After the Democratic Progressive Party (DDP) took office last year, epidemiological studies into the naphtha cracker in Yunlin’s Mailiao Township (麥寮) were stopped, academic Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權) said at a forum in Taipei yesterday.
The forum on air pollution, titled “I Breathe, I Decide,” was organized by National Taiwan University’s Risk Society and Policy Research Center and the Fubon Cultural and Educational Foundation.
Chan, who is vice dean of National Taiwan University College of Public Health, said his studies commissioned by the Changhua and Yunlin county governments were concluded last year and in March respectively.
Despite his persistent inquiries about extending the research, the local and central governments have no plans to do so, he said, adding that he is the only academic researching the environmental influence of Formosa Petrochemical Corp’s naphtha crackers.
Last month, Chan published a study about cancer risks in Changhua’s Dacheng (大城) and Jhutang (竹塘) townships, north of the cracker in Yunlin.
The study found that cancer and death rates were correlated with toxic emissions from the plant.
The sour smell that local residents often complain about is from high concentrations of formic acid, a carcinogenic substance, in the air, possibly from the plant, Chan said.
Despite changes of government over the decades, air pollution in Yunlin and Changhua continue to worsen, he said, adding that the locals smell not only the sourness, but also the “intense smell of politics.”
Chan said he had suggested the government choose between closing the plant or closing the nearby Ciaotou Elementary School’s Syucuo (許厝) branch, and the government chose the latter.
“Will the government choose differently this year, either the plant’s closure or the displacement of Changhua’s Dacheng and Yunlin’s Mailiao townships?” Chan asked.
He called on the government to continue epidemiological studies about petrochemical plant emissions, adding that studies should also be undertaken in Taoyuan, Taichung and Kaohsiung and Nantou, Chiayi, Pingtung and Penghu counties.
At the forum, US-based Society for Social Studies of Science Council member Gwen Ottinger said that she advocated “epistemic justice” in the fight against air pollution.
“Epistemic injustice means treating someone unfairly in his or her capacity as knower because of their structurally marginalized identity,” she said.
She encouraged people in polluted areas to gather data and to articulate their “lived experiences of pollution,” to challenge officials’ and experts’ categorization systems.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS