Environmental activists said yesterday that a land reclamation project is not suited for the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park (彰濱工業區), as the government’s reports have already shown that groundwater in the area contains high levels of arsenic.
The group made the remarks at a public hearing held yesterday at the legislature in Taipei that aimed to address public concern about the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ plan to use industrial waste, such as basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag and coal ash as landfill material, which could contaminate the area’s groundwater and negatively affect the health of local residents.
The Taiwan Water Resources Protection Union said a land reclamation project creating 353 hectares of land using BOF slag and coal ash as landfill material passed an Environmental Impact Assessment in 2010.
Photo: CNA
However, now with the ministry’s Industrial Development Bureau is proposing another 19.7 hectares of land be reclaimed with BOF slag, the group said it is concerned that heavy metal pollution would spread to nearby wetlands, farms, fish farms and contaminate drinking water.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) said the bureau’s own report in 2010 stated that levels of arsenic, considered carcinogenic, in the groundwater were found to exceed drinking water quality standards by as much as seven times.
The report also showed that groundwater near the coast can flow from the industrial park toward the inland areas, so it could contaminate the groundwater in other areas, Liu said.
He said that the majority of residents still rely on groundwater as their main source of drinking water, so the government should stop the land reclamation project.
Several Greater Kaohsiung residents who live near the South Star Plan area said the government has not effectively monitored landfill material deposited in the area in the past 20 years, leading to medical waste being discovered in the area earlier this year and heavy metal contamination being found in ocean sediment.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator and former Environmental Protection Administration deputy minister Chiu Wen-yen (邱文彥) said he is concerned about the location of the land reclamation, "because unlike Tokyo Bay, which is surrounded by land, Changhua faces the open sea and is hit by stronger waves. If the diffusion effect of seawater is not good enough, the fish farming industry along the coast may be affected."
"We should carefully and comprehensively review this policy, so we don’t end up creating even more problems," he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated