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.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
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