Public health specialists and government officials yesterday said relocating students from Ciaotou Elementary School’s Syucuo (許厝) branch is a necessary preventive measure to avoid further exposure to pollutants, and urged parents to consider their children’s health as a priority.
The Executive Yuan last week announced that it would move Syucuo students to Fongrong Elementary School by the end of the semester to be further away from pollutants allegedly emitted by the nearby Formosa Petrochemical Corp naphtha cracker in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮), including carcinogen vinyl chloride monomer (VCM).
The decision was made after a study by the National Health Research Institutes showed that thiodiglycolic acid levels — an indicator of VCM exposure — in the urine of Syucuo students was higher than in students at other schools. The levels reportedly dropped when they were temporarily moved to other schools.
However, as the new semester for elementary schools began yesterday, most Syucuo students’ parents were reluctant to transfer their children to Fongrong Elementary School, with some even pitching tents on the Syucuo campus for students to study in, as classrooms were closed.
National Taiwan University’s College of Public Health dean Chen Wei-jen (陳為堅) said illness caused by pollution is often the result of chronic exposure and acute symptoms might not appear for some time.
Chen said when many people began suffering from blackfoot disease in the 1950s on the southwestern coast of Taiwan, villages were relocated to prevent more outbreaks, but some diseases can take decades for the cause to be identified, and sometimes it is too late to reverse the damage after symptoms appear.
“Some residents said they are not willing to transfer [their children] until there is evidence, but sometimes it can take 30 years to find clear evidence. Can we wait that long?” Chen said, adding that removing children from high-risk environments is the most effective way to protect them.
Environmental Protection Administration Minister Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said that while the administration would enhance monitoring methods and inspections on VCM emissions at nearby industrial plants, transferring the students is still a necessary precaution.
Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) said many parents had complained that Fongrong Elementary School is too far away, so the Ciaotou Elementary School’s main campus would provide six classrooms for Syucuo students and free school buses, lunch and other resources are to be provided by the county government.
He urged parents of Syucuo students to allow their children to go to school today at the main campus, saying it is the best way to protect their health and their right to education.
Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) said the ministry would monitor students’ health with urine and liver function tests after they are transferred to other schools, with preliminary health results expected in six months.
The ministry is also conducting health evaluations on pregnant women, older people and people with chronic diseases living in the area, it said.
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