Metropolitan Engineering Co., Ltd., located in Tainan City’s Sinhua District, was struck by fire at 10:38 pm yesterday evening (Feb. 15). The Fire Department sprang to action immediately upon notification. The site was cluttered with a staggering amount of combustible plastic waste, including plastic bags, plastic sheeting, tarpaulins, bottles, and hoses, at over three stories high. The fire was quickly put under control and sprinkled with water to prevent re-blazing.
Metropolitan is one of the city’s Public Works Bureau-certified earthwork plants. The Environmental Protection Bureau was notified at 9:25AM, and it visited the site of the fire right away, which was ready choking with heavy smoke. According to the firefighters on site, errant fires were still blazing and being put out. The cause of the fire was yet to be identified. Initial investigation revealed that plastic waste composites – a type of derivative waste (listed as “D-0299” in the waste registry) – began to burn and flare. The Bureau would hold Metropolitan accountable according to the provisions of Article 36 in Waste Disposal Act, and Subparagraph 2 of Paragraph 1, of Article 10, in Methods and Facilities Standards for the Storage, Clearance and Disposal of Industrial Waste. As to the burnt waste still left on site, the Bureau has asked Metropolitan to submit a waste processing proposal plus a thorough cleanup within a set deadline, or face continuous penalizations. The fire has generated large amounts of particulate pollutants that led to air pollution. Also, Metropolitan has failed to notified the Bureau within an hour of the fire, as required by Air Pollution Control Act, it is facing NT$100,000 and NT$1 million in fines, respectively, for violating Articles 31 and 32 on authority notification, specified in Air Pollution Control Act.
As to the cause of the fire, the Bureau awaits an investigation report from the Fire Department and the Police Department. Should it be a deliberate act of on-site burning, Metropolitan would be prosecuted by the District Prosecutor’s Office in accordance with Article 41 of Waste Disposal Act.
Industrial Waste Management Section, TEL: (06) 6572813, for Jhang Shih-yin