The Environmental Protection Agency reminds the public to grasp the strategies of replacing gold with merit during the Qingming Festival, and express caution in pursuit of the future in an environment-friendly way.

(Picture provided by the Environmental Protection Agency)

[Reporter Chen Jiayi/Taipei Report] During the Qingming Festival holiday, many people return to their hometowns to visit graves. If burning paper money and weeding carelessly cause a fire, it will not only cause air pollution and safety problems, but also make the police exhausted.

The Environmental Protection Agency appeals to the public not to burn weeds when sweeping graves. If a fire is caused, a fine of less than 3,000 yuan can be imposed according to law, and the maximum fine for open-air burning is 100,000 yuan. In addition, the public is also encouraged to "replace money with merit" and use environmentally friendly methods Express caution to your ancestors.

Cai Mengyu, Director of Air Security of the Environmental Protection Agency, said that many people have the need to burn paper money and weed when sweeping tombs. The Environmental Protection Agency used monitoring tools to monitor changes in air quality during tomb sweeping, and found that the concentration of PM2.5 in the air increased from 20 micrograms per cubic meter. to 300 micrograms per cubic meter, and pm2.5 up to 54.5 micrograms per cubic meter is the "red damage" standard.

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In addition, incineration affects air quality and can easily lead to fires. Last year, during the Qingming Festival, 72% of the fires were burning paper and weeding.

Cai Mengyu appealed that weeds should not be burned during sacrifices and tomb sweeping. If a fire is caused, a fine of up to 3,000 yuan can be imposed according to the fire protection law; open-air burning violates the air pollution control law, and a fine of 1,200 to 100,000 yuan can be imposed.

The Environmental Protection Agency stated that people can use sickles or tools to remove weeds when sweeping graves, and then bundle them up for disposal; put paper money in designated places in the cemetery, and the Environmental Protection Agency will transport it to the gold furnace of air pollution prevention equipment for disposal; The budget for buying paper money is converted into donations for public welfare to accumulate merit.

At present, the four major supermarkets all provide the service of replacing money with merit, and 95 social welfare organizations have responded, and the public can make more use of it.