By Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Environmental groups yesterday demanded that Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) clean a polluted pond and ban the firm that allegedly contaminated it from operating.

The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) released a report last month saying that Taoyuan-based waste processing firm Yu Hung dumped inadequately processed wastewater, with an excessive concentration of heavy metals, into the Shenmei Pond (滲眉埤).

The artificial pond, located on the border of Taoyuan’s Lujhu (蘆竹) and Dayuan (大園) districts was formerly used to irrigate 120 hectares of farmland.

Following an investigation led by Chung Hwa University professor and environmentalist Huang Huan-chan (黃煥彰) revealing Yu Hung’s alleged infractions, the EPA last month released the results of the analysis of 13 sediment samples taken from the pond, which showed that copper concentrations in 10 samples exceeded the EPA standard of 60 micrograms per kilogram of soil, with the highest reading being 5,470 micrograms.

In addition, the report said there were excessive concentrations of zinc, cadmium and chromium, as well as nickel and dioxins.

Huang said that although the pond is now unused, runoff from it could still drain into nearby farmland, posing a grave risk to food safety.

Huang showed a picture taken last month at an irrigation ditch connected to the pond, which showed dark red and green streaks covering the ditch’s wall.

He said the green marks were caused by copper dissolved into soil from the pond which the Taoyuan Irrigation Association unknowingly used to shore up the ditch wall, while the red lines indicate the presence of mercury.

He called on the county government to designate the site as a land remediation area and to set up cordons and warning signs around it, adding that the site’s ecological restoration would be very costly and that all the expenses should be paid by Yu Hung.

He said the very existence of the firm is illegal because a former administration approved a land use change application that allowed the firm to start business in the agricultural zone, without gaining the approval of the Council of Agriculture.

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