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.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their