The Yunlin County Government on Wednesday issued a NT$1 million (US$31,460) fine to Formosa Plastics Group after allegations that a gas leak at its massive petrochemical complex sickened almost 100 people.
The county’s Environmental Protection Bureau also cited the Air Pollution Prevention Act (空氣污染防制法) in ordering a naphtha cracker in the complex to halt operations.
An odor filled the air on Thursday last week in Mailiao Township (麥寮) and neighboring Taisi Township (台西), home to the group’s petrochemical complex, which comprises more than 60 factories.
DIZZINESS
Sixty-three students and teachers at five public elementary schools reported dizziness and nausea, the county government said.
The number of sick had increased to 85 by the next day, the county said.
On Monday, Taisi Township again reported a strange odor, with 10 elementary school students and teachers seeking treatment.
“Luckily, they all recovered after being taken to hospitals for medical treatment,” a county official at the Education Department said.
Local media cited the bureau as saying its investigation found that Monday’s odor was due to botched procedures at a naphtha storage tank numbered T8506.
CHEMICAL LEVELS
Inspectors detected abnormally high concentrations of propane and sulfur dioxide at the plant, with propane concentrations several times higher than the acceptable level, and sulfur dioxide concentrations of 311 parts per billion (ppb), above the allowable maximum of 250 ppb.
Bureau director Lai Tung-hung (賴東鴻), however, said the final report on the investigation into the cause of the odor and illnesses would not be available for another week.
Formosa Plastics said that the tank did not contain either of the chemicals in question, adding that gas samples from the factory and areas around the tank also proved normal.
The conglomerate criticized the county for blaming the petrochemical complex for the odor without publicizing the results of its probe.
‘UNFAIR’
“It’s not fair to issue an accusation without data,” a spokesman for the enterprise said.
In July, two fires broke out at the petrochemical complex, causing a great deal of damage to agricultural production and igniting residents’ anger over long-term air pollution they said was a result of operations at the complex.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
RSS