Nan Ya Plastics Corp yesterday said that no toxic gas was released following a fire that broke out earlier in the day at its plant in New Taipei City’s Taishan District (泰山).
Nan Ya said in a news release that the raw materials housed in the five-floor building only produced nontoxic substances such as carbon dioxide after combustion.
The damaged materials included 100 tonnes of polypropylene and 200 tonnes of cast polypropylene film, resulting in financial losses of NT$14.3 million (US$446,080), the company said.
Photo: Tung Kuan-yi, Taipei Times
Previously, the New Taipei Environmental Protection Bureau issued a warning for residents of Linkou (林口), Taishan, Wugu (五股), Sanchong (三重) and Sinjhuang (新莊) districts, as well as Taoyuan’s Guishan District (龜山), in response to the fire that broke out at about 2am at the facility on Nanlin Road.
Residents in parts of New Taipei City and Taoyuan were urged to close their windows and wear masks outdoors due to possible pollutants stemming from the overnight fire.
The city’s fire department said that the blaze broke out on the fifth floor of a reinforced concrete building in the plant complex and burned an area of 2,857 square meters before being brought under control at 3:30am.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries from the fire, the cause of which is to be investigated, Nan Ya said.
During an early morning visit to the site, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said firefighters had controlled the blaze in a building that contained about 300 tonnes of raw materials, but had not extinguished it.
The Environmental Protection Bureau said air quality readings taken downwind of the fire yesterday morning had not detected any spikes in particulate pollution, but it nevertheless urged precautions due to the possibility of a foul smell and pollutants reaching those areas before the fire was extinguished.
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