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.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘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
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week. To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲) told a news conference yesterday. School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children’s Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs,
RSS