Kaohsiung City’s Environmental Protection Bureau yesterday alerted residents of Siaogang District (小港) to the problem of bee feces after people in the area complained about an unknown yellow substance falling from the sky.
Bureau director-general Lee Mu-sheng (李穆生) told reporters that Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Lee Yung-te (李永得) received a complaint from a borough chief in the district over the Lunar New Year that the area had frequently suffered staining from an unknown yellow substance.
Many car owners had complained about finding the sticky substance on their vehicles, while other residents complained that their clean laundry was covered with the yellow excrement-like matter, Lee said.
The complainants originally blamed planes taking off and landing at nearby Kaohsiung International Airport, alleging that aircraft were flushing passengers’ waste before take-off and landing, Lee said.
However, airport officials assured the bureau that for safety reasons, it was impossible for any aircraft to release passengers’ excrement during flight, Lee said.
To identify the substance, bureau investigators took samples of the substance and tested them at the Super Micro Mass Research and Technology Center at Cheng Shiu University in Kaohsiung County, where researchers found pollen in the samples, Lee said.
Comparative tests on samples of bird feces showed that the substance was different, which led investigators to check for another possible source — bees, Lee said.
Lee said although the lab confirmed the identity of the substance, the bureau could not do anything but remind residents to put a cover over their cars or clean laundry when placed outdoors.
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