Print

Mail

wiki links

EPA highlights benefits of soap

In the wake of Taiwan's removal from the World Health Organiza-tion's (WHO) list of SARS-affected areas, the Environmental Protec-tion Administration (EPA) yesterday urged people to keep using soap to wash their hands as a disease-prevention measure rather than using bleach to clean their houses.

Among self-protection measures to be commonly taken in post-SARS era, using soap to wash hands could be more environmentally friendly than others, agency officials said yesterday.

"People should do their best to avoid abusing bleach and other disinfectants because the long-term environmental impact such substances have remains uncertain," EPA Secretary-General Chen Yeong-ren (陳永仁) said.

The agency's SARS relief task force was established in early May to assist with comprehensive epidemic-prevention work.

In addition to focusing on special disposal measures for medical and residential waste, the task force also urged local environmental agencies across the country to initiate environmental clean-up and disinfection measures.

Most SARS-affected regions, especially in Taipei City, were heavily sprayed with bleach by military personnel.

At the time, however, EPA officials urged caution in disposing of waste bleach, urging people to diluting it with lots of water and leaving the mixture sealed for a while before disposing of it. They were worried that high concentrations of chlorine -- ionized from bleach -- would kill microorganisms, disabling the activated-sludge processes in septic tanks, sanitary sewers and sewage-treatment plants.

The discharge of untreated wastewater containing high levels of chlorine from sewage-treatment plants, officials said, could contaminate aquatic products, including seafood.

According to Chen, who is also the executive-general of the EPA SARS relief task force, the agency launched a comprehensive investigation in early May into the distribution of chlorine in the environment.

The discharge of waste bleach will increase the concentration of chlorine in the environment, Chen said.

Chen said the agency's water-quality monitoring stations nationwide have been reporting on the concentrations of chlorine accumulated in rivers.

The agency has also been sampling wastewater discharged from hospitals and quarantined residential areas to identify how much chlorine it contains.

"So far, we have not seen any significant impact made on the environment due to the heavy use of bleach," Chen said.

He said the investigation would continue for several months, although initial results would be released in early September.

On Thursday, Chen said, the task force would convene to review strategies taken over the last two months.

However, Chen said ionic chlorine released from bleach would not cause as much environmental impact as organic-chlorine compounds do.

Organic-chlorine compounds have been linked to pollution in soil, water and in aquatic products.
This story has been viewed 2345 times.