lab. Hairs sampled from 104 people living in northern Taoyuan County were analyzed.
Results showed mercury levels ranging from 0.012ppm to 9.08ppm. The average level was 2.29ppm. The mercury level in about 24 percent of samples exceeded 1ppm, a reference level set by the US.
In a survey conducted early this year in the US involving 1,449 samples, the hair mercury level in only 20.3 percent of targets exceeded 1ppm.
"This doesn't mean that Taiwanese are exposed to higher levels of mercury in the environment. We need to increase the number of our samples to more than 1,000 in order to get more scientific results," said Wang Cheng-hsung (
Wang said that it is still uncertain which factors cause higher mercury levels in hair, but a link to age and diet could not be ruled out.
"We found that the hair mercury levels of elderly people and those who eat lots of fish are higher," Wang said.
EPA officials said that the main sources of mercury in the environment are incineration, the steel industry, the cement industry and waste treatment.
SCENARIOS: A potential conflict with Beijing would not be similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and China would target energy and food supplies, a researcher said China is likely to continue using economic and cyberoperations against Taiwan to force it to capitulate without resorting to a military attack, Fox News reported yesterday, citing the outcome of a tabletop exercise. Washington-based think tank the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) earlier this month held a tabletop exercise in Taipei focusing on Beijing’s use of economic and cybercoercion against Taiwan. The FDD mentioned an “anaconda strategy,” in which Beijing would likely use cyberwarfare and disinformation campaigns followed by a blockade or other measures to strangulate Taiwan, rather than attempting an invasion, the report said. A large-scale cyberattack would be
HSINCHU CASES: Five people among 35 who were reported being sick were still in hospital after eating at a vendor in a market in Jhubei, the local health agency said Thirty-five people have sought medical treatment for acute symptoms after allegedly eating banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) from a vendor in Jhubei City (竹北), the Hsinchu County Public Health Bureau said yesterday. The bureau said that since Saturday, it has received several reports of suspected food poisoning from hospitals. The vendor has been ordered to temporarily suspend its business, it said, adding that tests were being conducted to determine whether the people had food poisoning, with results expected in about two weeks. A preliminary investigation showed that the people who sought treatment had recently eaten banh mi at a vendor at a retail market
GOOD MODEL: Speaking at his book launch, Law said that Taiwan is the most democratic Chinese-speaking country, which is why Hong Kongers relocated here China has suffocated Hong Kong’s civil society and its next target could be Taiwan, Nathan Law (羅冠聰), cofounder of the disbanded pro-democracy Hong Kong political party Demosisto, said in Taipei yesterday. Law made the remarks at a launch in Taipei for his book When the Wind Blows — the Struggles for Freedom of Hong Kong (時代推著我們前行:羅冠聰的香港備忘錄). Law has been living in the UK since he fled Hong Kong in 2020, and the book is about his fighting for the cause of freedom in the area. He was granted political asylum in 2021. “Fleeing is a long and distressing process, but it also
IMITATING OTHERS? Tsai Ing-wen’s office said the former president rents a commercial unit for her personal office and had never used election funds to purchase real estate Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday confirmed that he used about NT$43 million (US$1.35 million) from his presidential election subsidy to purchase an office unit near the Legislative Yuan in May. Ko made the remarks after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) earlier in the day told a news conference that she received a tip-off that the TPP chairman had purchased a 48.76 ping (161.2m2) office unit at Jinan Building (濟南大樓), a commercial building in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正). Lin said that Ko purchased the unit on May 10, paying about NT$43 million in cash,