- Date:2023-10-06
- Department:Comprehensive Planning Division
August 22, 2023, is an important day for our country’s environmental protection as Environmental Protection Administration officially upgraded to the Ministry of Environment and commenced operations today. The “Chemicals Administration”, which is subordinated to the Ministry of Environment and is one of the newly established “four administrations and 1 ministry”, also had its unveiling today.
The Chemicals Administration has announced that, following the establishment of the Ministry of Environment, the Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau (referred to as the TCSB), originally established in line with the first point of President Tsai's Five-Point Food Safety Policy "strengthening source control", has been rebranded as the "Chemicals Administration" (referred to as the CHA). Through organizational adjustments, the CHA will implement six missions in chemical substance management, including "expanding risk classification management", "integrating comprehensive information", "strengthening control measures", "implementing risk management", "comprehensive disaster prevention and response", and "transitioning to a toxin-free environment". These initiatives are aimed at expanding control over 359 toxic and concerning chemical substances to effectively manage over 30,000 chemicals operated within our country.
The plaque unveiling ceremony of the CHA was hosted by Deputy Minister of Environment Yeh Chun-hung. During his speech, Deputy Minister Yeh expressed that, in terms of the management of chemical substances, CHA will continue to uphold “protecting food safety, caring for health, and ensuring safety” as its policy beliefs. In the context of "protecting food safety", CHA has already taken regulatory measures by designating 25 chemical substances with food safety concerns as toxic and concerned chemical substances, and implemented source and flow control accordingly. The CHA also collaborates with local government environmental protection agencies to investigate over 3,000 chemical raw material suppliers and business entities each year. Since 2018, the number of food safety incidents that society is concerned about, such as the illegal addition of chemical substances to food, has significantly decreased, both in terms of media reports and public perception.
Yeh Chun-hung stated that, with regard to "caring for health" matters, CHA not only aligns with international conventions to enhance our management of persistent organic pollutants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and substances like mercury and asbestos that the public may come into contact with, but also extends its control to include nitrous oxides, a new psychoactive substance (NPS) with potential harm to the human body when used illegally, as well as 1,4-butanediol and opioids. Furthermore, CHA has expanded its scope to include broader inspections in order to safeguard the physical health of citizens.
As for "ensuring safety", Yeh Chun-hung highlighted that the CHA is responsible for preventing toxic chemical incidents and responding to emergencies. Since 2017, CHA has been constructing and maintaining training grounds for toxic chemical disaster incidents, training over 12,600 professional emergency responders, establishing business mutual aid groups for toxic incidents and disasters, and accrediting professional response and consulting agencies. Through the adoption of the "technical classification and specialized division of labor" mode, CHA has expanded our capacity to respond to all chemical substance incidents and has reduced the number of chemical disasters and incidents year by year.
At the plaque unveiling ceremony, CHA further expressed its policy goals of "comprehensively managing chemical substances and building a green, toxin-free homeland". CHA also specially invited guests from the industrial, governmental, academic, and research sectors, with whom CHA has collaborated on various chemical substance management initiatives, to attend this grand event and witness this historic moment. Deputy Minister of Environment Yeh Chun-hung; Director General Hsieh Yen-rui, Deputy Director General Chen Shu-ling, and Deputy Director General Chien Hui-chen from the CHA; Commissioner Wu Sheng-chung from Department of Environmental Protection, Taipei City Government; Director General Chen Shih-wei from Department of Environmental Protection, Taoyuan City Government; Director General Chiang Sheng-jen from Bureau of Environmental Protection, Hsinchu; Director General Lin Lung-ju from Environmental Protection Bureau, Nantou County Government; Associate Professor of University of Taipei Chen Yeong-ren; Executive Vice President of National Cheng Kung University Lee Ching-chang; Former Chairman of Institute of Environment and Resources Su Jin-feng; and Senior Vice President of Sinotech Engineering Services Ltd. Luo Hsin-yu were invited to unveil the plaque together.
Director General of CHA, Hsieh Yen-rui, added that CHA is a dynamic and proactive agency. He also expressed his wish that CHA will, through legislation, policy planning, and implementation, control international dynamics and trends in chemical substances management; and, in regard to important issues, CHA will integrate the management capacities of relevant departments to perfect the management of chemical substances, thus building a toxin-free, green, healthy, and sustainable environment for Taiwan!
