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.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
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