Concern over the concentration of fine particulate matter measuring 25 micrometers in diameter or smaller (PM2.5) has taken center stage in protests targeting industrial polluters, particularly Formosa Plastics Group’s naphtha cracker in Yunlin County. National Taiwan University College of Public Health associate dean Chan Chang-chuan, who has conducted epidemiological studies on the cracker’s effects on the health of local residents, shared his views on the issue of pollution in an interview with Chen Wei-han of the ‘Taipei Times’

Taipei Times
Date:  Dec 29, 2015
By: Chen Wei-han  /  Staff reporter

Taipei Times: What are the health risks associated with PM2.5? Which activity

National Taiwan University public health professor Chan Chang-chuan poses for a photograph during an interview on Dec. 10 in Taipei. Photo: Chen Wei-han, Taipei Times

contributes the most to PM2.5 emissions? What are the health risks posed by coal-fired power plants and Formosa Plastics Group’s naphtha cracker in Yunlin?

Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權): The most obvious health effect of PM2.5 exposure is increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, strokes, lung cancer, chronic lung diseases and central nervous system disorders. Children exposed to PM2.5 could develop asthma and respiratory diseases. According to the studies we have conducted, the health effects of the naphtha cracker can be observed most clearly among residents living within 10km of the compound, where the occurrence of cancer has tripled.     [FULL  STORY]