The first case of illegally excessive toluene emissions has been identified via smart law enforcement and could be fined up to NT$15 million (US$486,776), the Ministry of Environment said on Tuesday.
The Environmental Management Administration’s Central Center of Environmental Management spotted inappropriate volatile organic waste emissions by analyzing business waste treatment information and big data of the Air Quality Internet of Things, the ministry said.
The center referred the case to the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office, and initiated a joint investigation with police and environmental authorities in June, the ministry said.
Photo: Huang Yi-ching, Taipei Times
They found the emissions were toluene gas from a polyurethane synthetic leather manufacturer in the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park, it said.
The company was found to have emitted toluene 24 times more than the maximum acceptable standard, making it the first business in Taiwan to contravene Article 53 of the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法) due to illegally excessive emissions of harmful air pollutants, the ministry said.
It reported using eco-friendly, water-based resin coating when applying for a stationary pollution source operating permit, but it adopted lots of volatile organic materials such as toluene and methyl ethyl ketone in practices, the ministry said.
The company also deliberately reported less raw material consumption than it had actually used to evade paying air pollution control fees, it said.
The fraudulent application for the permit and evasion of fees also contravened Article 54 of the act, the ministry said.
The office is investigating and would hold the company criminally liable, while the Changhua County Environmental Protection Bureau would collect the fees evaded by the company over the past five years, it said.
According to Article 53 of the act, those who emit air pollutants to the extent that their illegally large amounts could harm people’s lives or health can be given a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of up to NT$15 million, the ministry said.
Toluene is a harmful air pollutant that irritates the eyes and respiratory tract when acutely inhaled, causing dizziness, headache, nausea and other symptoms, it said.
The substance could lead to clouding of consciousness or death if the inhaled concentration is high enough, the ministry said.
Long-term exposure to toluene would damage the central nervous system, leading to memory loss and impaired coordination, it said, adding that hearing, liver and kidney function might also be impaired.
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