The nation has taken further steps in ensuring the safety of drinking water, with the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) amending its guidelines to include regulations for dioxin and chlorite.
Regulations for lead and bromate levels in drinking water were also amended.
"Taiwan is the second nation in the world after the US to regulate dioxin in drinking water," said Yuan Shaw-ying (
"The decision to include dioxin in the regulations came from the EPA's research on toxicology as well as drinking water regulations in developed countries," Yuan said.
A dioxin duck incident two years ago, as well as the dioxin lamb incident the following year, also contributed to the EPA's decision to regulate local food and water safety with more stringent guidelines, he said.
Dioxin is a persistent organic pollutant, meaning it accumulates in the food chain, he said.
For example, bigger fish may have a higher level of dioxins because of the number of smaller fish they ingest, he said.
Citing WHO classification, Yuan said that dioxin, which is mostly water-insoluble, had been identified as a carcinogen.
The most common method of releasing the notorious pollutant into the air or the food chain is through "the incineration of most things one can think of, including garbage, or through forest fires," he said.
The new regulations mandate that water purification plants within a 5km radius of any major pollution source must pass an annual examination and be certified that the drinking water they produce has a dioxin level of below 12 picogram-WHO-toxin equivalent per liter (pg-WHO-TEQ/L).
Drawing from the EPA's data, Yuan assured the public of the safety of local drinking water, saying that the raw water (before purification) and purified water at local water purification plants had dioxin levels of 0.010-0.079 pg-WHO-TEQ/L and 0.002-0.017 pg-WHO-TEQ/L respectively -- both of which were far below the new regulations.
The EPA also lowered the cap for maximum lead density in drinking water from 0.05mg/liter to 0.01mg/liter, effective Dec. 25, 2013.
"The new regulation was created to protect newborns and young children, who are especially sensitive to lead levels in their environment," Yuan said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
RSS