Yunlin County Government’s Environmental Protection Bureau yesterday fined Formosa Group’s naphtha cracker plant in Mailiao (麥寮) NT$1 million (US$31,000) for violating the Air Pollution Protection Act (空氣污染防治法) and ordered the company to stop operations at its hydrodesulfurization (HDS) unit immediately after a fire on Sunday night.
The fire, which broke out at the HDS unit which produces 80,000 barrels per day (bpd), was the second this month. The first occurred on July 7 at the plant’s Alkene unit.
One third of capacity could be out of action for an extended period, the company said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Hsieh Yein-rui (謝燕儒), director of Environmental Protection Administration’s (EPA) Air Quality Protection and Noise Control Department, said the EPA’s Emergency Response Team arrived at the site at 1:59am yesterday and collected air samples. The team found that the air sample contained 1.4 parts per million (ppm) of a-methyl styrene and 1.3ppm of toluene, lower than the 50ppm stated in the Standards of Permissible Exposure Limits of Airborne Hazardous Substances in the Workplace (勞工作業環境空氣中有害物容許濃度標準).
The fire did not cause a toxic chemical release, Hsieh said, adding that the EPA would closely monitor particulate matter levels in the air.
The EPA said the fire had nonetheless affected air quality and that Formosa had been fined NT$1 million, the severest penalty listed in the Air Pollution Protection Act.
Hsieh said Formosa could not resume operations at the HDS unit until it has passed a safety inspection to be organized by the Yunlin County bureau.
Formosa had to shut one of its two 84,000 bpd gasoline-making residue fluid catalytic crackers at the complex on July 13 because of mechanical problems. The unit failed to restart on schedule on Friday because of technical issues.
An explosion at its No. 1 naphtha cracker on July 7 forced the company to shut the unit, which is located at a different site in Mailiao. The naphtha cracker is expected to resume operations in late September or early October.
Hundreds of residents in Mailiao gathered at the front gate of the naphtha cracker plant, some wearing face masks bearing the Chinese character for “poison” (毒), to protest against pollution produced by Formosa.
Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-feng (蘇治芬) said the central government would soon review activities at the naphtha cracker plant and was also reviewing a plan to expand its facilities.
She said it was only reasonable that the public would oppose Formosa’s expansion plan if the central government does not intervene and establish a mechanism of reimbursement between the Formosa Group and Mailiao residents.
Su said the county government would stand by the public and take action if the central government approved Formosa’s expansion plan.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday instructed agencies to conduct an evaluation on the cause of the fire and its impact. Presidential Office Spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said Ma asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the EPA and the National Fire Agency to conduct an evaluation to prevent a similar event happening in future.
Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) told reporters that his ministry would ask Formosa to conduct a full investigation into the accident.
“I do not believe any business wants to see accidents happen,” he said. “It causes great problems for local residents and the business itself.”
The ministry would consider whether to mete out any punishment before the Yunlin County Fire Fighting Department and the Council of Labor Affairs’ Inspection Office had completed their investigation and presented a report, Shih said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS