A large number of factories lining a tributary of the Tamsui River (淡水河) have been discharging unprocessed wastewater, leading to excessive levels of cyanide and heavy metals in water, according to an Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) investigation conducted from March to last month.
A section of the Dahan River (大漢溪) near the Sinhai Bridge (新海橋) connecting New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang (新莊) and Banciao (板橋) districts — which is about 3km away from where the Dahan joins the Tamsui River — and a section near the Zhongxiao Bridge (忠孝橋) connecting Taipei and New Taipei City were the only two places along the Tamsui River system where severe pollution was found last year, Department of Water Quality Director Yeh Chun-hung (葉俊宏) said on Friday.
However, this year the EPA identified a “pollution hotspot” in the Taliaokeng River (塔寮坑溪) at Sinjhuang — a tributary of the Dahan that feeds into the Tamsui River.
An investigation by the EPA and the New Taipei City Government found that 45 out of the 70 factories along the Taliaokeng had illegally discharged effluent containing high levels of heavy metals and toxins.
Investigators detected cyanide levels that were 42 times higher than the legal limit in the river, as well as copper concentrations that were 90 times than the legal limit, which exposed fish and humans to great health risks, Yeh said.
Electroplating plants were the worst violators, he said.
Ninety-nine violations were found during the investigation, and the EPA issued fines totaling more than NT$20 million (US$615,347), he said, adding that water quality improved afterward.
“It is very difficult to crack down on illegal wastewater discharge because plants often use hidden pipes to drain wastewater,” Bureau of Environmental Inspection Northern Branch Director Chuang Hsun-cheng (莊訓城) said.
“An electroplating plant whose sewage was responsible for raising cyanide levels in water to 42 times more than the legal limit tried to dilute its sewage with tap water after plant operators spotted environmental agents approaching the plant. However, the agents found that the quality of sewage was too similar to tap water, and they uncovered hidden sewage pipes at the factory,” Chuang said.
“Factories might discharge unprocessed water during typhoons or torrential rains, so it is very difficult to discover violations. Environmental authorities rely heavily on whistle-blowers to identify plants that are engaged in illegal activities,” Chuang said.
A New Taipei City bylaw stipulates that people who inform on water pollution can be awarded up to 20 percent of fines levied against a violating firm, and the reward would be tripled if the informant is a current or former employee of the company, the EPA said.
“About 120 kilometers of river sections in the nation are severely polluted. The Taliaokeng River investigation could be used as a pilot program for further prevention at pollution ‘hotspots,’” Yeh 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 wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and