The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday said it would amend the Haloalkane Consumption Management Act (氟氯烴消費量管理辦法) this year so the country’s haloalkane (HCFC) consumption would be reduced to 25 percent of the amount consumed in 1989 by next year.
“Recently, Academia Sinica proved that chlorofluorocarbons [CFCs], a family of HCFC, is the main chemical in the air responsible for ozone depletion, and that chlorine peroxide damages the ozone layer at a faster rate than scientists previously thought,” said Yang Ching-shi (楊慶熙), EPA director-general of supervision evaluation and dispute resolution.
The Academia Sinica study, which was published earlier this month in the journal Science, shows that a small amount of CFCs — commonly used as refrigerants, foam agents, aerosol propellants or solvents — can cause a chain reaction that rapidly damages the ozone layer.
When CFCs are released into the air, the chlorine element is separated from the rest of the CFC compound, the study said. When chlorine mixes with ozone, it tears one oxygen atom away to form oxygen and chloroxine, the study said, adding that when two molecules of chloroxine combine, they form chlorine peroxide, which absorbs sunlight and breaks down into more chlorine atoms, beginning a chain reaction that depletes the ozone layer.
“Although we cannot sign the Montreal Protocol [signed after the 1985 discovery that the ozone layer was being depleted] because of political considerations, we have followed Montreal Protocol regulations since 1989,” Yang said.
In 1994, Taiwan started regulating the import or manufacture of products containing HCFCs, Yang said, adding that in 2004, the EPA began cutting HCFC consumption levels down to 65 percent of the amount consumed in 1989.
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of
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