Air quality is gradually improving after a fire at an electronics warehouse in New Taipei City on Tuesday released harmful pollutants into the air, causing an acrid smell across areas of greater Taipei, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said on Wednesday, although experts still advise wearing a mask when going outside over the next couple of days.
At about 2:30pm on Tuesday, firefighters responded to a call about a fire in the basement of an electronics warehouse in Shenkeng District (深坑), New Taipei City Fire Department Commissioner Lee Ching-an (李清安) told the city council.
About 250 firefighters battled the blaze, which spread up through the third story of the building until they were able to control its spread after 5pm and extinguish it at about 6:30pm, he said.
Photo: Weng Yu-huang, Taipei Times
Residents were evacuated and no one was injured, he added.
However, firefighters were still putting out lithium batteries that had reignited several times throughout the evening, reports said.
Personnel from the city’s Environmental Protection Department arrived at about 3:50pm to take air quality readings, department Commissioner Cheng Da-wei (程大維) said.
Photo copied by CNA
By 6pm, areas downwind of the blaze in Sindian District (新店) had seen a sharp increase in particulate concentrations of up to 60 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3), he said.
The stretch from Sindian through Jhonghe District (中和), Yonghe District (永和) and Taipei’s Jingmei area (景美) were the most affected, he added.
The department over Facebook advised residents to close their doors and windows, wear a face mask when outside and avoid staying outside for too long, he said.
Pollutant levels began to fall by 9pm, and by 7am on Wednesday, meters were reading 10µg/m3, he said.
However, winds are to be slight over the next two days, meaning that the pollutants are to disperse slowly, Cheng said, advising people in the affected areas to minimize their outdoor activities.
As for the business, if an investigation determines the fire was due to negligence, it could be penalized, he added.
Nearby schools have been unaffected, but students and teachers are advised to wear face masks when needed, New Taipei City Education Department Commissioner Chang Ming-wen (張明文) said.
Although pollution readings have returned to normal levels, the public is still concerned about safety, Hou said, adding that officials would continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.
Separately, a physician reiterated the call to avoid going outside and close windows, as it is still unknown the types of pollutants that were released.
If there were plastics that burned, it could have released carcinogenic dioxins, while lithium batteries could have produced hydrogen fluoride, which can irritate or damage the respiratory tract, said Yen Tsung-hai (顏宗海), director of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital's Department of Clinical Toxicology.
When going outside, Yen advised wearing an N95 mask.
Additional reporting by CNA
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS