• Last updated:2021-10-18

During the recent month, there were 3 consequent working accidents, including one on Sep. 15th in Taipei County and one on Oct. 12th, respectively, in Kaohsiung City and Taoyuan County, with 2 deaths and 4 injuries caused by the lack of oxygen or breathing poisonous air, such as Hydrogen-sulfide and methylbenzene during cleaning, fixing, and maintaining sewerage ducts. According to the Ministry of Labor, working in limited space, including sewerage, tank, boiler, man hole, and cabin without sufficient national ventilation involves dangers of hypoxia or getting poisoned, and employers and labors shall pay more attention to this. 

In accordance with statistics of the Ministry of Labor, 57 deaths and 30 injuries are caused by accidents in limited space as of Oct. 13th, 2002 with an average of 12 deaths per year, 55% from hypoxia or getting poisoned, proving that enhancement of working safety in the limited space must not be ignored. 

The Ministry of Labor points out that maintaining ventilation and clean air provision, ensuring safety through oxygen and dangerous gas measuring after ventilation process, and then approving labors’ entrances with simultaneous monitoring and connecting contact lines for any emergency treatments, are all keys to prevent dangers of hypoxia or getting poisoned in the limited space. Abandoning the generator or the pump energized with the internal combustion engine can prevent oxygen being consumed during its operation and poisonous CO gas producing caused by incomplete burning. 

Hypoxia or getting poisoned in the limited space is an ‘undetected danger’, and the statistics of the Ministry of Labor reveal that deaths and injuries caused by entering for rescues without any protections amount to 30% and 70%, respectively. Therefore, the Ministry of Labor restates that entering for rescue without any protection measures once an accident has occurred shall be avoided in order to prevent more serious losses. 
(the Appendix table shows the cases of hypoxia or getting poisoned in the limited space ) 

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• Publication Date:2015-04-22
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