The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday announced regulations on PM2.5, or particulate matter of less than 2.5 micrometers, setting the standards at a maximum 35μg/m3 daily mean concentration and a maximum 15μg/m3 annual mean concentration.
Particulate matter (PM, also known as fine particles) refers to tiny fragments of solid matter suspended in the air that can easily cross the lung wall into the human body after inhalation, affecting health, the EPA said.
Earlier this year, several doctors and medical groups warned that high exposure to fine particle pollution may cause slow mental development in children, increasing rate of fatal cardiovascular and pulmonary disease and other health problems.
Air Quality Protection and Noise Control Department Director Hsieh Yein-Rui (謝燕儒) said the standard was the same as the current standard in the US and Japan, which is the strictest level listed in national regulations globally.
The EPA said the preliminary goal was to achieve the 15μg/m3 annual mean concentration by 2020 nationwide, and the administration will review the air quality standard for PM2.5 periodically, looking to achieve the level of WHO air quality guidelines — 25μg/m3 daily mean concentration and 10μg/m3 annual mean concentration.
There are seven air pollutants listed for monitoring and determining the Pollutant Standards Index at present, and PM2.5 is the eighth pollutant to be included.
Hsieh said the administration was also setting emission standards for major sources of pollution, such as the steel industry, since it gave advance notice of amendment to air quality regulations in December last year.
The EPA said that according to the different local gas emission features, the administration is now working on setting standards for gas emissions from the steel industry in Greater Taichung, dioxin emissions from steel smelting plants in Greater Kaohsiung, gas emissions from electric power facilities in Greater Taichung and Greater Kaohsiung, and regulations for the petrochemical industry.
The PM2.5 air quality monitoring will be done manually at 30 monitoring stations nationwide, the EPA said, adding that the work is scheduled to begin in July or August.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
RSS