The Taitung Refuse Incineration Plant is expected to resume operation on Saturday if the results of tests done on the facility are satisfactory, Taitung County Environmental Protection Bureau Chief Huang Chuan-wei (黃權煒) said today.
The incineration plant was seen emitting black smoke that blew to Jhihben (知本) yesterday afternoon.
In a Taitung County council meeting this morning, Councilor Chang Kuo-chou (張國洲) said he was told that “Taitung’s blue sky had turned black” yesterday.
Photo courtesy of a reader
Chang questioned why the bureau did not immediately stop the incinerator’s operation as it said the incinerator was damaged.
The bureau said it ceased the plant’s operation yesterday at 10pm amid public concerns.
The plant is under maintenance because some ceramic filter pipes were damaged in a recent earthquake, it said.
Of more than 960 filter pipes, 58 were damaged, Huang said, adding that the damage could be the reason for the black smoke.
Witnesses were told that the incinerator was undergoing tests that involved injecting activated carbon, which was why the incinerator emitted black smoke, they said.
Taitung County Councilor Huang Chih-wei (黃治維) said he doubted if the factory had any damaged equipment as there has been no earthquake recently.
Every time when there is a problem, the people are the first to detect it, Huang said, questioning if the county government is providing enough information.
The bureau said it would address public concerns and continue to disclose information.
The Taitung Refuse Incineration Plant said in a statement that it specified that the plant was undergoing “preventive maintenance” as the website showed relatively high monitored data.
Taitung County Environmental Protection Bureau has demanded the operator immediately cease the plant’s operation until calibration is completed, the statement said.
The plant had been shut down for 15 years due to legal disputes.
It began a two-year trial period in 2023 after a short trial in Feb. 2022, which ended this year.
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