Chemical companies must guard against limited space safety accidents

Last week, from the State Administration of Work Safety, since the beginning of this year, there have been 10 major accidents involving dangerous chemicals and chemicals in the country, resulting in 38 deaths and 55 injuries, many of which were related to limited space operations. Especially in the summer, limited space safety accidents have entered a high period of time. National and local safety supervision departments and industry experts have warned that dangerous chemical companies need to raise awareness and strengthen measures to prevent and control them.

The tragedy has undergone profound lessons

According to Sun Guangyu, deputy director of the Supervision and Administration Division of the State Administration of Work Safety, in recent years, measures have been introduced in various parts of China to strengthen the safety of limited space operations and prevent accidents caused by limited space operations and blind rescue. Despite the continuous increase in measures, similar tragedies have continued to be staged this year.

For example, on January 9th, Anhui Kangzhou Chemical Co., Ltd. had an illegal large-scale poisoning accident, resulting in 4 deaths and 2 minor injuries. The reason is that Kangda Company leased part of its idle factory buildings and premises to Shandong Wang, and Wang purchased the installation equipment on its own without going through any approval procedures, and organized the personnel to produce pesticides to wipe out the net. On January 9th, Zhang Zhang, a technician employed by Wang, went to the pump pool of an isopropyl alcohol pump with a depth of about 2.6 meters, a width of 1.5 meters, and a length of about 5 meters. The solvent pool of isopropanol accumulated in the tank dissolved the byproducts of hydrogen sulfide and cyanide. Hydrogen gas, Zhang poisoned fainted after entering the pool, and then the scene the other three workers did not wear personal protective equipment to continue the rescue, but also fell in the pool, the other two workers heard the call for help, with a hook on the pump pool side Four people were rescued, four died after being rescued, and two of the rescuers were also slightly poisoned during the rescue.

On April 24, a worker from the North Chemical Company entered the tank from the anaerobic tank outlet of the sewage treatment station and prepared to fall into the anaerobic tank when installing the sludge pump at the bottom of the tank. The other two employees also fell into the pool during the rescue process. Three people were poisoned one after another. The direct cause of the accident is the accumulation of hydrogen sulfide released from the sludge in the bottom of the anaerobic tank. If the anaerobic tank is not completely replaced, the gas content in the anaerobic tank is not detected, and the approval procedure for entering the restricted space is not fulfilled, Employees fainted when they entered the anaerobic pool, and other employees blindly rescued them without wearing protective equipment, resulting in an increase in casualties.

The lessons of these accidents were profound. At the beginning, they all caused poisoning and suffocation due to lack of ventilation, detection, and inadequate protection. Afterwards, due to improper rescue, the number of deaths caused by accidents was widened, and they gave alarm to chemical companies.

Experts advise that summer is a high season

Gao Hong, director of the Industrial Security Production Research Institute at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pointed out that summer is a period of limited space accidents. The reason why it is prone to high rates is due to the large amount of construction work in summer and the large amount of construction work, troubleshooting and planned maintenance. On the other hand, the high temperature and low atmospheric pressure in summer are not conducive to the diffusion of toxic and harmful gases in limited space. Fatigue, the willingness to wear protective equipment is not strong, and safety control and effective operation are not always in place.

Gao Hong analysis believes that there are three major difficulties in the work of limited space operations: First, the limited space work surface is wider and wider; second, it involves more special operations such as welding, and improves the risk of operations; Third, the project contracting and subcontracting phenomenon is prominent, the operation The personnel safety quality is not high, and management is difficult to place. It is easy to blindly rescue and cause the accident to expand.

Based on these three difficulties, Gao Hong said: "At present, and in the period to come, we are in the period of high incidence of limited space accidents. We must abide by the approval of operating procedures, strengthen the management of operational processes, and ensure the safety of operations.

Sun Guangyu proposed: “From the large accidents of hazardous chemicals that have occurred since the beginning of this year, it is necessary to strengthen the management of hot work, restricted space access, and inspection and maintenance operations. The prevention of explosion and poisoning is the focus of accident prevention.” He reminded the company that the Compliance with the "Chemicals (Hazardous Chemicals) Enterprises' Ten Provisions for Safeguarding Production Safety" system, and solid prevention of accidents.

National introduction of policies to strengthen management and control

According to Shi Weizu, director of the Supervision and Administration Division of the State Administration of Work Safety, there are frequent accidents in limited space and the supervision tasks are very heavy. In response, the State Administration of Work Safety promulgated the Interim Provisions on the Safety Management and Supervision of Limited Space Operations of Industry and Trade Enterprises in May last year. It defines and recognizes limited space, training and education of limited space operations, rules of the system, assessment and inspection of operating environment. , Operating process management and other security measures have made detailed provisions.

In April this year, the State Administration of Work Safety published the “Circular on Confirmation of the Limited Space Operating Conditions for Industry and Trade Enterprises”, focusing on the confirmation of the company’s limited space operation safety management, the confirmation of the company’s limited space operations one by one, and vigorously developing. In areas such as limited space operation safety education and training, we further urged industry and trade enterprises to implement responsibility for safety in limited space operations, effectively prevent the occurrence of limited space operation accidents, and curb the expansion of casualties caused by blind rescue operations.

Implement measures to strengthen supervision

In the near future, various measures have been taken to ensure prevention. In the middle of this month, the Fujian Provincial Work Safety Supervision Bureau held a training course for hazardous chemical safety supervisors and safety management personnel for key enterprises in key counties and districts to deploy special operations management such as hazardous chemicals safety and access to limited space. Before the Fuqing Safety Supervision Bureau invited experts from the Fuzhou Safety Production Management Association to hold two training sessions in succession, and carried out safety training for limited space operations for nearly 500 people in charge of corporate safety in the area and safety management personnel.

Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province is actively carrying out special rectification of limited space operations for two months for industrial and trading enterprises. There are units that have limited space operations in the industrial and trading enterprises in jurisdictions, whether they are frequently used by enterprises, temporary use, or the use of outsourcing units. Included in the object of rectification.

The Safety Supervision Bureau of Chongming County in Shanghai held several meetings to promote the special work for the management of limited space operations. The focus was on the characteristics and causes of the many accidents that occurred in the county in recent years, and emphasized the necessity of special safety management for limited space operations. And importance, explained the steps and methods of special governance.

In response, Lin Changyan, HSE manager of Fujian Southeast Electrochemical Company stated: “Special operations management such as limited space has always been an important part of corporate safety management. Recently we deployed according to the Provincial Work Safety Administration, and we organized special work groups to learn relevant national and provincial documents. Everyone should sign and confirm after learning to further improve their safety awareness and skills, and effectively prevent production safety accidents in special operations such as limited space."

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