The acid rain situation nationwide has improved markedly in the past decade, dropping to an incidence rate of about 53 percent during that period, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said yesterday as it announced the results of a 20-year monitoring project.
The EPA said that while acid rain was a rare occurrence in the 1970s, it gradually became more serious in the 1980s, especially in northern parts of the country, as well as near Tainan and Kaohsiung. Acid rain monitoring efforts began in 1990, using pH levels below 5 as a benchmark for acid rain, it said.
Hsieh Yein-Rui (謝燕儒), director-general of the Department of Air Quality Protection and Noise Control, said there are 12 acid rain monitoring stations scattered across the country, adding that data collected from 1999 through this year showed an average acidity level of pH 5.02.
Instances of acid rain remain more common in the north than in the south, it added.
Peng Chi-Ming (彭啟明), co-organizer of the research project and an assistant professor in atmospheric sciences at National Central University (NCU), said acid rain tended to occur more in the spring and fall when the northeast monsoon brings air that is laden with particulates.
The area surrounding Jhongli (中壢), Taoyuan County, has the worst acid rain problem in the nation, with an incidence rate of 75 percent.
About 100 percent of the rain that fell in that area during winter was acid rain, Peng said.
The two principal causes of acid rain in Taiwan are polluted air from abroad — mainly China — and local pollution, said Lin Neng-huei (林能暉), co-organizer of the project and professor of atmospheric sciences at NCU, adding that the two were equally responsible.
However, fog can be more acidic than rain because it contains less water and a higher density of acidic substances, Peng said.
A lot of people fear that being exposed to acid rain will cause baldness, Peng said.
“Actually, getting rained on by acid rain is more of a long-term problem ... if you are exposed to it every day, then eventually it can cause some harm,” Peng said.
Hsieh said the EPA would continue to enforce regulations to control air pollution, as well as communicate with China on the technical aspects of controlling the problem.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
The Taipei District Court today ruled to extend the incommunicado detention of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) for two more months as part of an ongoing corruption trial. Codefendants in the case — real-estate tycoon Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and Ko's former mayoral office head Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) — were granted bail of NT$100 million (US$3.4 million) and NT$20 million respectively. Sheen and Lee would also be barred from leaving the country for eight months and prohibited from contact with, harassing, threatening or inquiring after the case with codefendants or witnesses. The two would also be
RSS