The Environmental Protection Administration plans to restrict the use of two substances in cleaners and detergents because they have proven hazardous to animals and humans, an official said yesterday.
Nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE or NPEO) are the two substances in question.
NPE, a derivative of NP, is nonionic surfactant widely used in laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents, toilet cleaners, car cleaners and glass cleaners. Mixed with water, NPE will break back down into NP -- which is insoluble in water, and therefore remain in soil, rivers and groundwater.
According to the environmental agency's 2003 report, NP was found in 66.7 percent of rivers in Taiwan. Although the figure fell to 19.5 percent of rivers in 2004, the official said NP and NPE still present urgent environmental hazards.
When NP and NPE -- known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals or environmental hormones -- are digested by fish or animals, the chemicals interfere with their hormonal systems and impede growth and reproductive development.
The official said NP's chemical structure is very similar to that of estrogen, adding that in some cases researchers found NP turns the sexual organs of males into that of "neutral" or "female" fish, and causes them to lose their reproductive ability.
NP and NPE also affect humans through the food chain, causing infertility, breast cancer and other hormone-related diseases.
The official said that in EU countries the use of NP and NPE has already been limited to no more than 0.1 percent of a product. However, NP and NPE are still widely used in Taiwan as they are much cheaper than other chemicals, he said.
The official said the environmental administration has already initiated policy discussions with relevant government agencies, adding that if a decision can be made in the near future, the use of NP and NPE will be restricted under the same criteria as the EU no later than the end of this year.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
The National Immigration Agency has banned two Chinese from returning to Taiwan, after they published social media content it described as disrespectful to national sovereignty. The agency imposed a two-month ban on a Chinese man surnamed Liang (梁) and a permanent ban on a woman surnamed Yang (楊), an influencer with 23 million followers, in October last year and last week respectively. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that Chinese visitors to Taiwan are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing their entry permits. The government has handled the ban and
RSS