The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday announced the results of intergovernmental efforts to reduce fugitive dust on riverbeds stirred up by the northeast monsoon, a phenomenon that has long plagued the nation and affects air quality.
Department of Air Quality Protection and Noise Control Director-General Chen Hsien-heng (陳咸亨) said fugitive dust appears in winter when rivers are dry and when the northeast monsoon blows, affecting residents living near the rivers.
The severity of the problem is best described by a Taiwanese proverb that says residents living near the Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪), the river most affected, are forced to “eat rice mixed with sand” during this time of year, Chen said.
Fugitive sand is a major source of particulate matter 10 (PM10), particulate matters up to 10 micrometers in diameter, and 30 percent of the air pollution created turns into PM2.5, he said.
According to a report published by the WHO, exposure to either pollutant negatively affects people who suffer from asthma, allergies or cardiovascular diseases, shortens life expectancy and can increase the risk of cancer.
A joint effort by the administration, the Forestry Bureau and the Department of Water Quality Protection to combat the issue, carried out between 2011 and last year, targeted six rivers across the nation: Gaoping (高屏溪), Beinan (卑南溪), Wu (烏溪), Jhuoshuei (濁水溪), Dajia (大甲溪) and Daan (大安溪) rivers.
Data produced at a survey station indicated that the annual PM10 concentration along Gaoping River from 76.75 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 39.95 micrograms per cubic meter of air, marked the biggest improvement, Chen said.
Jhuoshuei River, where fugitive dust is the most severe, saw figures drop from 62 to 60 micrograms per cubic meter of air, he said.
The number of days on which PM10 levels along Jhuoshuei River exceeded the recommended level by the administration dropped from 11 days in 2013 to eight days last year, Chen added.
However, the intergovernmental task force failed to effectively address the problem along Dajia and Daan rivers, with annual PM10 levels rising from 52.58 to 53.19 micrograms per cubic meter of air, Chen said.
Methods employed by the task force included growing plants along the rivers’ basins to hold the soil; forming windbreaks along shores to ward off the monsoon by growing plants with high drought and salinity tolerance; excavating parts of the basins to divert water from upstream; and dampening the riverbeds with high-pressure water guns, he said.
The scope of dust prevention work covered 2,660 hectares nationwide, while the windbreak created covered 1,131 hectares, Chen said.
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