More than 10,000 hectares of land in Taoyuan were designated as controlled areas in which the concentrations of heavy metals in effluent are capped, in the first such wastewater management designation in the nation amid repeated cases of soil contamination.
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday said it approved the establishment of the control areas in regions where the Sinjie River (新街溪), Pushin River (埔心溪) and Huangcian River (黃墘溪) flow, where repeated cases of pollution have been reported, EPA Department of Water Quality Director Yeh Chun-hung (葉俊宏) said.
“Water quality monitoring over the past five years showed that the Sinjie River had satisfied only 53 percent of the standards for copper levels, while the Pushin River had only 17 percent. There are 145 hectares of farmland drawing irrigation water from rivers that are designated as contaminated, suggesting severe pollution problems in the area,” Yeh said.
Pushin River has been called the “taro milk river” and “bubble river” due to the illegal discharge of industrial wastewater, he said.
The 10,100-hectare control areas cover the city’s Dayuan (大園), Lujhu (蘆竹), Taoyuan, Jhungli (中壢), Bade (八德), Pingjhen (平鎮), Longtan (龍潭) and Dasi (大溪) districts, encompassing more than half of the city’s 13 districts, Yeh said.
The control areas are further divided into first and second-degree control areas, where different discharge regulations apply, he said.
In first-degree control areas, where effluent-receiving bodies of water are not qualified as irrigation source, the effluent concentration levels of copper, zinc, nickel, cadmium, chromium and hexavalent chromium are to be reduced by between 60 percent and 95 percent, so that water quality can be restored to levels safe for irrigation, Yeh said.
The establishment of new plants will be prohibited in first-degree areas of control and renewal of the licenses of existing plants would be strictly reviewed, Yeh said.
“In the past, licenses were issued to every plant that met the requirements for wastewater management with no exceptions, but that must be changed for a more effective control,” he said.
In second-degree control zones, where effluent-receiving bodies of water are clean enough to be used in irrigation, new plants would be granted operating licenses only if they guarantee to treat wastewater according to standards of a first-degree control zone, he said.
There are 27 businesses in the control areas that discharge heavy metals-containing sewage, including metal polishing companies and printed circuit board manufacturers including a plant of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc, the world’s biggest chip packager.
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
NINTH MONTH: There were 11,792 births in Taiwan last month and 15,563 deaths, or a mortality rate of 8.11 per 1,000 people, household registration data showed Taiwan’s population was 23,404,138 as of last month, down 2,470 from August, the ninth consecutive month this year that the nation has reported a drop, the Ministry of the Interior said on Wednesday. The population last month was 162 fewer than the same month last year, a decline of 0.44 per day, the ministry said, citing household registration data. Taiwan reported 11,792 births last month, or 3.7 births per day, up 149 from August, it said, adding that the monthly birthrate was 6.15 per 1,000 people. The jurisdictions with the highest birthrates were Yunlin County at 14.62 per 1,000 people, Penghu County (8.61
RSS