Control Yuan member Tien Chiu-chin (田秋菫) yesterday urged the Ministry of Environment to improve oversight on fly ash and reduce dioxin levels in it, citing an investigation into residual toxins and public concern over waste management.
The probe was launched following media reports in 2024 on residual dioxin and heavy metals in fly ash as well as calls to reduce waste at the source, Tien said.
She said her investigation found that Taiwan generated more than 180,000 tonnes of fly ash at municipal waste incinerators between 2011 and 2024.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
Less than 10 percent of that could be reused due to high levels of dioxins and heavy metals, she said.
The remaining material must undergo treatment — solidification/stabilization, washing or thermal processing — at considerable cost before being sent to landfills, she said.
Many people believe incineration eliminates waste, but environmental and financial costs of subsequent handling are significant, making it a less effective waste reduction method than commonly assumed, Tien said.
She also raised concerns about fly ash washing, which transfers contaminants such as dioxins, heavy metals, chloride, perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS), and brominated flame retardants into wastewater.
Taiwan lacks standards governing PFAS levels in wastewater, she said.
Regulations set allowable dioxin levels at 1 nanogram I-TEQ/g, but fly ash samples from incinerators in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里), Taichung’s Wuri District (烏日), and Pingtung and Taitung counties were found to have relatively high levels, she said.
Although samples from Taoyuan and Taichung’s Houli District (后里) complied with regulations, with dioxin levels close to the legal limit at 0.95 nanograms I-TEQ/g, indicating a need for stricter monitoring and enforcement, she added.
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