Scientists speaking for the National Science Council (NSC) said yesterday that the government would have to enhance both waste water treatment and industrial waste management if it is to hit all the targets for 2011 set out in the National Environmental Protection Project (國家環境保護計畫).
The scientists, conducting a project to develop a dynamic model for analysis of waste management and water pollution said yesterday that some of the project's targets might not be hit if the government doesn't adjust its existing policies.
Taking river pollution as an example, scientists said that one of the goals of the project, approved by the Executive Yuan in 1998, was that the lengths of unpolluted stretches of rivers must exceed that of polluted stretches by a factor of 70 percent.
Scientists said that if the government wanted to achieve that goal, the rate of domestic waste water that is collected by sewage systems and then treated before being discharged had to be increased from 3.6 percent in 1997 to 26.1 percent in 2011.
"This is a target that is hard to hit," said Yeh Shin-cheng (
Yeh said that the rate of sewage treatment was one of the key factors affecting river water quality.
In addition, Yeh said it was necessary to carry out stricter biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) control in the industry, especially among petroleum-related chemical engineering businesses and the tanning industry.
BOD refers to the amount of oxygen that a water sample will absorb over a given incubation period. It is frequently used to gauge the strength of the waste entering water.
The BOD for the whole of Taiwan is around 40g per capita per day -- that is to say the nation's polluted waters consume about 800 tonnes of oxygen per day.
Scientists also highlighted future environmental and financial burdens that will result from the current inadequate treatment of hazardous industrial waste.
Chu Yun-peng (
"If the government does not adjust existing policies, it will have to spend a tremendous amount of money [in the future] to deal with [the resultant] problems," Chu said, adding that the estimated cost of treating hazardous industrial waste would be NT$23.4 billion in 2011.
Over 160 illegal waste dumps have been discovered around the nation, pointing to decades of inadequate management of industrial waste in Taiwan.
NSC Vice Chairman Steve Hsieh (
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