Health and Safety

Public health, workplace, and public safety

Drinking on construction sites leads to 2 separate drunk driving arrests in one day in New Taipei City

drunk driver and forklift
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Two men who were drunk by lunchtime on separate construction sites in New Taipei City were arrested for drunk driving yesterday, Friday, December 7. Shortly after noon, police in Tamsui District stopped a man driving a forklift to check if he had a permit to drive the vehicle on a public road. The 63-year-old driver, named Lan, did not have a permit, and police noticed that Lan reeked of alcohol. An alcohol breath test revealed that Lan had a blood

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Two sanitation workers injured by exploding gas canister in New Taipei City

garbage truck and gas canisters composite image
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Two men working on a garbage truck in New Taipei City were injured when a gas cylinder tossed out with general trash exploded in the back of the truck this afternoon. New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report of an explosion and fire in the back of a garbage truck on Yongfeng Road in Tucheng District at around 3:00 pm. According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, the two workers, named Lin and Yang, helped a resident

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Record COVID vaccine injury payout approved for patient who suffered Guillain–Barré syndrome, thrombosis, and thrombocytopenia

Chen Shizhong, Minister of Health and Welfare
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program of the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced today that a resident of Taitung County will receive a compensation payment of NT$1.2 million, the highest on record for a suspected COVID vaccine injury, after a determination at the committee’s most recent meeting, December 16. According to a report by Taiwan’s Central News Agency, the Taiwanese citizen, who is unnamed in the announcement, developed Guillain–Barré syndrome, suspected thrombosis, and thrombocytopenia after being administered the AstraZeneca vaccine

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Toddler survives fall from 32nd-floor apartment

Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A three-year-old girl fell from the 32nd floor of a high-rise residential building in Taichung City, Wednesday, December 8, and survived after landing in a safety net on the second floor. According to reports in United Daily News, the toddler fell from her family’s residence on Zhongxing Road in South District shortly after 1:00 pm. The Taichung City Fire Department received a report of the incident at 1:19 pm and dispatched one fire truck, one ambulance, and 6 personnel to

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Toddler survives fall from 4th floor apartment

hole in awning
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A two-year-old boy survived a fall from a window on the 4th floor, after crashing through an awning on the first floor of a residential building in Puli Township, Nantou County, yesterday, December 5. According to reports, the boy’s mother was hanging up the washing on the balcony when he opened a window by himself and fell. The toddler’s older brother said that he had wanted to see the garbage truck (in Taiwan garbage trucks play loud music and have

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Unexploded bomb found at New Taipei City construction site

unexploded military ordnance on construction site
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Workers on a construction site in Xinzhuang District, New Taipei City uncovered an unexploded military bomb while working on soil preparation today, December 4. The New Taipei City Fire Department received a report that workers had dug up unexploded military ordnance at 12:26 pm. Firefighters cordoned off the site with barricade tape and contacted the army’s Keelung Unexploded Ordnance Team to arrange for removal and destruction of the bomb.

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18-year-old student drops dead in university pool hall: family suspects COVID shot

Emergency Medical Team arrives at university pool hall
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

An 18-year-old man in good health and physical condition suddenly collapsed and died while playing pool at a university billiards club in southern Taiwan yesterday, and the man’s family suspects his death may be related to a COVID-19 vaccine. According to reports, the student of Nanhua University was in the middle of a game of pool at a billiards club at National Chung Cheng University when he suddenly collapsed at around 7:30 pm, yesterday, November 29. Witnesses at the pool

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Worker dies after being sucked into water pipe: one of at least 3 fatal workplace accidents today

workers on a pipeline project
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 5 Comments , ,

A man working on a pipeline project in Taichung City lost his life after he was sucked through a hole he had just made in a water pipe Monday, November 30. The 50-year-old man, named Zeng, was working on a Taiwan Water Corporation pipeline replacement project in Tanzi District when the accident occurred at around 11:30 am. The incident was recorded on video from someone standing above the trench. The video footage showed Zeng atop the steel pipe using a

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11 students sent to hospital after pepper spray mistaken for perfume

pepper spray and school composite image
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Twelve students at a high school in Taichung City were affected, and 11 sought medical treatment, after one student picked up a can of aerosol pepper spray and sprayed it in the air, thinking it was a perfume or body deodorant. According to reports, shortly before noon on Friday (November 26), two male students at Sanguang Junior High School started playing with a can of “body protection” spray a female student had left in the classroom. Mistaking the product as

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3 dead, 2 injured in metro construction site accident

composite image showing aftermath of scaffolding collapse
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Three workers died and two were injured after a scaffolding collapse on a metro construction site in Sanxia District, New Taipei City, today, November 20. According to reports, scaffolding collapsed at the construction site of the Sanying Line of the New Taipei Metro at the corner of Jiafu Road and Jiaxing Road at around 1:00 pm. Of five workers affected, four fell from a three-storey height, while one was caught in the scaffolding. Three of the workers lost vital signs

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Police escort helps rush woman to hospital after snakebite in Keelung City

composite image showing snakebite and snake
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Police in Keelung City provided a patrol car to escort a woman to hospital after she was bitten by a venomous snake Thursday, November 18. Ms Zhan was tending her flower garden at home in Qidu District, Thursday evening, when she was bitten on the ankle by a Taiwanese pit viper, also known as the Taiwan habu (Protobothrops mucrosquamatus). To save time, rather than call an ambulance, Zhan’s husband drove to Fuxing Police Station, and rushed in to inform the

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