Anhui Provincial Work Safety Committee Office reports on the gas pipeline leak incident at Anqing Petrochemical

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On May 25, the Anhui Provincial Work Safety Committee Office issued a report on the pipeline leakage and fire incident at the gasification unit of Anqing Petrochemical, calling on the entire province to strengthen the management of leaks in chemical enterprises, to immediately carry out special campaigns to address potential leakage risks in such enterprises, and to advance comprehensive efforts to ensure the safety of hazardous chemicals. At around 11:20 on May 23, synthetic gas leaked at the flange weld of the synthesis gas pipeline at the inlet of the recycle gas compressor in the gasification unit of Anqing Petrochemical’s Chemical Plant No. 1. The high-pressure gas leaking out generated static electricity due to friction with the wall of the leak, which led to ignition and combustion; this caused damage to some cables and equipment. Anqing Petrochemical immediately implemented an emergency shutdown of the gasification unit, activated the emergency response plan, and organized on-site handling. By 11:35, the fire at the source was extinguished, and the incident caused no casualties or environmental pollution. The Provincial Safety Committee Office issued directives requiring that all localities and departments draw lessons from this accident, promptly organize chemical and hazardous materials enterprises to carry out special campaigns to address potential leakage risks, supervise these enterprises in conducting inspections for such risks, rectify the safety hazards identified, and eliminate them one by one. Advance the comprehensive management of hazardous chemicals safety, with a focus on identifying safety risks associated with such chemicals, establishing records of these risk distributions, and creating a database of major hazard sources related to hazardous chemicals. Pay close attention to key areas such as hazardous chemical storage tanks and warehouses, and proceed steadily and carefully with the relocation of enterprises that handle hazardous chemicals ； Urge enterprises to establish and improve safety production responsibility systems, increase the intensity of routine law enforcement penalties, and strictly enforce enterprises’ primary responsibilities for safety production.