CALL TO ACTION: The Control Yuan said it would look into control and prevention measures, adding that the nation has a responsibility to protect children’s health

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 05, 2018
By: Hsieh Chun-lin and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Control Yuan has said it would investigate whether the Formosa Plastics Group’s industrial park in Yunlin County has violated local children’s right to good health.

Control Yuan members Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇), Eugene Jao (趙永清), Wang Mei-yu (王美玉) and Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) are to lead the probe in light of a study suggesting that children living near the group’s naphtha cracker complex in Mailiao Township (麥寮) have an abnormally high rate of liver disease.

Tests conducted on children living in the area have found liver damage or reduced liver functionality, which is likely caused by pollution from the industrial park, researchers said.

Vinyl chloride, which is produced at the industrial park, is identified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 1 carcinogen, the Control Yuan said.
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