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EPA raises water safety standard

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 (袁紹英), director-general of the EPA's department of environmental sanitation and toxic substance management.

"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.
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