The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday that it is scheduled to deliver a comprehensive review on the impact of the Formosa Group’s No. 6 Naphtha Cracking Plant by the end of this year.
A preliminary review from the EPA showed that the penalties leveled against the group’s naphtha cracking plant between 2006 and this year have topped NT$7.7 million (US$240,000).
The EPA decided to review the environmental impact of the plant, in Yunlin County’s Mailiao (麥寮), which has been in operation for more than 10 years, at the request of the Control Yuan.
Aside from complaints that the Control Yuan received in recent years, many environmental groups and Mailiao residents have protested against the plant over the years.
The EPA started the review on April 28, and it is scheduled to be complete by Dec. 31. The review will look at the plant’s impact on the nation’s economy, environment, society and culture. While the comprehensive review will not be finished for another six months, the EPA has said it will brief the public on the results as it finishes each part of the review.
So far, the EPA has completed about a quarter of the review. The report the EPA released yesterday showed that the local environmental bureau has inspected the plant 133 times over the past five years. The plant was found to have broken regulations 15 times, with 14 of them involving fines against the plant.
The EPA also found from the petitions submitted by the public that most people complained about the plant’s influence on fisheries and air pollution. Some also complained about strange smells emanating from the plant.
The EPA has also asked Formosa to submit a health risk assessment to determine if exposure to the pollutants generated by its No. 6 Naphtha Cracking Plant could cause cancer.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS