The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) announced that it was ready to start using locally-developed techniques and equipment to clean up oil spills in rivers.
The EPA yesterday held a practice run in a section of Tamsui River near the Peitou Waste Incinerator in Taipei. The standard operating procedure for handling oil spills in rivers was demonstrated to dozens of environmental officials from 22 counties.
PHOTO: CHIU YU-TZU, TAIPEI TIMES
Operators use automatic pumps to fill plastic tubes with gas. The tubes float on the river's surface and prevent the oil spill from spreading.
A remote-controlled aircraft, developed by scientists at National Central University, was used to approach the target area. It will be used to gather more information about oil spills in relatively inaccessible areas.
Samples of polluted water will be taken by a remote-controlled boat with Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities.
Officials said that yesterday's trial run was triggered by a series of oil spills over the last two months.
A tonne of heavy oil leaked from a textile factory in Changhua County last month, affecting coastal areas where oysters are farmed. Earlier this month, in Kaohsiung County, 3.5 tonnes of heavy oil was spilled from a papermaking factory. A nearby canal was filled with about 1.5 tonnes of oil.
According to Cheng Shean-rong (
Cheng said that the oil spill from the Greek-registered cargo ship Amorgos in January, 2000, which caused a spill of 1,150 tonnes of fuel oil that ended up in the Kenting National Park, had prompted the EPA to make a serious financial and human resources investment in inventing technologies and establishing a standard operating procedure to prevent water pollution.
"All related facilities and instruments are in place in northern, central and southern Taiwan. They will be available immediately in case of an oil spill," Cheng said.
The EPA budgets about NT$60 million annually to improve its ability to handle oil spills.
EPA head Chang Juu-en (
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