Taipei to check building exteriors after two struck by falling marble slab

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Taipei to check building exteriors after two struck by falling marble slab

Taiwan News, Staff Writer
2015-03-15 03:58 PM

Central News Agency

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said Saturday that city officials are carrying out an emergency check of building facades and tiles throughout the city after a falling slab of marble killed one woman and seriously injured another Friday night. The two women had just emerged from a building owned by the United Daily News near Zhongxiao East Road in Taipei when they were struck by a 40-kilogram slab of marble that fell from the exterior wall at the fifth level of the building.

Ko said an estimated 200 buildings in the city may have potential problems with materials used in facing, adding that the initial check of exteriors should be complete within one week.

The Taipei Municipal Construction Management Office has recommended an amendment to the Taipei Self-regulating Building Management Law that will require owners of buildings of a certain age in the city to carry out a mandatory ‘health check’ on an annual basis, with fines for those who fail to comply with the law.

Chiu Ying-tse, Deputy Director of the Construction Management Office, said Saturday that the city is already actively looking for potential problems with building exteriors and other safety concerns. He said concerned agencies have carried out a number of inspections and have compiled a list of structures with potentially risky features such as magnetically-attached tiles which could present possible hazards.

Chiu noted that the building owned by the United Daily News was not on lists already put together, but added that last year the city initiated efforts toward a program which would require building owners to conduct annual "’health checks’ beginning with structures completed 20, 25 and 30 years ago. The office is also consulting architects, civil engineers and construction industry associations to discuss other methods for insuring the highest level of safety regarding building structures.

Chiu said the discussions also include such issues as how much of cost of the ‘health checks’ should be borne by building owners and how much by tenants, as well as what a reasonable price for such ‘health checks’ would be.

Chen Yung-chang, Deputy Secretary of the Taipei Chamber of Commerce, said Saturday that many structures in Taipei are in need of refurbishing and re-facing but have not been fixed up because of lack of funds or urban renewal action plans. He said that as a result the possibility of such accidents remains. He noted that representatives of concerned industries are also involved in discussions of the problem and will take part in arranging for physical inspections of older buildings for potential hazards.