New infrastructure is vital to supporting growing populations as well as modernizing our cities, but it''s also a major contributor to pollution. According to the Environmental Protection Administration, in the past three years there have been more than 3,000 petitions against the pollution caused by construction projects. The EPA has now tightened the rules to combat air pollution. What changes have been made? Stephany Yang takes a look

New construction projects are on the rise. Many large-scale civil construction projects are in progress, but this means that air pollution problems, such as dust, have also increased. According to the EPA, the construction sector has managed to cut its pollution rate by about 58%. However, over the past three years, there''s been an average of 100,000 construction projects a year. Every year, the government receives an average of more than 3,600 complaints about air pollution caused by construction projects.

Tsai Meng-yu
EPA air quality and noise control department
The ratio of petitions from the public is about 3%. We hope that through the management of these construction projects, we can reduce the cases of petitions regarding the emissions of particulate matter.


The new EPA regulations include higher "coverage rates" for dust protection nets, taller construction fences, and the use of low-pollution trucks. They apply to seven major engineering categories: road tunnels, pipelines, bridges, regional development, dredging and other construction projects with contract funds exceeding NT$1.8 million. The EPA will inspect the sites twice a year, and if conditions do not improve, fines will be issued and construction halted. The EPA''s director-general for air quality and noise control places as a top priority the use of dust protection nets around the construction of buildings, which is classed as a "First Level" category of project.

Tsai Meng-yu
EPA air quality and noise control department
We have increased the coverage rate of the first level from 80% to 90%. We invite large-scale projects to strengthen the coverage, and the requirements for fences will also be increased from 1.8 meters to 2.4 meters, so that it can be isolated from its surroundings. We also require that these large-scale projects must use low-pollution vehicles. We all require a ratio to use it. According to the air pollution regulations, the current penalty is NT$100,000 to NT$20 million. There will a year for the relevant construction industries to make some preparations.

Air pollutants emitted by construction projects are mainly coarse particulate matter, or PM10, which accounts for about 15% of the emissions from various pollution sources across the country. The EPA hopes that through the implementation of these measures, PM10 can be reduced by 3,415 metric tons per year.

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