Environmental activists said yesterday that a land reclamation project is not suited for the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park (彰濱工業區), as the government’s reports have already shown that groundwater in the area contains high levels of arsenic.
The group made the remarks at a public hearing held yesterday at the legislature in Taipei that aimed to address public concern about the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ plan to use industrial waste, such as basic oxygen furnace (BOF) slag and coal ash as landfill material, which could contaminate the area’s groundwater and negatively affect the health of local residents.
The Taiwan Water Resources Protection Union said a land reclamation project creating 353 hectares of land using BOF slag and coal ash as landfill material passed an Environmental Impact Assessment in 2010.
Photo: CNA
However, now with the ministry’s Industrial Development Bureau is proposing another 19.7 hectares of land be reclaimed with BOF slag, the group said it is concerned that heavy metal pollution would spread to nearby wetlands, farms, fish farms and contaminate drinking water.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) said the bureau’s own report in 2010 stated that levels of arsenic, considered carcinogenic, in the groundwater were found to exceed drinking water quality standards by as much as seven times.
The report also showed that groundwater near the coast can flow from the industrial park toward the inland areas, so it could contaminate the groundwater in other areas, Liu said.
He said that the majority of residents still rely on groundwater as their main source of drinking water, so the government should stop the land reclamation project.
Several Greater Kaohsiung residents who live near the South Star Plan area said the government has not effectively monitored landfill material deposited in the area in the past 20 years, leading to medical waste being discovered in the area earlier this year and heavy metal contamination being found in ocean sediment.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator and former Environmental Protection Administration deputy minister Chiu Wen-yen (邱文彥) said he is concerned about the location of the land reclamation, "because unlike Tokyo Bay, which is surrounded by land, Changhua faces the open sea and is hit by stronger waves. If the diffusion effect of seawater is not good enough, the fish farming industry along the coast may be affected."
"We should carefully and comprehensively review this policy, so we don’t end up creating even more problems," he said.
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
STRIKING A BALANCE: A nutritionist said that only 9 percent of respondents were concerned whether they had a sufficient balance of vegetables and fruits Nearly 60 percent of respondents said that they are affected physically and mentally due to lack of a regular breakfast routine, while only 9 percent ate a balanced diet, a Formosa Cancer Foundation survey showed. Thirty percent of respondents do not eat breakfast at home, saying it is more expedient to buy it, said Hsu Kuei-ting (徐桂婷), the foundation’s nutritionist, citing its most recent poll on nutritional intake for people aged 20 to 60. The poll showed that 60 percent believe they do not eat breakfasts that have balanced nutrition. At 62 percent, convenience was the most commonly cited factor in deciding whether