Conflicting government reports raise concerns about the safety of Formosa Petrochemical Corp plants, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) said at a news conference yesterday.
“In the past, ordinary people have trusted government tests of industrial facilities, but gradually we have discovered that the evaluations are not as on-target as they appear,” said Chen, a former Green Party member.
“Formosa Petrochemical tells us that there is no problem because it meets government standards, but government and civil society reports have reached conflicting conclusions,” she said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
She cited a Institute of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health study that showed levels of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) higher than government standards in the air at a Formosa Petrochemical factory in Kaohsiung’s Linyuan District (林園), where several measurements taken from instruments worn by employees throughout a day’s work showed levels exceeding 3,000 parts per billion.
The news conference follows controversy surrounding a Formosa Petrochemical plant in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮), with .students from the nearby Ciaotou Elementary School’s Syucuo branch being forced to relocate several times over the past few years after tests showed students had abnormally high levels of thioglycolic acid (TdGA), a chemical related to VCM, in their bodies.
While the discovery has drawn accusations that the factories have been leaking chemicals, Formosa Petrochemical has said that no abnormalities have been detected in government testing of plant employees, adding that the extra TdGA could be derived from sources other than VCM at its facilities.
However, Chen said that a National Health Research Institutes report said that exposure to VCM is closely correlated to high levels of TdGA in the urine of Formosa Petrochemical employees, with levels spiking sharply after employees had been at work in areas containing VCM.
Because the Environmental Protection Agency does not require testing or reporting of VCM levels, there is no way to verify that there was not a leak, Chen said, calling for new safety standards and mandatory testing of smokestacks and nearby areas.
Chang Kuo-min (張國民) — a deputy section chief in the Ministry of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration — said it was not clear whether the Institute of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health study had used the same measurement methods as his administration, which has consistently found that levels at the plants have been within legal limits.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
RSS