The Ministry of Environment yesterday announced more stringent air pollution control zone criteria, meaning that five cities and counties would no longer meet the standard.
Based on the higher standards, New Taipei City, Taichung and the counties of Changhua, Nantou and Chiayi are to be reclassified from “meeting the standard” to “non-compliant” for PM10, the ministry said.
It is part of the ministry’s proposed amendments to the Air Quality Standards first announced in September.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
PM10 refers to inhalable particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter found in dust and smoke.
According to the new guidelines, all air quality monitoring stations within a municipality must meet the threshold for particulate matter, rather than the previous system of averaging the results from all stations for a given area.
The stricter criteria means that the five municipalities expand the list of Class 3 zones to 11.
This does not indicate a decrease in air quality for these areas, but reflects the higher standards being used, the ministry said.
On the contrary, the five municipalities have seen decreases in PM10 concentrations in line with the rest of the country since 2016, including a 35 percent reduction for New Taipei City, 36 percent for Taichung, 29 percent for Changhua County, 40 percent for Nantou County and 42 percent for Chiayi County, the ministry said.
For PM2.5, 14 counties and cities remain Class 3 control zones, the ministry said.
For ozone, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties are Class 2 control zones, while all other municipalities are Class 3.
The control zone classification allows for local governments to take more proactive measures to control pollution by collecting fees and tightening control of emissions from sources such as construction and road dust, the ministry said.
The higher fees then incentivize businesses to invest in lower-emission or pollution prevention technology, causing air quality to improve further, it added.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
RSS