The National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) yesterday announced that it would launch nationwide health surveys to better understand the environmental causes of certain diseases.
To protect the environment, ecology and people’s health, several nations have invested huge amounts of money in monitoring chemical substances in the environment and human exposure to them, the NHRI said, adding that it is to collaborate with 11 hospitals to establish the Taiwan Precision Environmental Medicine Alliance to assess environmental health risks in local communities.
Largee human biomonitoring projects assessing environment-related risks and impacts, and generating knowledge about human exposure to chemicals, have been launched worldwide, including the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative in the EU, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in the US, the German Experimental Seismic System in Germany and the Korean National Environmental Health Survey in South Korea, it said.
.jpg)
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
NHRI National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Director and distinguished investigator Chen Pau-Chung (陳保中) said environmental medical studies used to be conducted with universities, but the alliance has been established to enhance the clinical applications of the findings, combining the resources of regional healthcare facilities to conduct human biomonitoring surveys according to major environmental issues in each area, assess the health risks of local residents, and offer corresponding healthcare services and practical policy suggestions.
The alliance this month started the first phase of a biomonitoring survey, collecting random blood and urine samples in 40 townships, which would be tested for lead, plasticizers and other toxic heavy metals, he said, adding that the alliance plans to publish annual reports on its findings and analysis.
Chen said it also hopes to answer some of the public’s questions, such as whether levels of lead in the blood have dropped, or how many plasticizers are still detected in the body a decade after the discovery of the illegal use of plasticizers in food additives in 2011, and if new plasticizers are detected.
National Taiwan University (NTU) Cancer Center superintendent James Yang (楊志新) said most cancer patients when they are first diagnosed ask: “Why did I get cancer?”
Aside from individual health conditions, sometimes environmental factors might have contributed to their risk of developing cancer, he said.
Air pollution is associated with the development of lung cancer, radiation exposure is associated with leukemia and thyroid cancer, and a few recent studies have suggested that exposure to excessive amounts of plasticizers might increase the risk of women developing breast cancer, he added.
The alliance is led by the NHRI in collaboration with NTU Hospital, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, the NTU Cancer Center, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital and six other hospitals.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS