TAINAN LANDFILL FIRE SENDS FOUL ODOR ALL OVER KAOHSIUNG|台南垃圾掩埋場悶燒 臭味瀰漫全高雄

From March 30 to March 31, a plastic odor lingered in Kaohsiung City. After receiving reports from the citizens, the city's Environmental Protection Bureau traced the origin of the odor and found a private landfill in Tainan that has been closed down for years to be responsible. Tainan city's EPB stated that smell came from the landfill fire which might be caused by tomb sweeping rituals nearby and that it will look into the incident. A private landfill in Tainan's Gueiren District was on fire on March 30. Although the fire was put out twice, the underground fire continued and caused an odor to spread to parts of neighboring Kaohsiung City. ==TSAI MENG-YU Director, EPB, Kaohsiung City Government== We found that the level of ammonia in the air is six times higher than average. 78 reports were filed within just one night. The Kaohsiung City's EPB traced the odor northward and pinpointed the source of the smell to a private landfill that has been closed down for years. ==CHOU MIAO-MIN Senior Executive Officer, EPB, Tainan City Government== We suspect that the underground fire in the landfill had to do with people practicing tomb sweeping rituals nearby. Tainan City's EPB suspected that the fire was caused by tomb sweeping rituals. It will look into the incident. As the landfill has been shut down for more than a decade, anyone who knowingly started a fire nearby would be charged for violating the Waste Disposal Act. TRANSLATED BY：LUKE CHIANG 從昨天晚間9點開始，高雄市從北到南，就不斷有居民陳情，聞到塑膠惡臭味，環保局出動稽查，直到凌晨一點多，往北追到台南歸仁一處封閉多年的私人掩埋場，正在悶燒，高雄市環保局指出，偵測空氣中的氨含量，比平常環境值多出6倍，台南環保局表示，疑似民眾清明掃墓引發沼氣自燃，但詳細情況仍待調查。 直到清晨七點，怪手仍持續開挖，消防人員一旁噴水滅火，台南歸仁這處私人掩埋場，在30號傍晚6點發生火災，雖然消防隊兩度前往滅火，控制明火，不過，底層卻持續悶燒，整夜傳出的惡臭，往高雄阿蓮、岡山一帶飄散，甚至連高雄南區的前鎮，也有居民抱怨，空氣中有濃厚塑膠味。 ==高雄市環保局長 蔡孟裕== 發現在整個空氣中是有氨的成分 氨的成分 阿摩尼亞這個成分 比我們空氣中的所看到的成分 大概有多6倍左右 高雄市1999和環保公害陳情專線，一晚上就接獲78件陳情案件，環保局總動員追來源，本來懷疑是轄區內工廠偷排，但晚間吹北風，於是一路往北追查，跨越二仁溪，最後確認是這處封閉已久的私人掩埋場。 ==台南市環保局專委 周妙旻== 懷疑是不是清明節到了 掃墓或是清除雜草 引燃的燃火點 造成掩埋場的悶燒情形 台南市環保局推測，疑似是掃墓引發火勢，但詳情仍待調查，因為這處掩埋廠已封閉10多年，若是民眾故意在現場焚燒，將依違反廢清法移送地檢署偵辦。 記者 李淑蘭 許政俊 溫正衡 高雄台南報導