Authorities yesterday worked to clean up oil that might have been illegally dumped in waters near Green Island, Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) officials said.
Officials said they received reports about the oil spill near Green Island on Friday night and yesterday sent experts to the site.
The oil spread about 10km along Green Island’s north coast, Green Island Inspection Office chief Hsiao Su-ping (蕭肅平) said.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
The most heavily polluted waters stretched 600m from the island’s lighthouse in the northwest to Jhongliao Harbor (中寮港), Hsiao said, adding that the sea bed around the island was also affected by the oil.
The oil might have come from a cruise, cargo or other large ship, which might have dumped the oil in the open ocean, from where it washed ashore, Hsiao said.
Officials said they were using satellite images and ship tracking systems to try to identify the source of the spill.
Photo: Copy by Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
Experts were trying to assess the extent of the pollution and have not determined what effect it would have on the area’s marine life and ecology, or how long it would take to clean up.
The spill was first reported by the Chinese-language United Daily News after Green Island resident Yu Ming-hung (俞明宏) on Friday posted several photographs and a video on Facebook showing the sea bed and Green Island’s north coast coated with thick, black oil.
The oil on the sea bed looked like a “large python,” Yu said, adding that a “suspicious” vessel passed through the area on Friday morning and might have dumped the oil.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪), who represents Taitung County, said he has requested that the agency immediately clean up the oil spill and closely follow up on the incident to protect the environment.
The EPA has vowed to find and punish the perpetrator and has urged the public not to go near the polluted area during the cleanup period for their own safety and to prevent further environmental damage.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
TALKS CONTINUE: Although an agreement has not been reached with Washington, lowering the tariff from 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress, the vice premier said Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries. US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it
RSS