The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that students at Ciaotou Elementary School’s Syucuo (許厝) branch are to be transferred to Fongrong Elementary School in Lunbei Township (崙背) to avoid further exposure to pollutants from Formosa Petrochemical Corp’s naphtha cracker in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮).
A three-year study conducted by the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) found that thiodiglycolic acid (TdGA) levels in the urine — an indicator of carcinogen vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) exposure — of Syucuo students were significantly higher than students in other schools.
The finding was reported to Yunlin County’s Health Bureau and the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) in June to decide whether the Syucuo branch, which is about 900m from the naphtha cracker, should be relocated.
During one of the three forums Premier Lin Chuan (林全) held with civic groups on the issue last week, National Taiwan University (NTU) public health professor Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權), who has conducted epidemiological studies near the cracker for several years, suggested that the government relocate students at the Syucuo branch to protect their health.
At the Health Promotion Administration yesterday, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Director Guo Yue-liang (郭育良) said the NHRI study showed that the urinary TdGA levels of Syucuo students who were moved to the main campus of Ciaotou Elementary School dropped by about 20 percent.
“The average urinary TdGA level was 173 micrograms per gram of creatinine [mcg/g-creatinine] when they were at the Syucuo branch, 900m from the cracker, but the average urinary TdGA level was 147mcg/g-creatinine after they were moved to the main campus, 5.5km from the cracker plant,” he said.
The students’ average urinary TdGA level further dropped to 35mcg/g-creatinine during the summer vacation, he said.
Kuo said a urinary TdGA level of more than 160mcg/g-creatinine can cause damage to liver functions.
NTU Hospital pediatrician Chang Luan-yin (張鑾英) said that since the study clearly showed that urinary TdGA levels in students dropped the farther they were from the cracker, the Syucuo branch should be relocated for the sake of the students.
Executive Yuan spokesman Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said that Lin values Chan’s suggestion and as the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s specialists review had confirmed that environmental pollution posed a threat to students’ health, the government has decided to relocate the Syucuo students to Fongrong Elementary School.
Tung said that the Ministry of Education on Aug. 5 approved a budget of NT$872,000 (US$27,404) for Fongrong to expand and improve its school building and teaching facilities, with all work expected to be completed before school starts on Monday next week.
The Executive Yuan asks all related departments to assist the Yunlin County Government and engage in risk communication with the students, families and faculty, as well as continue to investigate the pollution source, monitor the environment and conduct epidemiological studies on health risks to sensitive groups, he added.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
SECURITY RISK: A university student sent a general alarm signal to THSRC’s control center on April 5, causing four operating trains to temporarily halt services The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday pledged to submit a report on ways to harden the communication security of railway systems after a university student hacked into Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp’s (THSRC) radio communications system and disrupted operations of four high-speed rail trains last month. Investigation by the police and prosecutors found that the university student and radio enthusiast, surnamed Lin (林), first used a software-defined radio (SDR) filter to analyze THSRC signals, downloaded the data to a computer, cracked the parameters and then programmed the codes into his radio devices. Lin then sent a general alarm signal to
RSS