Members of environmental protection and medical groups yesterday said the Formosa Plastics Group’s (台塑) naphtha cracker in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮) has emitted excessive amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and should therefore be banned from further expansion.
Taiwan Water Resources Protection Union and the Changhua Medical Alliance for Public Affairs made the remarks at a press conference co-hosted by Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) and Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇), urging the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) not to proceed with a vote-by-mail decision process on a re-evaluation of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the naphtha cracker’s expansion project.
The groups said the EIA meeting on Sept. 7 discussed the re-evaluation of the plant’s air pollution control. Data provided by the Yunlin County Government on the plant’s VOC emission level was seriously underestimated, adding that the level reported was an estimate, not an actual measured value.
Photo: Chien Jung-feng, Taipei Times
The estimated value of 4,341 tonnes per year calculated this month has already surpassed the permitted limit of 4,302 tonnes per year, based on the original EIA report conclusion, said Wu Li-hui (吳麗慧), a member of the alliance, urging the EIA meeting to verify the actual emission values and to reject the proposed expansion.
Yunlin Environmental Protection Union board member Lin Hui-mei cited an epidemiological survey report conducted by Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權), a professor at National Taiwan University’s Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, which showed that air pollutants emitted by the plant may have negative effects on the liver, lung, kidney, blood and immune system of residents.
Due to a filibuster staged by members of civic environmental groups who opposed the proposal, the Sept. 7 meeting ended without a conclusion on the case.
The EPA later said if the EIA meetings are interrupted again and end without a conclusion, it would consider allowing committee members to vote by mail.
In response, Thomas Chan (詹順貴), an attorney who has worked closely with environmental groups, alleged the vote-by-mail method was illegal, arguing that conclusions drawn by an EIA meeting should be based on a council system and that the committee members should be allowed to discuss the case thoroughly before making any decisions.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS