The Gaomei Wetlands (高美溼地) in Taichung County, one of the most important wildlife sanctuaries along the nation's coastline, has been polluted by heavy waste oil dumped by unknown sources, environmental officials said yesterday.
The waste oil pollution, stretching for nearly 2km and covering about 1,000m² of the wetland, is the worst manmade environmental damage the sanctuary has sustained in recent memory, said Jiang Chu-nung (姜祖農), head of the Environmental Protection Administration's central Taiwan environmental monitoring corps.
“Initial investigations show that the heavy oil comes from utility boilers,” Jiang said, adding that there are no such plants nearby.
PHOTO: CNA
The Taichung County Government's environmental department has launched a probe into the cause of the pollution and according to the department, the oil could have been dumped from fuel tankers.
Local police said they were reviewing video monitor footage in hopes of identifying the culprits.
More than 100 cleanup crew and environmental volunteers have been mobilized to clean up the waste oil since Tuesday night, and county officials said floating booms had been deployed to prevent the oil from further spreading.
Firefighters have also put absorbent fibers on the beach to absorb and contain the oil slick.
“About a quarter of the polluted area is wetland subject to strict protection,” said an official with the county government's conservation department. “It is tragic that someone has unscrupulously damaged the wetland that we have been so painstakingly working to conserve.”
A group of Tunghai University professors inspecting the polluted region yesterday morning said an endangered wetland plant species Bolboschoenus planiculmis was seriously damaged by the pollution and might be wiped out.
Other special wetland species such as fiddler crabs and various fish have also sustained damage, they said.
The Gaomei Wetlands, located on the south bank of the Dajia River (大甲溪) estuary, is rich in biodiversity and plays host to different migratory birds and plant species.
Tropical depression TD22, which was over waters south of the Ryukyu Islands, is likely to develop into a tropical storm by this morning and pose a significant threat to Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The depression is likely to strengthen into a tropical storm named Krathon as it moves south and then veers north toward waters off Taiwan’s eastern coast, CWA forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said. Given the favorable environmental conditions for its development, TD22’s intensity would reach at least typhoon levels, Hsu said. As of 2pm yesterday, the tropical depression was about 610km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
RSS