The Keelung Bureau of Environmental Protection yesterday fined state-run Taiwan Water Corp (TWC) NT$500,000 over an oil spill that contaminated the water supply of more than 150,000 households.
The bureau said the fine was imposed under the Drinking Water Management Act (飲用水管理條例) for a serious contravention that endangered public health and safety.
Inspectors found that one of the oil-film detectors at TWC’s Badu pumping station was malfunctioning, which might have contributed to a delay in detecting the contamination, bureau Director Ma Chung-hao (馬仲豪) said.
Photo: CNA
The bureau is reviewing whether TWC’s equipment and emergency response deviated from its water pollution control plan, Ma said.
Bureau personnel arrived at the site within 30 minutes of TWC’s report early on Thursday, and began implementing pollution-control measures and daily water sampling at the Sinshan Water Treatment Plant, Sinshan Reservoir (新山水庫) and other areas, he said.
The bureau, police and TWC are seeking to trace the source of the contamination and would refer the case to prosecutors if any criminal liability is uncovered, Ma said.
Earlier yesterday, deputy director of TWC’s First Branch Chen Chao-hsien (陳昭賢) said the odor was detected at about 6am on Thursday.
Of the two oil-film detectors at the Badu intake, one was functioning, but failed to detect the spill due to weak early-morning light, while the second had been decommissioned and not yet removed, Chen said.
Keelung Mayor George Hsieh (謝國樑) earlier claimed that both devices were faulty.
Chen said the odor was first noticed by workers at the Sinshan Water Treatment Plant, prompting an immediate halt to river-water intake and a switch to Sinshan Reservoir.
Patrols later found oil patches along the Keelung River.
The utility is evaluating sensors capable of detecting dissolved pollutants and the river intake would remain suspended until the source is confirmed, Chen said.
Oil traces were found near Chongzhi Bridge, Nuannuan Bridge and the Dingnei gas station, where containment booms have been set up, the bureau said.
The incident affected about 105,000 households in Keelung and 47,000 in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止), the Keelung City Government said.
The city filed a report with the Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday, which has already opened an investigation, Hsieh said.
The city and the Ministry of Environment are investigating the source of the pollution and have determined that it is likely industrial-grade oil contamination, Hsieh added.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS