The use of gas in poorly ventila-ted areas within the home heightens the risk of carbon-monoxide poisoning, the National Fire Administration said yesterday.
"Many households have been shutting all of their windows over the Lunar New Year because of the cold front from the north. The resulting poor ventilation has led to incomplete combustion of gas, releasing carbon monoxide," administration director general Huang Chi-ming (
According to figures released yesterday, a total of 29 cases of carbon-monoxide poisoning were reported over the Lunar New Year, including three deaths and 63 injuries. This was an increase on last year's figure of only eight cases, which included one death and 13 injuries.
The agency yesterday reminded the public of precautions that could be taken against poisoning.
It said that carbon monoxide released by incomplete combustion is colorless, odorless and extremely toxic. To prevent carbon monoxide from harming residents, water boilers should be installed in well-ventilated areas. In the case of balconies with metal bars attached, residents should leave windows open while gas is being used so that ventilation can be facilitated.
The agency also said that in the event of carbon-monoxide poisoning, windows should be opened immediately to improve ventilation and the affected person should be removed from the spot and be given immediate medical attention.
The agency also said it hoped legislation could be amended so that gas-release sensors would be compulsory in all homes and that the credentials of technicians who work with gas-related equipment would be regulated.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods