日本預計2年後排放核廢水 農委會將擴增海洋輻射檢測｜Taiwan to expand radiation tests after Japan decides to release wastewater into sea
Wednesday, Taiwan’s government announced that it will expand existing radiation-level tests by increasing the number of sea monitoring points, fish sampling sizes, and tritium monitoring sites. The Council of Agriculture (農委會), Atomic Energy Council (原委會) and Ocean Affairs Council (海委會) held a press conference responding to Japan’s plan to release treated radioactive water from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years time.
Liu Wen-shi (劉文熙), the director of the Radiation Protection Division (輻射防護處), said that Japan has yet to release its radiation monitoring plan or give a complete simulation report on the sea currents and atmospheric dispersion.大氣的擴散模擬報告He expressed concerns that releasing the treated wastewater into the ocean would increase the burden on neighboring countries as well as damaging marine ecology.
In light of this, Taiwan’s government had expressed its disapproval to Japan and delivered a formal letter in opposition to its marine discharges. Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲), the minister of COA said that cross-ministerial efforts had been made 跨部會合作 to monitor radiation-level tests on aquatic products since Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster took place in 2011. In the next two years, the government will expand its sea monitoring scale from 20 sites to 62 sites, with tests conducted all year-round instead of only in summer and winter, Chen added. In addition, the number of fish samples tested will increase from the current 208 annually to 500 per year.
Chen stressed that the government will defend the rights of Taiwan fishermen and seek compensation from the Japanese government if concrete scientific evidence proved that the release of tritium-containing wastewater from Japan affects Taiwan’s fishing industry.
422地球日重申減碳行動 LCI在台倡議十年經驗談LCI members invite Taiwan businesses to join fight against climate change on Earth Day
More and more people agree that climate change might become one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. Amid Taiwan’s current water shortage, this year’s Earth Day serves as another reminder that it is time to lower carbon emissions and entice more people and businesses in the fight against climate change.
The members of the Low Carbon Initiative (LCI, 低碳倡議行動) under the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT, 歐洲在臺商務協會) understand those challenges. They have strived to help Taiwan’s government and companies to adopt the best practices and policies on reducing carbon emissions over the past 10 years. According to ECCT Chief Executive Officer Freddie Höglund (何飛逸), the LCI has advocated for “sustainability and renewable energy” in Taiwan through numerous flagship events 旗鑑性活動, which have helped attract more investment and collaboration opportunities. “
These [concrete results] are even more meaningful as we celebrate Earth Day, here today,” Höglund said, adding that the initiative has slowly grown from just 10 members to 70 members this year. The members have shared their expertise in “green energy, green financing, green mobility 綠色交通, smart cities, smart manufacturing, and circular economy 循環經濟,” in light of the government’s 2017 “5+2 policy,” he added.
As Taiwanese companies aim to be more eco-friendly, Höglund believes they now “have a great opportunity to learn what is happening and thereby leapfrog into the front line and not be limited.” “[LCI] warmly welcome anybody who’s interested to join our organization to take part in these best practices, to help make significant policy changes here in Taiwan for future generations to come.”