Today (the 1st), Yunlin County held a press conference titled “Strive to Be First, Share Environmental Protection Achievements”, in a bid to share the results of Yunlin County’s air quality maintenance work. For 2 consecutive years (2020-2021), Yunlin County has received a special merit award from the EPA for its performance in improving air quality. Yunlin County’s average PM2.5 from January to April was 34.3μg/m3 in 2017 but only 20.3μg/m3 in 2022, an improvement rate of 40%, with its average concentration ranking 7th in the country. Douliu inspection station’s average PM2.5 from January to April was 37.0μg/m3 in 2017 and 26.2μg/m3 in 2022, with a 29% improvement (ranked 54th amongst 77 inspection stations in Taiwan). The number of dusty days on Zhoushui River was 59 in 2017, 9 in 2020, and 6 in 2021, representing an improvement of 89.8%. The pollution control of the industrial parks on outlying islands, dust control over Zhoushui River, and planning of an air quality maintenance area in schools were highly praised by the central government, and a special merit award was given in recognition of the hard work of all units who contributed to air pollution control.
In an effort to improve air quality, while promoting various control measures and cross-departmental cooperation, the 2030 Vision Industrial Development Axis Policy was formulated to promote energy transformation. The Environmental Protection Bureau, Economic Affairs Department and the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs teamed up with service centers in industrial parks to promote the use of low-pollution fuels in boilers. As a result, the proportion of gas-fired boilers was improved from 44% to 91%, greatly reducing air pollutant emissions. At the same time, the central government worked with the Yunlin Offshore Industrial Park Service Center to promote pollution reduction in the outlying industrial park through process equipment upgrades. Meanwhile, through the eco-friendly negotiations with Formosa Plastics Group, the Environmental Protection Bureau advanced pollution reduction measures, such as installing wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP) and MGGH devices. In addition, the EPB has also formulated various stricter standards for improvement of control, including air pollutant emission standards for power facilities and tightened control and emission standards for volatile organic compounds.
To control dust on the Zhoushui River, the Management Office, the 4th River Management Office and the Central Region Water Resources Office, the Water Resources Agency, Forestry Bureau, the Changhua County Government, and the Yunlin County Government cooperated to reduce river dust through various means, including water covering, green covering, and the laying of clam shells. At the same time, the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau focused on source control and rehabilitation of collapsed land upstream. The Environmental Protection Bureau and the Hydraulic Engineering Office jointly created a 2-hectare Zhoushui River cultural park to create a green belt and wetland environment, striving to improve people’s quality of life. Yunlin government thanked Formosa Plastics Group for their sponsorship of 22 wells on the exposed dunes at the outlet of Zhoushu River and for spraying water over the river on dusty days. Through joint efforts by all units, dusty days were reduced by 89.8%. As the exposed area of Zhoushui River was reduced by 45.7%, and the resulting ecological restoration provides a good habitat for birds; over 200 species of birds have been found at the mouth of the River.
As for the promotion of green living of all people, apart from Taiwan’s six major cities, Yunlin is the only county that has implemented “low-carbon living”, “low-carbon tourism”, and “low-carbon education”. The county has introduced smart electric motorcycle sharing and passed transportation sharing management regulations. At the same time, for the first time in the country, vulnerable ethnic groups were taken into account. Yunlin County’s Gongcheng Elementary School in Douliu City was designated as an air quality maintenance area, and measures to control mobile pollution sources have been implemented. In addition, Xitun community in Huwei Township and Lunxi community in Erlun Township have been awarded special merits by the EPA for 7 consecutive years, as a mark of appreciation for the efforts and dedication of these two communities for becoming air quality purification zones. In addition, the County’s construction sites have been randomly inspected for the last 3 years by the EPA with no deficiencies found. Given such efforts, the County was awarded a special merit by the Second New Construction Office of the Freeway Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications and Earthpower Construction.
Moreover, not only has Formosa Plastics Group helped with the improvement of the dust situation over Zhoushui River, they have cooperated with energy transformation measures, changing from coal to gas and converting fuel to gas boilers in plants to improve carbon dioxide recovery and reuse technology in the manufacturing process. This developed carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology and improved process intelligence (AI) for energy conservation and carbon emissions reductions, in order to move toward the goal of carbon neutrality and fulfil its corporate responsibility. Given such contributions, Formosa Plastics Group received a Sustainability Contribution award.
County Magistrate Chang Li-Shan said that it was an honor to receive a special merit award for two consecutive years for their performance and improvement on air quality maintenance, and thanked the central government and expert scholars. The county government will continue to review various control measures on a rolling basis to improve air quality and air pollution control strategies. In the future, suggestions and views from all walks of life will be incorporated and more people, companies, and cross-organizational groups will be required to participate in maintenance of air quality. Magistrate Chang once again thanked those who worked hard in air pollution control.
