The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday announced regulations on PM2.5, or particulate matter of less than 2.5 micrometers, setting the standards at a maximum 35μg/m3 daily mean concentration and a maximum 15μg/m3 annual mean concentration.
Particulate matter (PM, also known as fine particles) refers to tiny fragments of solid matter suspended in the air that can easily cross the lung wall into the human body after inhalation, affecting health, the EPA said.
Earlier this year, several doctors and medical groups warned that high exposure to fine particle pollution may cause slow mental development in children, increasing rate of fatal cardiovascular and pulmonary disease and other health problems.
Air Quality Protection and Noise Control Department Director Hsieh Yein-Rui (謝燕儒) said the standard was the same as the current standard in the US and Japan, which is the strictest level listed in national regulations globally.
The EPA said the preliminary goal was to achieve the 15μg/m3 annual mean concentration by 2020 nationwide, and the administration will review the air quality standard for PM2.5 periodically, looking to achieve the level of WHO air quality guidelines — 25μg/m3 daily mean concentration and 10μg/m3 annual mean concentration.
There are seven air pollutants listed for monitoring and determining the Pollutant Standards Index at present, and PM2.5 is the eighth pollutant to be included.
Hsieh said the administration was also setting emission standards for major sources of pollution, such as the steel industry, since it gave advance notice of amendment to air quality regulations in December last year.
The EPA said that according to the different local gas emission features, the administration is now working on setting standards for gas emissions from the steel industry in Greater Taichung, dioxin emissions from steel smelting plants in Greater Kaohsiung, gas emissions from electric power facilities in Greater Taichung and Greater Kaohsiung, and regulations for the petrochemical industry.
The PM2.5 air quality monitoring will be done manually at 30 monitoring stations nationwide, the EPA said, adding that the work is scheduled to begin in July or August.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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