Those responsible for the three poisonous gas leaks that occurred in the past month in the Tafa Industrial Park in Kaohsiung County’s Taliao Township (大寮) will be found in the next few days, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.
But when asked about analysis results of the toxins, the director-general of the department of air quality protection and noise control, Yang Ching-shi (楊慶熙), provided vague answers, saying there were “several toxic substances.”
Meanwhile, a senior EPA official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that rather than resolving the matter at the national level, the dispute should first have been handled by the county.
The gas leaks occurred on Dec. 1, Dec. 12 and Dec. 25, affecting school children and teachers in the nearby Chao-liao elementary and middle school.
Dozens fell ill and were sent to hospital for emergency treatment, suffering from nausea, dizziness and chest pain.
During the press conference yesterday, EPA Director-General of the Department of Supervision, Evaluation and Dispute Resolution Hsiao Hui-chuan (蕭慧娟) cited the Public Nuisance Dispute Mediation Act and said a committee at the county level would be created to mediate any disputes between Taliao residents and the industrial park.
Should mediation fail, a Public Nuisance Dispute Arbitration Panel at the EPA level would make a final ruling, she said.
A health evaluation committee was formed on Sunday to assess the impact on the affected individuals’ health, she said.
“We will definitely find the culprit,” Yang said.
He said gas samples were sent for analysis and fingerprint identification on Monday.
Asked what types of gases have been identified, Yang said: “Multiple kinds of gases … They contained many substances.” The substances “would have a negative effect on human bodies if they were exposed for a long time.”
Yang said the EPA expected to resolve the case “expeditiously,” adding: “We are working overtime.”
Asked again for a timeline, he said the case would be solved “in the next few days.”
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all