The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday made four recommendations to the public about drinking water, warning against unknown mountain spring water and urging people to wash their water towers regularly, as well as maintain the hygiene of water dispensers and water purifier systems.
More than half of the mountain spring water samples tested were found to contain high levels of bacteria, the administration said, adding that more than 70 percent of cases of poor tap water quality was caused by water towers not being washed regularly.
Department of Environmental Sanitation and Toxic Substances director-general Yuan Shao-ying (袁紹英) said some people may have the wrong idea that mountain spring water is cleaner, but as much as 62 percent tested positive for coliform bacteria.
Moreover, he said many people think drinking bottled water is safer and healthier than drinking tap water, but tap water is actually a legal source for bottled water, and recent statistics showed that about 43 percent of bottled water in Taiwan comes from tap water.
The administration said a person probably spends between NT$60 and NT$70 a day if they buy 2 liters of bottled water daily — the daily recommended adult intake — which is not only costly, but also creates plastic waste.
It suggested people carry reusable water containers filled with tap water or boiled water, and encouraged people to wash and maintain their water towers, water dispensers and water purifier systems every six months to prevent bacterial growth.
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
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