Substandard batteries from China and Southeast Asia are poisoning Taiwan with increasing levels of mercury and other hazardous mineral waste, ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator-at-Large Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋) claimed yesterday.
Under the banner: "Chinese and Asian Batteries Enough to Kill 200,000 Taiwan People A Year," Wang said during a press conference that while the mercury content of batteries originating in China and Southeast Asian countries are dangerously higher than allowed levels, none of the batteries, which are sold in Taiwan, have been banned or even regulated.
Wang quoted the results of research conducted by Yuan Ze University's Center of Environmental Sciences as showing that compared with the mercury content of US-made and Japanese-made batteries, which average 0.13ppm, batteries from Southeast Asian countries and China have mercury content averaging 34ppm and 127ppm, respectively, far exceeding Taiwan's allowed maximum level of 5ppm.
Wang claimed that about 74 percent of the batteries sold in Taiwan are from China or Southeast Asia. The amount equals roughly 600-700kg of mercury.
However, he went on, only 15 percent of Taiwan's used batteries have been retrieved and recycled, with the remaining 85 percent ending up in incinerators or landfills each year, polluting an immeasurable volume of water and air with mercury, lead, chromium and other depleting elements.
If 3 grams of mercury is enough to kill an adult, the 600-700 kilos of waste mercury is enough to kill 200,000 Taiwanese people each year, Wang warned.
Wang called for the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to conduct a nationwide census on batteries in Taiwan to find out their mercury content as well as their final destination.
He also demanded that the government increase fines for people who import, produce or distribute illegal batteries that have high mercury content.
Chang Hsu-chang (
China dumps about 20,000 tons of substandard batteries in Taiwan annually without attracting notice from the Taiwan authorities, according to a private environmental group.
The batteries, with an average mercury content that is 360 times greater than that of legally controlled batteries, are posing a threat to Taiwan's environment and people's lives, according to a spokesman for the group.
The Chinese batteries -- many of which are produced in underground factories and illegally smuggled into Taiwan -- are easily available on the shelves of NT$10-per-item stores, the spokesman said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS