US electronic waste smuggled to Taiwan / 美電子廢棄物流向台灣 恐重金屬汙染　　　　　　　　　　

Internationally, the export of electronic waste has been banned for more than 30 years, and just after the new government was sworn into office, the Minister of Environmental Protection Agency Lee Ying Yuan also pledged to take strong action against the illegal import of waste. However, just recently, an international environmental protection group still found that several batches of waste that they had tracked with GPS devices ended up in Taiwan. Let's take a look. Large amount of broken computer monitors stacked around pond, all these were smuggled from the U.S. to Taiwan. ==PAN CHIH-MING, Secretary, EPB, Miaoli County Govt.== This technology company did not obtain a permit to import abandoned electronic products. If the company were to apply for the permit, in December of last year, LCDs and LEDs can be legally imported. The international environmental protection group Basel Action Network last year installed 200 GPS on abandoned electronic products, monitoring their final destinations. And they located five GPS in Taiwan. The Network reported to Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration, and found those broken computer monitors on site. ==PAN CHIH-MING, Secretary, EPB, Miaoli County Govt.== The policy of the Environmental Protection Administration would have to classify more specifically on electronic waste, or the policy refers to all waste in general, and not permitted to import to Taiwan. We will rely on its regulation to enforce. According to the Administration, there are at least 40,000 broken monitors. If not handled properly, those could cause heavy metal contamination and pollute underground water. Abandoned electronic products gradually are forbidden to be imported or exported worldwide. The Environmental Protection Administration is under assessment of relevant policies. For illegal imports and exports, the Administration says it will strictly inspect at customs. TRANSLATED BY：ANTHONY LIN 大批的廢棄電腦螢幕，就這樣用棧板、大紙箱，一堆又一堆放滿池塘邊，而這些電腦螢幕都是未經過申請，違法從美國走私到台灣。 ==苗栗縣環保局秘書 潘志明== 這個科技公司 它是未取得 輸入廢棄物許可證的廠商 那目前假如說 它要申請許可的時候 依照當時去年12月份的規定 那LCD LED 在許可的項目裡面是有的 國際環保組織巴塞爾行動網，去年將200個GPS裝設美國當地的電子廢棄物，追蹤流向；去年12月，發現其中5個追蹤器出現在台灣，向環保署檢舉後一同追查，果然在苗栗頭份市的郊區，發現這數量相當驚人的廢棄電腦螢幕。 ==苗栗縣環保局秘書 潘志明== 就看環保署 他這個部份的政策決定 是哪些廢五金 還是泛指所有的廢五金 就不得輸入廢棄物 來做一個處理 所以我們會依據環保署的 一個規定 來依法行政 環保署初步估計，現場廢棄螢幕數量，至少超過4萬台，若處置不當甚至掩埋，恐會釋出重金屬，汙染土壤甚至水源；電子廢棄物原本能合法進口，但全球趨勢都是禁止進出口，加上台灣的環境是否還能負荷，環保署還在評估，但對違法「引進電子廢棄物」的問題，會嚴格稽查把關。 記者 邱植培 彭煥群 苗栗報導