Taipei is suspending all use of powder and dust products at public events and is considering a general ban on all combustible powders and dust products, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
The comments were in response to reporters’ questions on Ko’s stance on the matter after Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) announced the temporary suspension of the use of colored powder in public events while safety issues are investigated.
A dust explosion on Saturday at Formosa Fun Coast in New Taipei City started a fire that injured hundreds of people, officials said.
Photo: Huang Chieh, Taipei Times
Ko made the statements at a lunch hosted by Democratic Progressive Party Legislative Yuan hopeful Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) in Tainan’s Yongkang District (永康).
Suspending the use of a product after an emergency before looking into what can be done better is standard operating procedure, Ko said, adding that if the use of powder products is allowed in the future, they must be noncombustible.
Separately, Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Derek Chen (陳金德) said that while he had prohibited the use of colored powder during his tenure as head of the municipal government’s Environmental Protection Bureau two years ago, it was over environmental concerns.
Photo: Huang Chieh, Taipei Times
Significant support in 2013 for a “Color Run” in Taipei and Taichung led to plans for one in Kaohsiung last year.
However, the bureau’s decision led to its cancelation.
In light of Saturday’s incident, applications for events in Kaohsiung that would use colored powder will not be approved, Chen said, adding that private events should not use such powders to improve safety.
Chen said Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) had spoken with New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) about the issue and pledged that Kaohsiung was prepared to aid patients.
Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and the E-Da Hospital had taken in three patients who were transferred from northern Taiwan, Chen Chin-te said.
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