Explosive substances such as ammonium nitrate and hydrofluoric acid would be restricted from imports, manufacturing, usage, storage, transportation and sale in Taiwan, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday.
The agency issued a preview of planned amendments to regulations that are to take effect on July 1.
Hydrofluoric acid, which emerges when hydrogen fluoride is dissolved in water, has caused many injuries in industrial accidents and has been used to maliciously harm people, and should be regulated, Toxic and Chemical Substance Bureau Director-General Hsieh Yein-rui (謝燕儒) said.
Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei Times
An ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut last year caused at least 210 deaths and 7,500 injuries, Hsieh said, adding that the substance should be regulated.
Ammonium nitrate is also used to produce helium, the first chemical restricted by the EPA, Hsieh said.
The online sale of the substances would be banned, as well as their unlicensed transportation, storage or sale, he said.
The regulations would also require detailed labeling, monthly reports and other measures, Hsieh said.
Contingency measures and other standards would be enforced at factories that handle more than 50,000kg of 80 percent pure ammonium nitrate, and 300kg of solutions with more than 10 percent hydrofluoric acid, he said.
The regulations would stipulate fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 (US$1,051 to US$10,514) for breaches when transporting the substances, Hsieh said.
Contraventions of accident-prevention mesaures would result in fines of NT$30,000 to NT$500,000, he said.
Accidents involving the substances leading to fatalities or injury would be punished with 7 years to life in prison and fines of up to NT$10 million, Hsieh said.
Facilities handling the substances without having insurance or without protective equipment would be fined NT$1 million to NT$5 million, he said.
The EPA had also found that some aluminum cleaning products sold in Taiwan contained hydrofluoric acid, he said.
The agency has asked manufacturers to add warnings to their labeling that inform customers of measures in case of an accident, Hsieh said.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a