The nation has taken further steps in ensuring the safety of drinking water, with the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) amending its guidelines to include regulations for dioxin and chlorite.
Regulations for lead and bromate levels in drinking water were also amended.
"Taiwan is the second nation in the world after the US to regulate dioxin in drinking water," said Yuan Shaw-ying (
"The decision to include dioxin in the regulations came from the EPA's research on toxicology as well as drinking water regulations in developed countries," Yuan said.
A dioxin duck incident two years ago, as well as the dioxin lamb incident the following year, also contributed to the EPA's decision to regulate local food and water safety with more stringent guidelines, he said.
Dioxin is a persistent organic pollutant, meaning it accumulates in the food chain, he said.
For example, bigger fish may have a higher level of dioxins because of the number of smaller fish they ingest, he said.
Citing WHO classification, Yuan said that dioxin, which is mostly water-insoluble, had been identified as a carcinogen.
The most common method of releasing the notorious pollutant into the air or the food chain is through "the incineration of most things one can think of, including garbage, or through forest fires," he said.
The new regulations mandate that water purification plants within a 5km radius of any major pollution source must pass an annual examination and be certified that the drinking water they produce has a dioxin level of below 12 picogram-WHO-toxin equivalent per liter (pg-WHO-TEQ/L).
Drawing from the EPA's data, Yuan assured the public of the safety of local drinking water, saying that the raw water (before purification) and purified water at local water purification plants had dioxin levels of 0.010-0.079 pg-WHO-TEQ/L and 0.002-0.017 pg-WHO-TEQ/L respectively -- both of which were far below the new regulations.
The EPA also lowered the cap for maximum lead density in drinking water from 0.05mg/liter to 0.01mg/liter, effective Dec. 25, 2013.
"The new regulation was created to protect newborns and young children, who are especially sensitive to lead levels in their environment," Yuan said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
RSS