The Taiwan Electromagnetic Radiation Hazard Protection and Control Association (TEPCA) will hold a rally on May 14 urging the government to establish stricter regulations against radiation hazards.
The association hopes the rally will help to raise awareness about the need to protect against electromagnetic radiation
As part of this effort, a fund raising banquet was held yesterday to release a documentary titled “I don’t want electromagnetic -radiation in my home,” which illustrated the health risks associated with electromagnetic radiation exposure and the importance of prevention and control.
The documentary featured alleged victims of long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation from Wufeng Township (霧峰) in Greater Taichung and Chiku Township (七股) in Greater Tainan, which are home to a high-voltage sub-station and a weather radar station respectively.
Although the long-term health effects of electromagnetic radiation exposure have yet to be -confirmed, alleged victims recounted how an increasing number of people in their neighborhoods suffered from physical and mental illnesses, including chronic headaches, insomnia, miscarriages and cancer after the stations became operational.
One woman living near the Wufeng high-voltage substation said she has to wear a radiation protection helmet at home and sleep with her head in a tinfoil-covered box to prevent chronic headache.
In the documentary, TEPCA founder and chairperson Chen Jiau-hua, (陳椒華) said that the safe level for exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) emissions suggested by the Environmental Protection Administration is 833mG, but that is based on guidelines set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) for transient or very short-term peak fields, she added, and should not, therefore, be used to regulate long-term exposure.
Cheng Tse-chou (鄭哲舟), a doctor at Chi-Mei Hospital, said many people only think of biological and chemical hazards as posing health risks, because symptoms are usually more sudden and apparent, yet radiation leaves no visual signs and can take many years before -symptoms start to show.
Cheng said because susceptibility to such ailments varies among people, the problem is often dismissed and in some cases its very existence is questioned. He urged the government to take the issue more seriously.
Hsu Li-min (許立民), a doctor at National Taiwan University Hospital, said that people in the late 1980s underestimated the health effects of X-ray exposure. Because technology always runs ahead of our proper understanding of it, people should be more cautious of electromagnetic radiation than they currently are and the government should tighten regulations governing such emissions, he said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS