More than 9 million people in Taiwan live within 5km of petrochemical production facilities, placing them in high-risk zones for air pollution exposure, Greenpeace said in a report released yesterday.
The environmental group identified 191 facilities across 13 counties and cities, estimating that these high-risk zones encompass nearly 40 percent of Taiwan’s population.
The areas include 1.15 million children and 1.59 million elderly people, Greenpeace project manager Chang Kai-ting (張凱婷) said.
Photo courtesy of Greenpeace
She added that 4,067 institutions — including kindergartens, elementary and junior high schools and elderly care centers — also fall within the zones.
Kaohsiung has the highest concentration, with 50 facilities affecting about 1.6 million residents. Taoyuan and Tainan each have 31 plants, placing 1.98 million and 1.58 million people respectively in high-risk areas, Chang said.
If the exposure range is extended to 10km, the number of people affected rises to 15.72 million — about 70 percent of Taiwan’s population, she said.
Responding to the report, Department of Atmospheric Environment Director-General Huang Wei-ming (黃偉鳴) said the Ministry of Environment has already launched investigations and pollution-reduction plans.
The ministry would gradually expand monitoring networks, conduct pollution assessments and provide guidance on cutting emissions, he said.
Permanent long-term monitoring stations equipped with advanced technology have already been established in major petrochemical zones, he added.
The ministry would hold consultations in high-emission areas, offer guidance and promote upgrades to pollution control equipment, Huang said, adding that the efforts aim to strengthen oversight of industrial emissions, mitigate risks and improve air quality.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor
RSS