**Qualification requirements for managers and operators of facilities related to the “two key areas and one major hazard” as set by the General Administration of Work Safety

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**Circular from the State Administration of Work Safety on the Blasting Incident at Shandong Riko Chemical Co., Ltd. on December 19, 2017 – Admin. Work Saf. Circ. No. 3 [2017] 149: To the work safety supervision bureaus of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, as well as to relevant central state-owned enterprises: At around 9:15 a.m. on December 19, 2017, an explosion occurred at the production facility of Shandong Riko Chemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Riko Chemical Company), located in Weifang City, Shandong Province; this facility was capable of producing 15,000 tons per year of plastic modifiers (AMB). The incident resulted in 7 deaths and 4 injuries. This accident is another typical incident of serious nature, significant impact, and profound lessons in Shandong Province, following the major explosion at Linyi Jinyu Petrochemical Company on June 5. Leaders of the State Council issued important directives regarding this accident, emphasizing the need to thoroughly learn from its lessons, carry out strict investigations and hold those responsible accountable, and take measures to prevent similar accidents from occurring. The main process flow of the AMB production facility at Nissho Chemical Company involves polymerizing styrene, butadiene, and methyl methacrylate to produce AMB emulsion; this emulsion is then dried in a drying tower using air at around 230°C supplied from a hot air furnace, thereby yielding the final product. The hot air furnace of this production facility has been using coal as the heating fuel in accordance with the original design. To meet environmental emission requirements, starting in July 2017, Nissho Chemical Corporation installed a direct natural gas combustion heating system on the hot air ducts leading into the drying tower, using the exhaust gases from the combustion of natural gas along with air as the drying medium. At around 9 a.m. on December 19, the shift supervisor of the production facility prepared to activate the natural gas heating system as scheduled ； At around 9:15, the shift supervisor activated the natural gas heating system in the control room, which triggered an explosion and fire in the dryer tower and its surrounding area. Preliminary analysis indicates that the direct cause of the accident was that natural gas entered the drying system through the newly installed direct combustion heating system, forming an explosive mixture with the air in the drying system; an ignition source led to an explosion during the attempt to start up the natural gas heating system, which was not ready for operation. The detailed cause of the accident is under further investigation. This accident revealed a lack of awareness regarding safety risks among the enterprises, insufficient identification of the safety risks associated with the transition from coal to gas, inadequate change management, the fact that the new natural gas heating systems were not designed properly and lacked operating procedures, as well as professional competencies among the management and operational staff that did not meet the requirements for safe production. Additionally, local authorities and relevant departments did not pay enough attention to safety during the transition from coal to gas, and supervision was insufficient. To thoroughly learn from the lessons of this accident, prevent similar incidents from occurring again, and promote a stable improvement in the safety conditions in the chemical and hazardous chemicals industry across the country, the following requirements are put forward: 1. Enhance awareness of the safety risks associated with the transition from coal to gas use. Natural gas is primarily composed of methane, a colorless and odorless flammable gas with an explosion range of 5%–15%. When mixed with air, it can easily form explosive mixtures, posing significant dangers; therefore, it is classified as a hazardous chemical that requires close supervision ； In recent years, there have been numerous gas-related explosion incidents at home and abroad, resulting in severe casualties. When natural gas is used as a heating medium, the process flow, control methods, operation procedures, and safety requirements for the associated equipment are completely different from those when coal is used as a heating medium. This results in greater difficulties in ensuring safety, along with higher safety standards. Chemical enterprises and local safety regulatory authorities should raise their awareness further, pay close attention to the new situations and problems that arise during the transition from coal to gas, strengthen the prediction of safety risks, take targeted countermeasures, and promptly reduce such safety risks. Chemical enterprises that are preparing to implement or are already in the process of switching from coal to gas should immediately conduct a risk assessment of the transformation plan, and based on the results of this assessment, further refine their safety risk management strategies ； Chemical enterprises that have completed their renovations must immediately conduct inspections for safety hazards, and any issues found must be rectified right away. Relevant natural gas supply companies should earnestly fulfill their social responsibilities and provide enhanced technical guidance and support to chemical enterprises in their transition from coal to gas. Safety supervision departments at all levels should organize comprehensive inspections of chemical enterprises within their jurisdictions that are involved in the transition from coal to gas, and urge and guide these enterprises to strictly comply with relevant requirements, so as to ensure that the safety risks associated with this transition are effectively controlled. II. Strengthen the safety management of the change process and improve relevant procedural requirements. In recent years, inadequate change management has become one of the main factors contributing to accidents in the chemical and hazardous chemicals industries. Relevant enterprises should thoroughly learn from the lessons of these accidents, establish and improve change management systems, and strictly identify and control various safety risks in accordance with the requirements of change management. For chemical enterprises involved in projects related to the conversion from coal to gas, engineering design must be carried out by qualified design firms in accordance with relevant requirements; the corresponding process flows, equipment, safety instruments, and automation systems must meet relevant standards, specifications, and safety requirements ； Before the project is put into operation, operating procedures must be prepared, which should specify clear requirements for key steps such as purging, analysis, and ignition during the natural gas utilization process ； All operators must complete training before they can start working. Safety supervision departments at all local levels should increase inspections and supervision of relevant enterprises; those that do not meet the requirements must be ordered to suspend operations for rectification, and penalties shall be imposed in accordance with the law. III. Strictly regulate the eligibility of personnel to work in these fields and enhance safety training. Relevant enterprises must thoroughly implement the qualification requirements set by the **Safety Supervision Administration for managers and operators working with ‘two key areas and one major hazard’ installations. The eligibility of such personnel must be strictly controlled; operators of installations related to ‘two key areas and one major hazard’ must have a high school education or higher, while managers in related fields must have an associate degree or above ； It is necessary to strengthen regular safety training for employees, so that every worker fully understands and masters the risk factors present in their work environment as well as the preventive measures, thereby effectively improving their safety skills and risk awareness. Safety supervision departments at all local levels should carefully refer to the \"Criteria for Identifying Major Potential Hazards in Production Safety Incidents in Chemical and Hazardous Chemicals Production and Operation Units (Trial)\\", and include the qualifications of relevant employees as a key focus during law enforcement inspections. Those who do not meet the requirements shall be subject to severe penalties in accordance with laws and regulations, and their operations must be suspended for rectification. IV. Earnestly carry out work on work safety at the turn of the year. The temperatures are low and severe weather is common at this time, which is not conducive to safe production ； Since the start of the fourth quarter, some companies have been eager to meet deadlines and increase production volumes. Coupled with the significant improvement in profits in the chemical industry this year, any slackness in attention or reduction in standards can easily lead to accidents. Since November 2017, there have been 5 major or more serious accidents in chemical enterprises across the country, serving as a sobering lesson. Chemical enterprises should earnestly learn from the lessons of relevant accidents, draw broader conclusions from them, and, in light of the characteristics of safe production in winter, carry out thorough work on the hierarchical management of safety risks as well as the identification and resolution of potential hazards. They should also strengthen daily safety management to ensure safe production. Safety supervision agencies in various regions should focus their supervision efforts, carry out strict law enforcement inspections, crack down severely on illegal and irregular activities, urge enterprises to assume their primary responsibilities, and resolutely curb the trend of frequent accidents. Please promptly disseminate this notice to safety supervision departments at all levels within your jurisdiction, as well as to all chemical and hazardous chemicals enterprises, and ensure strict implementation. **State Administration of Work Safety, December 22, 2017