Fifteen compounds have been added to a list of monitored chemicals due to health and public safety concerns, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said in a statement on Thursday.
The Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau said it had enacted controls on lead (II, IV) oxide, also known as red lead, after it was determined that a Chinese medicine clinic in Taichung had used it in a product also containing powdered cinnabar.
Hopefully tightening controls of red lead would prevent similar practices, the bureau said.
Photo courtesy of the Environmental Protection Administration
Long-term ingestion of red lead can cause lead poisoning, movement disorders and damage to the heart, reproductive and endocrine systems, it said.
Excessive ingestion can also trigger a coma or an epileptic seizure, the bureau said.
Also banned were lead (II) oxide (lead monoxide), sodium sulfide, sodium thiocyanate and 2-naphthol, it said.
Lead monoxide is sometimes used to accelerate fermentation of century eggs, while there have been reports of stinky tofu vendors illegally adding sodium sulfide to their wares as a scent enhancer, it said.
Sodium thiocyanate and 2-naphthol are sometimes used as preservatives in dairy products and soy sauce, the bureau said.
It would also monitor calcium ammonium nitrate, ammonium perchlorate, sodium percarbonate, sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate, nitromethane, sodium azide and aluminum phosphide, which are sometimes used in improvised explosive devices, it said.
Psychoactive substances 1,4-butanediol and glaucine are also to be monitored, it said, adding that the addition of the two chemicals was done in response to reports that other countries have filed with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The 15 substances are not to be used without permission and must not be traded on the Internet, the bureau said.
People or entities permitted to use monitored chemicals must label them correctly, account for their use and declare their use by publishing the documents online monthly, the bureau said.
Products that are made using monitored chemicals must be labeled as not intended for human consumption, it said.
Products that contain the chemicals linked to explosives must not be sold, imported, transported or stored without permission, the bureau said, adding that they are subject to quotas on storage volumes.
To store such products, disaster prevention and contingency plans must be submitted, it said, adding that liability insurance must be purchased and people must be trained to respond to an emergency involving the products.
Moreover, alarms and detectors must be installed at storage locations, while applications are required to to transport them, it said.
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight