Explosive substances such as ammonium nitrate and hydrofluoric acid would be restricted from imports, manufacturing, usage, storage, transportation and sale in Taiwan, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.
The agency issued a preview of planned amendments to regulations that are to take effect on July 1.
Hydrofluoric acid, which emerges when hydrogen fluoride is dissolved in water, has caused many injuries in industrial accidents and has been used to maliciously harm people, and should be regulated, Toxic and Chemical Substance Bureau Director-General Hsieh Yein-rui (謝燕儒) said.
Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei Times
An ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut last year caused at least 210 deaths and 7,500 injuries, Hsieh said, adding that the substance should be regulated.
Ammonium nitrate is also used to produce helium, the first chemical restricted by the EPA, Hsieh said.
The online sale of the substances would be banned, as well as their unlicensed transportation, storage or sale, he said.
The regulations would also require detailed labeling, monthly reports and other measures, Hsieh said.
Contingency measures and other standards would be enforced at factories that handle more than 50,000kg of 80 percent pure ammonium nitrate, and 300kg of solutions with more than 10 percent hydrofluoric acid, he said.
The regulations would stipulate fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 (US$1,051 to US$10,514) for breaches when transporting the substances, Hsieh said.
Contraventions of accident-prevention mesaures would result in fines of NT$30,000 to NT$500,000, he said.
Accidents involving the substances leading to fatalities or injury would be punished with 7 years to life in prison and fines of up to NT$10 million, Hsieh said.
Facilities handling the substances without having insurance or without protective equipment would be fined NT$1 million to NT$5 million, he said.
The EPA had also found that some aluminum cleaning products sold in Taiwan contained hydrofluoric acid, he said.
The agency has asked manufacturers to add warnings to their labeling that inform customers of measures in case of an accident, Hsieh said.
The coast guard drove away 567 Chinese boats and seized seven illegally operating in Taiwanese waters in the first six months of this year, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. They mostly operated near Kinmen and Penghu counties, resulting in fines totaling NT$1.7 million (US$52,440), it said. Three ships — two near Kinmen County and one near Penghu County — were detained in January for illegally crossing the border, while one ship each was detained near Kinmen in February and Penghu in March respectively, it said. The ship seized near Penghu in January was the Yun Ao (雲澳), detained by the CGA’s
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
Beijing’s recent provocative actions against the Philippines in the South China Sea were partly meant as a “dress rehearsal” for the invasion of Taiwan, former US deputy national security advisor Matt Pottinger said at a Heritage Foundation forum in Washington on Tuesday. Beijing’s blocking of a Philippine resupply mission on June 17 with unprecedented violence had multiple implications. “What they’re doing is trying to demonstrate that they can blockade, create a sense of futility and discredit the idea that the United States is going to help not only the Philippines, but by extension Taiwan,” Pottinger said. Pottinger was referring to a clash
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant