Formosa Plastics Group yesterday rejected an allegation that its naphtha cracker in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮) was behind a recent surge of PM2.5 pollutants in central Taiwan, laying the blame on wind and the burning of agricultural waste.
Levels of PM2.5 — airborne pollutants measuring less than 2.5 micrometers — in Nantou County, Taichung and Yunlin earlier this week reached “red levels,” at which point there is a greater risk of health problems for sensitive groups — those with chronic respiratory or cardiovascular diseases and senior citizens.
The PM2.5 reading in Yunlin’s Lunbei Township (崙背) on Tuesday was 79 micrograms per cubic meter, which was more than twice the national daily average of 35 micrograms per cubic meter, leading the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to issue a recommendation that lasted until yesterday for residents to avoid outdoor activities
A report by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Wednesday quoted EPA Department of Environmental Monitoring and Information Management Director-General Tsai Hung-te (蔡鴻德) as saying: “The elevated PM2.5 levels in central Taiwan were caused by emissions from the Mailiao naphtha cracker and fugitive emissions from the Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪), as well as poor atmospheric diffusion in the area.”
Formosa Plastics said in a statement on Tuesday that the burning of harvest season agricultural waste in Yunlin’s Lunbei and Siluo (西螺) townships, coupled with low wind speeds and inconsistent wind direction due to the transition between seasons, resulted in the buildup of pollutants and hazy conditions.
Annual PM2.5 levels recorded at the air pollution observation station in Lunbei averaged between 8 micrograms per cubic meter and 12 micrograms per cubic meter, but the reading soared to more than 70 micrograms per cubic meter once the burning of agricultural waste began this month, the company said.
The company said that nationwide PM2.5 levels were elevated, and that even an observation station in Taipei’s Yangmingshan National Park recorded excessive PM2.5 levels, suggesting that climate was a principal factor and that the naptha cracker was not a major contributor to air pollution.
Formosa Plastics said that the facility’s emissions of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds were consistent with environmental standards, and that there has been no significant change in the volume of the plant’s emissions, despite the dramatic increase in the PM2.5 readings at the Lunbei station.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS