Secret disposal of untreated wastewater from tanneries and pig farms might lead to environmental catastrophe, according to the Environmental Protection Admin-istration (EPA) yesterday.
The agency yesterday released results of its inspections of tanneries, pig farms and construction dumps in the first six months of this year, saying that several site managers had failed to treat wastewater appropriately.
Twelve tanneries, 162 farms and two construction material dump sites were listed as serious water polluters, while the EPA also found 30 hidden pipes discharging untreated wastewater into rivers.
According to Leu Horng-guang (
In addition, the amount of organic pollutants produced daily from farms, where 6.8 million pigs are raised, equals that produced by 17 million people.
Leu said that of 30 seized hidden pipes discharging untreated wastewater, two-thirds are built by pig farm owners.
"If managers from the two industries don't take wastewater treatment seriously, water pollution in rivers will become a great calamity in Taiwan," Leu said at a press conference yesterday.
From January to last month, environmental officials carried out 263 inspections on tanneries nationwide, finding that 12 firms had secretly discharged dirty wastewater.
Officials said that the pollution content of the wastewater from the worst case was 127 times higher than EPA standards.
Among 4,838 inspections to pig farms, wastewater from 162 failed to meet standards set for effluents. The pollution content of the wastewater in the worst case was 218 times higher than standards.
Leu said that other sites would be inspected in the near future. He said the EPA replies on volunteers' alertness because most hidden pipes are built in remote areas.
According to environmental laws, water polluters will be fined NT$60,000 each day until they are in compliance.
The scenario of river pollution could be more serious because it's beyond the government's reach to regulate all factories and farms because some are not registered.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai