TAIPEI - More than 10,000 villagers had to be evacuated after an explosion rocked a chemical plant in an industrial zone in Mailiao township, Yunlin county in central-southern Taiwan Sunday afternoon.The explosion at an aromatics plant of Formosa Chemical and Fiber Corp at about 2 pm shattered glass in nearby buildings and shook houses kilometers away, local police and fire fighters said.Though there have been no immediate reports of human death or injuries, authorities have ordered the evacuation of more than 10,000 villagers of five nearby villages due to gas leak after the explosion.Footage posted online by witnesses showed dense plume of black smoke billowing into the sky, and loud explosions were heard far from the chemical plant.The explosion was very powerful as it was heard across the county, Cai Chang-kun, head of Mailiao township, told the press after the blast, adding he had demanded the chemical plant suspend operation and investigate the cause of the accident.Fire fighters and police arrived at the scene about 20 minutes after receiving an explosion report. Preliminary investigations show a gas leak due to a fracture in a liquefied natural gas pipeline could have led to the explosion, according to local TV reports.Zhang Li-shan, magistrate of Yunlin county, said she has instructed a special team to look into the accident and strengthen the monitoring of air pollution to decide whether the black fume would cause damage to humans.The chemical plant was handed a preliminary fine of NT$5 million (about $162,000) over the violation of air pollution regulations by the county government. silicone wristbands free shippingpersonalized wristbands bulkrubber bracelets amazonwhat are those rubber band bracelets calledrubber wristbands australia
XINING -- At 2:30 pm, Tashi Tso from Qinghai Tibetan Hospital put on a pair of disposable gloves and began to take samples of a batch of newly arrived Tibetan medicines."The samples will first be sent to experts for visual inspection, and then for bio-chemical testing. We combine traditional methods with modern technology to ensure the quality of the medicine," Tashi Tso said.Tibetan medicine, known as Sowa Rigpa in Tibetan, is over 2,000 years old. It has absorbed influences from traditional Chinese, Indian, and Arabic medicine.It is mainly practiced in Tibet autonomous region and the Himalayas. Similar to traditional Chinese medicine and in sharp contrast to Western medicine, it uses herbs, minerals and sometimes insects and animals to treat afflictions. It is particularly well known for its digestive, cardiovascular, and rheumatoid treatments.As most traditional Tibetan medicines are hand-picked by Tibetan doctors, the pills are often different in weight and water content. Today, the manufacturing process is being transformed from old manual workshops to new scientific and standardized methods."For example, in the old days, Liu Wei Xiao Yao San, a medicine for digestive treatments, was packed in paper bags, which did not preserve it well. Now there is a production line to automatically produce and pack the medicine," Tashi Tso said.Qinghai Tibetan Hospital produces 368 types of Tibetan medicine with an annual output of 200 tonnes. There are currently 29 Tibetan medicine production bases across the province which can produce 1,042 types of medicine.To accelerate the development of traditional medicine, China has been increasing investment to build more standardized manufacturing factories to combine the traditional medicine with modern technology.In Qinghai alone, some 15 companies produce 160 types of Tibetan medicine. In 2016, the total industrial output value of these companies reached 2.3 billion yuan (about $366 million).Meanwhile, research institutes are also burgeoning in west China's Tibet, Qinghai, and Gansu.A lab under the Qinghai Institute of Tibetan Medicine is researching the effects of the mineral elements of the medicine.Tibetan medicine was added to China's intangible cultural heritage list in 2006. The ancient practice has also won the support of the World Health Organization."The only way for the traditional medicine to gain prominence outside the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is to combine it with modern science," said Doje, dean of the Qinghai Institute of Tibetan Medicine.
