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Special inspection by the State Council’s Safety Committee Office on *ao acid production enterprises / Author/Source: China Emergency Management News, Date: 2020-09-05, Clicks: 52 0 1. The inspection team discovered in Shandong that there are many risks associated with prolonged shutdowns, as well as weak fire prevention capabilities in the storage areas. Recently, the first inspection team of the State Council’s Safety Committee Office inspected several chemical enterprises in Shandong and identified numerous problems and risks; it urged the relevant enterprises and local authorities to remain vigilant and to standardize *ao acid production from the source. The insulation layer of the pipelines is damaged and severely corroded. Shandong Shifaifeng Fertilizer Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of Shandong Jinmei Riyue Chemical Co., Ltd.; its business performance is not satisfactory, and it is currently shut down. On the morning of August 28, the first inspection team from the State Council Safety Commission Office came to the enterprise for an inspection. Before even entering the production facility area, the experts identified several safety hazards: due to prolonged shutdown, the production equipment and its supporting facilities had not been properly maintained; the cover plates on the instrument trays in the pipe racks were missing; there were no labels indicating the type of material or flow direction in the pipes; the pipe insulation was damaged and severely corroded; in some cases, the pipe supports had slipped out of their mounts; there were no height restrictions marked on the gantries above the roads; and the area to be developed to the north of the facility was not properly separated from the production area. “We must make full use of this opportunity to regard others’ accidents as our own problems. It is necessary to carefully analyze safety risks and implement hierarchical control; one cannot address everything at once. Learning from the accidents of others is an effective way to improve our work. ”Sun Guangyu, head of the first inspection team and director of the Department for Safety Supervision of Hazardous Chemicals at the Ministry of Emergency Management, said to the company’s chairman, Wang Xuren. The forklifts entering the workshop are not explosion-proof. On the afternoon of August 28th, the first inspection team went to Shandong HeliTai Chemical Co., Ltd., located in Yiyuan County, Zibo City, to conduct an inspection. The company was founded in 1965, and it produces 100,000 tons of industrial sulfuric acid per year, 135,000 tons of sulfuric acid solutions, and 150,000 tons of nitro compound fertilizers. “This packaging area is nominally meant to store unfinished products that have not been inspected, but in reality it functions as a finished product storage area; therefore, it should be managed in accordance with the standards of an *ao acid an warehouse. ”Entering the company’s packaging workshop, Liu Peizhi, an expert from the inspection team, identified the problems existing within the company. It turns out that the company uses the warehouse in its packaging workshop as a storage area for finished products; there, 300 bags of solid *ao acid an are stored waiting to be loaded onto vehicles. However, the *ao acid an warehouse, located 22 kilometers away from the factory, has not been in use for a long time. The packaging workshop and warehouse, along with the *ao acid an packaging process, are located in the same building, which does not comply with relevant design specifications ； No infrared temperature sensing devices or automatic fire sprinkler systems are installed, which fails to meet the requirements for emergency cooling in case of a fire ； The warehouse has only a single-story entrance and exit door that lacks fire protection features. Sun Zhiyan, an expert from the inspection team, carefully examined the safety label on the packaging of *ao acid an and said, “*ao acid an can explode easily when exposed to heat or impact; this information should be indicated on the outer packaging, so that your customers or handlers are aware of its most dangerous properties.” ” There was a regular forklift parked in the packaging workshop, and Liu Peizhi asked what preventive measures should be taken for forklifts entering the packaging workshop. “ We are equipped with fire suppressors. ”The company’s leader said. After locating the flame arrester, the expert reached in with their hand only to find that the internal components of the arrester were tilted, rendering it ineffective at preventing fires. “This is inconsistent with the requirement stipulated in the \"General Rules for Fire Safety Management in Warehousing Areas\", which states that battery-powered vehicles and forklifts used to enter storage areas for Class A and B items must be explosion-proof. ”Liu Peizhi said. “All these problems stem from safety managers’ inaccurate identification of safety risks. Inadequate risk identification creates gaps in safety prevention and control measures, which results in our work related to safe production becoming merely a formality. ”Security experts told the company executives. The inspection team recommended that, first, as little as possible of solid *ao acids an with explosive hazards should be produced, or none at all; instead, more liquid *ao acids an that do not explode should be manufactured. Companies can consider optimizing their production processes to achieve this ； Secondly, explosive manufacturing enterprises establish strategic partnerships with nitric acid production enterprises, so that liquid nitric acid products can be used directly by local explosive manufacturers, thereby reducing safety risks associated with intermediate transportation steps. Local authorities **can actively coordinate to help enterprises resolve supply and distribution issues on site. On August 24, the fifth inspection team from the State Council’s Safety Committee visited Sichuan Meifeng Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province. The company’s main products are compound fertilizers, melamine, and *ao acid an. Upon further inspection, it was found that these products still lacked explosive hazard labels. During the previous round of inspections, the fifth inspection team had inspected the company on August 9. Upon entering the factory premises, the inspection team verified on-site the status of rectification for the 8 safety hazards identified during the first round of inspections. It was found that the company had completed the rectification of 7 of these hazards, while 1 major hazard was still under correction. According to the company’s responsible person, the company has submitted an application to the Mianyang Emergency Management Bureau for a delay in addressing this serious safety hazard, and temporary measures have been taken; the company plans to complete the rectification by September 20. Subsequently, the inspection team checked the company’s safety management-related documents and the on-site conditions against the company’s problem identification checklist. “Are your alarm systems working properly? Were the alarm records kept as required? ” “What emergency equipment is needed for emergency response? ” In the company’s control room, the inspection team members asked questions of the staff, reviewed the list of materials, and checked the emergency equipment. At the site, the inspection team simulated an emergency situation to test the staff’s emergency response procedures and asked them to demonstrate these procedures on the spot. It took the company staff exactly 1 minute to put on their personal protective equipment and grab their inspection gear. The inspection team pointed out that to be prepared for emergency responses, it is essential to encourage employees to develop good safety habits; they must take proper self-protection measures and carry inspection equipment when going to the site. The inspection team found that although the *ao acid an packaging of this company had safety labels, it was still lacking labels indicating that it could explode in the presence of open flames or heat radiation. The company’s management stated that they will continue to make improvements, further enhancing employees’ safety awareness as well as their operational and safety skills. Taking this inspection as an opportunity, they will organize all branches to carry out comprehensive reforms. To carry out the necessary rectifications, Mianyang City issued a series of urgent notices, focusing on organizing inspections of 5 companies involved in the production and storage of *ao acid an, including Sichuan Meifeng Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. On August 24, the first inspection team from the State Council’s Safety Committee conducted an inspection in Xinxiang, Henan, and found that Henan Yongchang Nitrogen Fertilizer Co., Ltd. had failed to properly address the safety issues identified during the previous inspection; moreover, the requirements related to the \"one document per chemical\" system still hadn’t been implemented. To further advance the special inspections and rectification efforts related to the safe storage of hazardous chemicals, to focus on the prevention and control of major safety risks, and to resolutely prevent incidents similar to the severe explosion that occurred at Beirut Port in Lebanon on August 4, the Office of the State Council Safety Commission conducted another round of \"comprehensive\" inspections and rectifications of acid production enterprises as well as port facilities handling explosive hazardous materials, building on the first round of inspections carried out from August 7 to 17. This inspection was carried out in six teams. The first inspection team was led by Sun Guangyu, Director of the Department for Hazardous Chemicals Regulation under the Ministry of Emergency Management; its first stop was Xinxiang, Henan, where they conducted an in-depth inspection of a *ao acid an production enterprise – Henan Yongchang Nitrogen Fertilizer Co., Ltd. On August 12 of that same month, during the first round of inspections, it was found that issues such as inadequate implementation of the \"one document per chemical\" system, the absence of chemical safety labels on the packaging of *ao acid an, and the lack of risk notification cards in areas with high hazards existed. On the eve of this inspection, the report submitted by the company regarding the rectification of the identified risks indicated that those risks had been resolved. However, at the company’s Warehouse No. 3 for *ao acid an3, the inspection team found that among the stacked bags of solid *ao acid an, only the packaging bag on the top layer was fitted with a safety label. At the request of the inspection team, the warehouse staff removed the first layer of bags containing *ao acid an, and it was found that the packaging bags of the products on the second layer did not have any safety labels. In response, Wan Shuanhong, the company’s general manager, explained that they are about to change the packaging and will print safety labels on the new bags; these have already been sent to the printing factory to be processed urgently. “So during this period, if some businesses buy the products, do you sell them? ”Sun Guangyu asked. Wan Shuanhong and the company’s chairman, Guo Huancai, said not a word. “So how can we ensure that all those who come into contact with this product during its distribution are aware of its hazardous properties? ”Sun Guangyu pressed further. The two were speechless. On the safety notice board for hazardous materials in the high-risk area at the entrance of Warehouse No. 3, the first item under the \"Hazardity\" column specifies the harm to human health, while the second item states that \"*ao acid an can explode when exposed to strong external energy.\" “How can employees then understand what strong external energy is? ”Asked by Sun Zhiyan, an expert from the inspection team. The inspection team also asked the company’s management on site. “Under what circumstances can something go wrong in a warehouse? ” The warehouse manager replied, “To prevent fires.” ”He went on to say that it was mainly to “prevent arson.” ”Under further questioning by the inspection team, additional items such as “ventilation,” “checking the temperature and humidity meter,” and “static electricity management” were added. “There are also electrical fires. ”The safety section chief added from the side. Regarding the level of major hazard sources in the warehouse, one person answered level 3, while another answered level 1. Soon, they explained that explosives are classified into three grades, while hazardous chemicals are classified into one grade. However, the risk level was not indicated at the site, which does not comply with the requirements of the Interim Provisions on the Management of Major Hazard Sources of Hazardous Chemicals. In addition, the inspection team also found that the company had issues such as improperly located fire hydrants in the warehouse, the use of non-explosion-proof forklifts for transporting *ao acid an, and insufficient pressure in the fire pump. In particular, regarding the issue of insufficient pressure in the fire pumps, the inspection team found in the company’s fire pump room that the opening degree of the main valve at the inlet of the fire pumps was not sufficient, resulting in low water pressure. Tests on site showed that it was not possible to achieve an adequate water volume within 5 minutes. Sun Guangyu said, “If the valves cannot be opened when an accident occurs, wouldn’t that delay the opportunity to take action?” ”