The Taiwan Water Preservation Union yesterday demanded that action be taken after it said Formosa Petrochemical’s naphtha cracker in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮) had emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs) 90 times higher than the legal limit.
The union made the statement at a protest at the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), which is scheduled to convene a second meeting to assess health risks caused by air pollution from the plant.
Union spokesperson Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒樺) said the law limits emission of VOCs to 4,302 tonnes per year, but their statistics showed that emissions had reached more 390,000 tonnes.
Chen said the health risk assessment report presented by the plant had underestimated VOC emissions in several categories. The emission of benzene, which can cause cancer, exceeded 20,000 tonnes.
Some residents of Yunlin County say that there has been an increase in the number of patients suffering from leukemia and other types of cancer ever since the construction of the first coal-powered plant in Yunlin in 1997.
The EPA said the Yunlin County Government had previously ordered the plant and related facilities to halt operations because of pollution released in a number of incidents.
“Since the order to stop operations was given by the county government, the union should present their evidence to the county government so that they can determine if and when operations can resume,” the EPA said.
“We ask the union to be clear where their battlefield should be,” it said.
Meanwhile, members of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) committee reviewing a health risk assessment ruled that they would hold a meeting with experts to clarify how to calculate VOC emissions.
The ruling said that the meeting would be attended by EIA members, specialists recommended by Formosa Petrochemical and experts representing environmental groups.
They would review the plant’s VOC emissions between 2009 and 2011 and decide when a third review meeting on the health risk assessment should be held after they reach a consensus on a valid method to calculate VOC emissions.
A number of fires at the plant since 2011 have triggered concerns over the facility’s safety record and the amount of pollution that it generates.
Additional reporting by staff writer
A Taiwanese software developer has created a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model to help people use AI without exposing sensitive data, project head Huang Chung-hsiao (黃崇校) said yesterday. Huang, a 55-year-old coder leading a US-based team, said that concerns over data privacy and security in popular generative AIs such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek motivated him to develop a personal AI assistant named “Mei.” One of the biggest security flaws with cloud-based algorithms is that users are required to hand over personal information to access the service, giving developers the opportunity to mine user data, he said. For this reason, many government agencies and
The National Fire Agency on Thursday said a series of drills simulating a magnitude 8.5 earthquake would be held in September to enhance the government’s emergency response capabilities. Since earthquakes cannot be predicted, only by continuously promoting disaster prevention measures could Taiwan enhance its resilience to earthquakes, agency Director-General Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章) said in a news release. The exercises would be held to mark annual National Disaster Prevention Day on Sept. 21, the aim of which is to test Taiwan’s preparedness and improve its earthquake resilience in case of a major temblor, Hsiao said. As part of those drills, an earthquake alert would
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
STRICTER ENFORCEMENT: Taipei authorities warned against drunk cycling after a sharp rise in riding under the influence, urging greater public awareness of its illegality Taipei authorities have issued a public warning urging people not to ride bicycles after consuming alcohol, following a sharp rise in riding under the influence (DUI) cases involving bicycles. Five hundred and seven people were charged with DUI last year while riding YouBikes, personal bicycles, or other self-propelled two-wheelers — a fourfold increase from the previous year, data released by the Taipei Police Department’s Traffic Division showed. Of these, 33 cases were considered severe enough to be prosecuted under “offenses against public safety,” the data showed. Under the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), bicycles — including YouBikes and other
RSS