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.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
RSS