All seven mosquito coils made by the Crocodile Coil brand tested by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) contained dioxin levels more than 100 times the industrial norm, the EPA said at a press conference yesterday.
As the products pose a possible health risk, people should avoid buying Crocodile Coil products until the matter is resolved, the EPA said.
In addition to recalling all its products, Crocodile Coil said it would offer refunds to customers, EPA Deputy Minister Chang Tzi-chin (張子敬) said.
The EPA’s investigation of dioxin levels in all the mosquito coils on the market came after the administration’s unexpected finding during a random inspection on July 25 that two Crocodile Coil brand products — Vietnam-made Crocodile Dye-free Coil (product No. 0661) and Crocodile Light (product No. 0670) — contained 423 and 348 picograms of international toxic equivalent per gram (pg I-TEQ/g) of dioxin respectively.
Dioxins are listed by the WHO as carcinogens. If exposed to burning coils in closed environments for two or three months, a person’s risk of developing cancer could increase 3.7-fold, said director-general of the Department of Environmental Sanitation and Toxic Substances Yuan Shao-ying (袁紹英).
After receiving the test results last month, the EPA demanded that Crocodile Coil withdraw the two products and two other Vietnam-made coils from the market and said it would test all mosquito coils sold in Taiwan.
“After testing 20 products, we found that seven contained dioxin levels ranging from 163 to 624 pg I-TEQ/g, while the levels in the other 13 were 0 to 4 pg I-TEQ/g. All seven contaminated products were from the Crocodile Coil brand,” Chang said.
Although the contamination is believed to have originated from wood powders Crocodile Coil purchased from a Vietnamese firm — which it then distributed to its plants in Vietnam, Indonesia, China and Malaysia — Chang said the EPA had nevertheless demanded that Crocodile Coil launch an investigation to determine the source.
People who have been using the coils should not be overly worried, however, Yuan said.
“If a person has used the coils according to the instructions on the package ... the chances of inhaling excess dioxins are low,” Yuan said.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS