A gas leak this morning at a waste management plant in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) released a large cloud of unidentified orange gas into the air that authorities said poses no immediate harm.
The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said.
Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on site and put on A-level chemical protection clothing before entering the building, the department said.
Photo from the Facebook group 桃園大小事
After finding there was no continuous leakage, the department worked with the city’s Department of Environment Protection and the Northern Environmental Hazard Team to confirm there were no other hazards on site, it said.
The gas dispersed over the ocean by 8am and poses no immediate harm, the Department of Environment Protection said.
The phenomenon was likely caused by acidic waste liquid leaking from a storage tank and coming into contact with metals, causing a chemical reaction that released the orange gas, it added.
The plant failed to report the incident within an hour of its occurrence, contravening Article 33 of the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法), the environmental department said, adding that it could face a fine ranging from NT$100,000 to NT$20 million (US$3,077 to US$615,565) in accordance with the act.
The plant was ordered to stop processing waste and submit a full inspection to the Taoyuan City Government for approval before resuming normal operations, it added.
As the wind was coming from the north-northeast, the gas passed through Datan (大潭) and Baosheng (保生) boroughs, so people there with respiratory issues should exercise caution and wear a mask outside, it said.
There are many industrial parks in Guanyin, where another similar leak occurred in 2017.
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