Members of the Green Party-Social Democratic Party Alliance yesterday gathered in front of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) offices in Taipei, demanding that the agency lower the action threshold concentrations for PM2.5 — airborne pollutants less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter — in its draft air pollution measures issued last month.
The administration announced a draft measure against severe air pollution on Nov. 16, which stipulates a response plan for four serious PM2.5 levels — warning level, primary level, medium level and emergency level — with concentrations of 54, 150, 250 and 350 micrograms per cubic meter respectively.
The alliance criticized the draft measure for its perceived loose standards, saying the administration advises against outdoor activities when PM2.5 concentrations reach 71 micrograms per cubic meter, but the pollution control procedures stipulated in the draft measures — including banning outdoor events, and reducing traffic and industrial emissions — would not be enacted until PM2.5 concentrations reach the primary level, or 150 micrograms per cubic meter.
Photo: EPA
Clean air campaigner Hsu Hsin-hsin (許心欣) said the administration should lower the threshold concentration of the primary level to 71 micrograms per cubic meter, which should result in the cancelation of outdoor activities at schools due to health concerns.
Hsu said the group Clean Air Taichung has launched an online signature collection campaign to revise the draft measure, with 1,085 signatures collected so far.
Alliance legislative candidate Lee Ken-cheng (李根政) called for the revision of the existing 24-hour PM2.5 standards to an hourly standard, because a short-term PM2.5 spike might not trigger an alert, as PM2.5 concentrations could be averaged out over a 24-hour period.
The alliance is proposing that pollution control procedures be activated when PM2.5 concentrations remain above 71 micrograms per cubic meter for two consecutive hours, Lee said.
Citing a study by US researcher Arden Pope in 2002, alliance legislative candidate Thomas Chan (詹順貴) said that each 10 microgram per cubic meter elevation in PM2.5 concentrations was associated with approximately a 6 percent and 8 percent increased risk of cardiopulmonary disease and lung cancer mortality respectively.
Annual PM2.5 concentrations in Taiwan have averaged between 30 and 40 micrograms per cubic meter, much higher than the US’ average concentration of 15 micrograms per cubic meter, suggesting an urgent need to impose more active PM2.5 control measures, Chan said.
The alliance called on the administration to establish an air pollution control zone in central and southern Taiwan, where gross emissions should be capped, as well as phasing out the burning of coal and petroleum coke, reducing vehicles and limiting pollution-intensive industries.
In response, the administration said the pollution control procedures in the draft measures were based on similar US regulations and they were designed for extreme pollution scenarios, which should not occur if regular pollution prevention measures are properly executed.
However, public hearings would be held to consult public opinion before the draft measures take effect next year, the administration said.
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