Pesticide leak detected in flood-hit Hualien town

Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) A pesticide leak has been detected in flood-hit Guangfu Township in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan, after a resident sought medical treatment Sunday.

The resident was treated at an emergency station in the town and showed no serious symptoms, according to Yen Hsu-ming (顏旭明), director-general of the Ministry of Environment's Environmental Management Administration.

The leak was caused by a rupture in a pesticide storage facility in the township's Zhongxue Street. The area has been sealed off and cleaning operations are proceeding smoothly, Yen told the press.

The pesticide has been initially assessed as an organophosphate, commonly used for crops, and will naturally decompose with exposure to sunlight, he said.

After the contaminated mud is collected by sludge trucks, it will be placed in a fenced zone, said Yen.

Pesticide concentration in the town will greatly decrease after the mud is collected and the streets are cleaned, with monitoring set to continue, he added.

An overflow of the Matai'an Creek barrier lake on Sept. 23, caused by heavy rain brought by Typhoon Ragasa, led to severe flooding that resulted in 18 fatalities in the town as of Sunday and left behind large amounts of debris and mud.

After almost two weeks of cleanup work, a local junior high school and two elementary schools will resume in-person classes on Tuesday, said Chi Lien-cheng (季連成), chief coordinator at the Central Emergency Operation Center.

Meanwhile, National Kuangfu Commercial and Industrial Vocational High School will hold online classes from Tuesday and resume on-site lessons on Oct. 13.

Architecture groups will also begin assessing the livability and safety of flood-hit residential buildings, after which repair work will commence, said Chi.

The cleaning of drainage ditches in Guangfu is expected to be completed by Oct. 18, he said.

On the northern bank of the creek in Fenglin Township, also left with debris after the barrier lake breach, a comprehensive survey is being conducted Monday, with personnel from the central government, the county government and military as well as volunteers scheduled to begin major recovery work on Tuesday, Chi said.

As of Monday morning the barrier lake held about 5.85 million tonnes of water, about 6.4 percent of the amount before the overflow, Chi said.

The lake remains subject to a red alert, he said.