The main task of the project is to assist Environmental Protection Bureau of Pingtung County Government (PTEPB) and to administer the various programs scheme, subjects and methodologies. By means of the aforementioned implementation, we were able to review on what subjects have been finished over the period of time and helped EPB deal with Air Pollution (AP) agendas and minutes to boot, supervising the integration of the air quality improvement. Besides, the perspectives that the EPB are marching toward better Air Quality (AQ) should again be aligned with our schedule including long-term, mid-term, or short-term goal as a proposition in the control of the AQ in the future. The duration of the project is from 1st March 2019 to 28th February 2020. The summary of implementation is as follows.
According to the pollutants measured at the Air Quality inspection stations at Pingtung County in year 2019, the number of days of which poor air quality of O3 and PM2.5 were reported 248 in total. It is 9 days less than those measured between January and December 2018. Mainly are due to the increase of O3 by 25 days, and the reduction of PM2.5 by 34 days. In terms of O3, the main reason is that the amount of O3 reaching the unhealthy level for more than eight hours. Currently, O3 and PM2.5 are the main indicative pollutants in the Pingtung County. When the air quality becomes worse, we will activate the reporting system and report back via the adoption mechanism of each inspection station as well as the tracing of major pollution sources. We will reinforce the controlling actions after poor air quality was reported back. In 2019, there were 194 days reported in total, and the reducing amount is 436.87 metric tons for TSP, 5.14 metric tons for SOX, 11.97 metric tons for NOX, and 17.81 metric tons for NMHC. On the whole, the reporting rate of poor air quality is 96.7%.
In 2018, there are 28 projects of improving air quality conducted by Pingtung County. They can be categorized into stationary sources, mobile sources, fugitive sources, integrated management and monitoring, and local characteristic research plans. The control strategy is based on the Pingtung County Air Pollution Prevention and Control Plan (shown in Figure I below). The key points include strengthening local characteristics and improving main issues, collaborating with the EPA to promote various operations. In line with the performance of the EPA’s performance display, the air pollution improvement performance indicators this year focused on: 1) cross-unit control reduction action plan, 2) inspection and proper disposal of agricultural open burning, 3) stationary sources source permit and hazardous air pollutants control, air pollution control fees collection, air pollution source audit and reduction action plan, 4) catering fume control action plan, 5) motorcycles pollution management action plan, 6) diesel vehicles contamination control action plan, 7) action plan for air pollution control in Pingtung County Sand and Gravel Dredging Area, 8) eight aspects action plan of river dust control. In addition, there are Sand and Gravel Dredging Area pollution control action, strengthening air pollution control for folk festivals, improving the performance of agricultural waste disposal in Pingtung County, air pollution control in campuses in Pingtung County, and action plan for the disposal of abandoned motorcycles that use two-stroke engines.
From the period of the current year, the scheduled progress of each project is between 41.2~100% towards completion. The total implementation rate is 88%, and the analysis of achievement is graded as 93.5. Until the end of December, the reducing amount of PM10, PM2.5, SOx, NOx and NMHC is 4,573.5, 987.7, 74.4, 121.3 and 259.1 metric tons, reaching 100% of the target. In promoting air quality purification area, we have accomplished the assessment of 102 purification areas, and there are newly built green spaces as well as bare lands improvement via subsidies and the implementation of bare land planting projects in eleven areas.
In addition, in order to further explore the cause of pollution, and to analyze and improve controlling performance, the main tasks of the current year are to implement various air pollution control works and regional air quality deterioration prevention, strengthen data analysis for environmental load of air quality, conduct survey of public satisfaction for air pollution control task, cooperate with the promotion work in KaoPing Air Quality Control District, promote establishing Air Quality Purification Zones and using low-emission vehicles, enhance control achievements, as well as undertake green network planning and promotion.
