->The environmental protection group reported that dry-powder fire extinguishers contained carcinogens, yet no corrections were made by the National Fire Agency according to the Control Yuan’s finding. National Fire Agency replied: Safety is to be ensured

As indicated in a recent media report, “The environmental protection group reported that dry-powder fire extinguishers contained carcinogens; however, the National Fire Agency (NFA) was delinquent, failing to make corrections according to the Control Yuan’s advice." It was alleged that dry-powder fire extinguishers contained carcinogens, which was requested for correction by the Control Yuan; however, the NFA compromised with interest groups, still having more than 2,000 metric tons of agents without certification or approval. In response to such report, the NFA specifically clarified as follows:

I. The general public will not come into contact with dry powder
Dry-powder fire extinguishers are usually kept on hand without frequently being used on a regular basis, which are used only in the early stages of a fire. The agents pose no immediate harm to the human body. The silicon dioxide referred to by the environmental protection group is a substance that is commonly found in the natural environment. Among them, the crystalline silicon dioxide that causes silicosis in the human body is a particle of very small size that is free in the air. The development of silicosis requires long-term exposure to the crystalline silicon dioxide. Therefore, the silicon dioxide content on the product label has not reached a level that is harmful to the human body.

II. The advice of correction from the Control Yuan have been actively handled, where inspection of the working environment and information disclosure are to be implemented
After the advice of correction from the Control Yuan, the NFA immediately formed a special inspection team based on the comments of the Control Yuan. Targeting fire extinguisher manufacturers and dry-power agent manufacturers of higher exposure risks, the NFA has inspected the environmental safety of the manufacturers’ factories, along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the Ministry of Labor (MOL). And currently, the working environment of each manufacturer has been improved, in compliance with regulations, to protect the health rights of the relevant practitioners. In the future, ongoing tracking and inspection is to be implemented as well. In addition, in order to remind the public of safe use of such fire extinguishers, starting from 2023/12/01, all dry-powder fire extinguishers that have been approved through the FAT must be labeled with warnings.

III. The practice is to keep path with international management standards through scientific methods and demonstrations of empirical study.
The NFA has separately commissioned authoritative institutes to conduct related studies on those dry-powder fire extinguishers registered with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), including a study plan “Exposure and Risk Assessment of Crystalline Silicon Dioxide in Dry-Power Fire Extinguishers” commissioned to the National Defense Medical Center, and a study plan “Analysis and Test of Content of Crystalline Silicon Dioxide in the Dry-Powder Fire Extinguishing Agents” commissioned to Academia Sinica. According to the 2 study plans, no concentration of crystalline silicon dioxide above the safety level has been detected in the working environment of fire extinguisher manufacturers and dry-power agent t manufacturers. It was estimated that, under normal use or working conditions, such fire extinguishers with such crystalline silicon dioxide concentration posed no impact on personnel health. In the future, comments in the fire services industry, international norms, and scientific research results are to be comprehensively gathered and considered, while representatives from the industry, government, academia, and environmental groups are to be invited to carefully discuss management supporting measures, so as to promote the autonomous management of the industry.

IV. Fire extinguishers are to be inspected batch by batch during the factory acceptance test (FAT).
There were approximately over 700,000 kinds of dry-powder fire extinguishers registered with the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), where the filling amount, main ingredients, and moisture-proof properties of the dry-powder agents are all necessary inspection items during the approval process. As claimed by the environmental protection groups, only few dry-power agent applications for approval were granted every year, which actually only referred to the situation related to applications of pure dry-powder agents for approval. It was quite different from the situation related to applications of dry-power fire extinguishers for approval. The statistics of the two kinds of applications should not be confused with one another, so as not to mislead the public.