Health and Safety

Public health, workplace, and public safety

Two rail workers killed, one injured after being hit by locomotive

site of fatal accident at Haiduan Railway Station
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Two railway maintenance workers died, and another was seriously injured, after they were hit by a maintenance vehicle in Taitung County this morning, February 23. The three men were replacing a switch on tracks around one kilometer from Haiduan Train Station in Guanshan Township when they were hit by an electric maintenance vehicle being driven by a trainee driver at 8:35 am, according to reports. The three injured workers were rushed to Guanshan Tzu Chi Hospital, but two were pronounced

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Leak of highly toxic chemical gas causes road closure in Hsinchu County

firefighters treat a leaking cylinder of silane gas
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Firefighters closed a section of road in Hsinchu County for three hours after a gas cylinder being transported from the Hsinchu Science Park caught fire while leaking highly volatile silane gas today, January 26. The Hsinchu County Fire Bureau received a report that a gas cylinder on a truck was emitting flame, and thick, yellow smoke on Shuangyuan Road in Baoshan Township at 8:54 am. Fire fighters sprayed water on the cylinder, while police closed pedestrian and vehicular traffic in

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Family of four found dead of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning: gas water heater on enclosed balcony

firetrucks outside apartment building
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A couple and their two young children were found dead in their apartment in Zhongli District, Taoyuan City this afternoon in what is suspected to be a case of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. The deceased were a 34-year-old man named Zhang (張), his 30-year-old wife, and two boys aged 7 and 8 years old. A colleague of Mr Zhang went to the family’s apartment on Chengzhan 1st Street after Zhang didn’t show up for work for the last two days.

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22 affected by carbon monoxide poisoning at YMCA swimming pool in Tainan City

kids succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Twenty-two people, including eight adults and 14 children, were rushed to hospital after succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning at a heated swimming pool facility in Tainan City this afternoon, January 7. The Tainan City Fire Bureau responded to reports at around 5:00 pm of a carbon monoxide poisoning incident at the YMCA educational facility on Gongyuan Road in Tainan City’s North District. Symptoms included nausea, vomiting, and some people fainted. The most seriously affected was 5-year-old boy who was sent

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Road repair worker run over by road roller: Driver drunk

road roller involved in fatal accident
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A road repair worker in Taichung City died after he was accidentally run over by a road roller driven by a colleague who was over the legal blood alcohol limit, yesterday, December 29. At around 7:00 pm, a 36-year-old man named Ding (丁) was working on a road repair site on Xiang-shang Road in Taichung West District, when he put the vehicle into reverse, accidentally running over his 61-year-old co-worker, named Zou (鄒). Other workers screamed out, alerting Ding to

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Hiker suspected shot by stray bullet from military firing range

Fire Bureau paramedics give first aid to man suspected to have been accidentally shot by stray bullet
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A man hiking on a mountain in Kaohsiung City yesterday is suspected to have been shot in the ankle by a stray bullet from a military firing range 1.2 kilometers away. A 66-year-old man named Chen was hiking alone on a trail at Chai Shan at around 10:00 am, Friday, December 11, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left ankle. Chen found that he was bleeding, and began to descend the mountain. Around 100 meters down the

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Tesla charging station emits smoke in Hsinchu Science Park after transformer box catches fire

smoke pours from a Tesla charging station in Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu County, Taiwan
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Firefighters suspect a short circuit was the cause of an incident of a Tesla charging station suddenly emitting a pall of white smoke this afternoon, November 8, at Hsinchu Science Park. According to ET Today, Firefighters responded to a report at around 5:00 pm, and after arriving at the scene, immediately called state-owned power company, Taipower, to cut off the electricity supply. After the power was cut the smoke gradually reduced in volume, and firefighters cooled the power supply unit

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China claims 10.9 million COVID tests in Qingdao City all negative: Taiwan’s Health Minister says “impossible”

Chen Shih-chung coughs during press conference
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

Chinese officials claimed yesterday that COVID-19 tests on 10.9 million people in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, had all returned negative results, but Taiwan’s Health Minister, Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), said today that such a result was impossible. Citywide tests for Qingdao City’s population of 11 million were ordered after a cluster infection of 13 people centered around a local hospital was discovered recently. The cluster was claimed to be China’s first case of locally transmitted COVID-19 in over two months. The

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Chemical leak spreads stench over large areas of Hsinchu County, then causes fire

fire at chemical plant in Hsinchu County, Taiwan
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A leak of chemical gas at the Far Eastern New Century Corporation Chemical Fiber Plant in Xinpu Township spread a pungent smell over large areas of Hsinchu County, could be smelled as far away as Miaoli County, and then caused a fire, Wednesday evening, September 23. The Hsinchu County Environmental Protection Bureau was first informed of the leak at 5:30 pm. The leak consisted of a mixture of biphenyl and diphenyl ethers, according to a United Daily News report. Residents

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Student falls into six-meter-deep sinkhole on elementary school campus in Keelung City

sinkhole at elementary school in Keelung City
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A male sixth-grade student fell into a six-meter-deep sinkhole that formed under a recycling shed at Zhengbin Elementary School in Keelung City this afternoon, September 15. According to reports in United Daily News, the student went to the recycling shed to fetch cleaning equipment, and fell into the hole at around 3:20 pm. The boy remained conscious and was able to call out for help. Fire fighters rescued the boy and sent him to Chang Gung Memorial Hospital for treatment

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Taiwan shows lowest economic impact due to COVID-19 among 38 countries analysed

Taiwan can help the world fight COVID-19
Business and Economy Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

An analysis of economic downturns in COVID-19 impacted countries showed that Taiwan had among the lowest death-rates, and showed the least economic impact among 38 countries for which the latest GDP figures were available. The analysis by Joe Hasell, published in Our World in Data, showed that Taiwan had suffered a GDP decline of only 0.6% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the same quarter in the previous year. In comparing the death rates and economic downturns experienced,

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