Taiwan to Regulate Group 1 Carcinogen; Draft Emission Standards Expected in H2

(CNA, Taipei, May 19, by reporter Chang Hsiung-feng) Environmental groups have raised concerns that Group 1 carcinogens such as Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) within hazardous air pollutants are still not fully regulated. In response, the Ministry of Environment (MOENV) stated that it plans to announce a draft of hazardous air pollutant emission standards in the second half of the year, adding over 20 hazardous pollutants, which will include those of concern to the environmental groups. The Taiwan Healthy Air Action Alliance stated today that since 2011, the alliance has long advocated for "coal-free power and oil-free transportation," asserting that both coal-fired and traffic pollution must be addressed. They highlighted that heavy metals and carcinogens from coal combustion are particularly harmful, such as heavy metals and Group 1 carcinogens like BaP, which are still not comprehensively monitored and regulated in Taiwan. Huang Wei-ming, Director-General of the MOENV's Department of Atmospheric Environment, told CNA that a revision of the hazardous air pollutant emission standards is planned to include BaP under regulatory control. A draft of the "Stationary Pollution Source Hazardous Air Pollutant Emission Standards" is tentatively scheduled for announcement in the second half of the year, proposing to add over 20 hazardous pollutants, with BaP and others initially included. According to long-term measurements by the MOENV at monitoring stations in special industrial parks like petrochemical complexes, BaP test results in ambient air from 2022 to 2024 show an average concentration of 0.07 ng/m³ (nanograms per cubic meter) in the Yunlin Offshore Basic Industrial Park, 0.15 ng/m³ in the Linyuan Industrial Park, and 0.136 ng/m³ in the Linhai Industrial Park. The MOENV cited the long-term air monitoring assessment value of 3 ng/m³ set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in the US and the EU's air quality target for PAHs of 1 ng/m³ as an annual average. Compared to these two standards, Taiwan's levels are lower than those abroad.