Env. Groups Call on EPA to Stop Whitewashing Pollution Data|全台首季PM2.5排名 高雄最高.花蓮最低

Kaohsiung City has replaced Chiayi City this year as the city with the highest PM2.5 density in Taiwan. Hualien, meanwhile, replaced Taitung as the city with the lowest PM2.5 density


According to air quality monitoring station statistics, Kaohsiung City had the highest PM2.5 density in Taiwan in the first quarter of the year, followed by Chiayi City. Chiayi ranked first last year. Tainan City, which was sixth this year, jumped to third. Nantou County was the only central Taiwan municipality with a high ranking, while Taichung City was in the middle of the pack. Taichung's PM2.5 level decreased by 2.8 micrograms from last year, while the national average was 2.46 micrograms.

Currently, relevant nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, and floating particulate matter prevention facilities are being added to (the coal-fired power plant's) No. 1 and 2 generators. Through maintenance and load reduction...Taichung City is also number one among the six special municipalities in the replacement and reduction of two-stroke motorcycles. It has set a goal of reducing PM2.5 density from 23 micrograms, which is national average, to 15 micrograms.

Environmental groups say the data, which was sorted by netizens, prove once again that the Environmental Protection Administration releases flawed information. Air Clean Taiwan Chair Ye Guang-peng also noted that the EPA's Linyuan Station has reported PM2.5 levels lower than Taipei and New Taipei every year since 2014 despite its location in an industrial zone in Kaohsiung. Even as the city's air quality numbers worsen, Linyuan's numbers keep bucking the trend and improving. Ye also pointed out the station's sensors malfunction far more frequently than other stations. Environmental groups are calling on the EPA to start providing credible and trustworthy information.