In response to the local residents' concerns on the health risk that the Kuokuang plant may pose, President Ma specifically told the EPA to clearly define and enforce a safety standard for the amount of the fine PM 2.5 particles in the air. But the EPA admits that it may take at least a year before a conclusion on the issue can be reached.

Having understood the importance of public opinion from anti-Kuokuang petrochemical plant protesters, President Ma Ying-jeou visits Changhua for two days in a row.

Besides declaring his administration's effort to perserve Taiwan's wetland, he instructs the Environmental Protection Administration to define the air quality standard of PM2.5.

The EPA says it will refer to the standards of Japan and the United States before coming up with an appropriate value for Taiwan.

The introduction of PM2.5 objectives is targetting the exposure of the population to fine particles, which would cause greater health risks, especially to elders, children and those suffer from allergy.

According to Taipei Medical University professor Winston Dang, the current air quality indicator is PM10, which allows bigger air particles in exposure and cannot protect public health.

If switched to the indicator standard of AQI, to the value of PM2.5, it would save additional 15,000 people and save significant amount of health insurance costs.

But the PM2.5 standards in the United States limit PM2.5 concentrations to 15 micrograms per cubic meter based on an annual average.

If the standards are implemented in Taiwan, perhaps many places will immediately fail to meet the standards.

Since Taiwan and the United States have different geological environments.

the EPA says it needs more discussion to decide a standard that would best suit Taiwan in as fast as next June.