Print

Mail

wiki links

Chief orders villagers to stop drinking toxic water

'According to environmental officials, long-term exposure to TCE can cause skin diseases and damage to the liver, kidney and nervous system. It is also suspected to be a carcinogen.'

Kaohsiung County government yesterday posted a warning sign in Taliao township (大寮) officially banning the use of local groundwater, following the discovery that well water in the area has been contaminated by toxic chemicals.

The move followed a visit to the area by Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲), who discovered that local residents were still using groundwater even though the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) had declared the water to be unsafe.

The EPA on Thursday confirmed it had found traces of trichloroethylene (TCE, 三氯乙烯) in a well in Chaoming village (昭明村).

The villagers were warned months ago by legislators and environmentalists that local ground-water was probably contaminated, after an illegal industrial waste dump was found at nearby Red Shrimp Hill (紅蝦山).

However, village residents defended their use of the well water, saying they did not trust the quality of tap water in the area.

Residents in southern Taiwan have complained about the quality of their drinking water for years. The Kaoping River (高屏溪), one of the main sources of drinking water in southern Taiwan, has been contaminated by excrement from hogs and ducks raised in farms upstream.

Commissioner Yu said yesterday that he did not believe the public was adhering to the warnings and ordered the well sealed and the pumping machine locked.

According to environmental officials, long-term exposure to TCE can cause skin diseases and damage to the liver, kidney and nervous system. It is also suspected to be a carcinogen.

TCE is widely used in industry as a degreaser for metal parts, especially in the manufacturing of vehicles and machinery.

Though EPA officials suspect the Red Shrimp Hill industrial waste dump site to be the cause of the contamination found in the well, no positive identification of the source has been made yet.

The Red Shirmp Hill site was discovered last August and contains various toxic chemicals in steel barrels, including toluene (甲苯) and ethylene (乙烯). As a precautionary measure to stop leakage from the barrels from entering the water table, the EPA sealed the site with materials impervious to the chemicals.

EPA head Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) will inspect the toxic well and the nearby illegal waste dump tomorrow. He will also inspect the Kaoping River to review water treatment policy.
This story has been viewed 2755 times.