Zinc levels 594 times above limit: Shulin electroplating plant shut down and illegal structures demolished

A Shulin electroplating company dumped untreated industrial wastewater into a ditch outside its plant, according to New Taipei’s Environmental Protection Bureau. Tests found a pH of 13.5, while zinc, copper and total chromium levels exceeded legal limits.

Zinc reached 594 times the permitted discharge standard. The bureau said the company, identified as Wei○ Industrial Co., had failed to treat and discharge wastewater in accordance with its permit.

Officials said they first detected abnormalities through water-quality monitoring in September 2025. They then installed surveillance equipment, compared data and conducted a nighttime raid in February, when they caught the company dumping untreated process wastewater.

The bureau reported the company under the Water Pollution Control Act and ordered it to halt operations. It also referred matters involving possible criminal liability to prosecutors.

A city public-safety inspection team later found several illegal additions at the plant. Authorities demolished those structures on Aug. 12 and supervised the removal of the pollution source. The environmental bureau said the measures were intended to prevent the contamination from returning and to address safety risks at the site.