Common knowledge about special equipment accidents
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I. Accident Classification: Accidents can be classified into three categories based on the degree of damage to the equipment and the extent of the hazards involved: major accidents, serious accidents, and minor accidents. 1. Major accident: An accident that results in 3 deaths or 30 or more serious injuries. 2. Severe accident: An accident that results in 1 to 3 deaths or 10 or more serious injuries. 3. Ordinary accident: An incident results in serious injuries to people. II. Procedures for handling accidents after they occur. 1. Carry out on-site emergency measures: After an accident occurs, all efforts should be made to prevent it from worsening, especially to avoid more serious incidents such as secondary explosions or building collapses. The power supply should be cut off promptly, the materials should be discharged safely, personnel should be evacuated, and all available resources should be mobilized to rescue the people. 2. Protect the scene as well as relevant equipment and documents. After on-site emergency handling, it is necessary to strictly preserve the site and the condition of the damaged equipment. It is necessary to use various methods such as photography and video recording to document, collect, and safeguard various records of the equipment, especially the various operation records from the site. Prevent human damage. 3. Report in a timely manner. In the event of an accident involving special equipment, the entity using such equipment must report it to the special equipment safety supervision agency and the relevant competent authorities in a timely manner, in accordance with applicable regulations. III. Examples of accidents: Accidents involving special equipment are often caused by the equipment itself not being safe enough, inadequate management of the equipment, improper operation, or incorrect rescue measures in the event of sudden failures. Last August, an incident occurred in our city in which a passenger trapped inside an elevator fell into the shaft and died. During the same period, an injury accident caused by the shearing and crushing of a simple elevator occurred in a factory building in an industrial village in Nanshan District of our city, resulting in one death. Last year, a serious accident occurred in the Nanyou Industrial Zone of our city as well, where the same forklift caused the death of 2 people due to improper operation.
I. What is the basic meaning of safety supervision for special equipment? Answer: The basic meaning of safety supervision for special equipment is that quality supervision departments at all levels, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, exercise strict supervision over the production (including design, manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and renovation), use, as well as inspection and testing of special equipment. They take action to prevent and correct any violations and impose administrative penalties, thereby maintaining an order for the safe use of such equipment and ensuring its safe operation as well as the protection of people’s lives and property. II. What are the categories of special equipment specified in the State Council’s Regulations on the Safety Supervision of Special Equipment? Answer: The special equipment specified in the Regulations on the Safety Supervision of Special Equipment is divided into seven categories. They are boilers, pressure vessels, pressure pipelines, elevators, lifting machinery, passenger cableways, and large-scale amusement facilities. III. How many levels are there in the regulatory framework for the safety supervision of special equipment? Answer: It is divided into the following levels. 1. Law. The Work Safety Law, the Product Quality Law, and others. 2. Administrative regulations. Regulations issued by the State Council such as the Regulations on the Safety Supervision of Special Equipment and the Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals. 3. Departmental regulations. **Orders issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, such as **Order No. 46 of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, the “Regulations on the Safety Supervision of Gas Cylinders”, etc. 4. Regulatory documents. Such as the **Regulations on Safety Technical Inspection of Steam Boilers** and the **Regulations on Safety Technical Inspection of Pressure Vessels**, which are issued by the authorities in written form. 5. **Standards, industry standards, and enterprise standards. IV. What aspects of work are primarily included in the safety management by entities that use special equipment? Answer: The safety management of special equipment users mainly includes the following 7 aspects of work. 1. Special equipment in use must be registered, and cancellation procedures must be followed when it is scrapped ； 2. Establish comprehensive technical archives for special equipment ； 3. Personnel in charge of special equipment management and operation must work with valid certificates ； 4. Special equipment in use shall undergo regular inspections in accordance with regulations ； 5. Safety management personnel should conduct regular safety inspections on the special equipment in use, and address any safety hazards identified promptly ； 6. In the event of an accident involving special equipment, it is necessary to report it promptly and truthfully to the departments responsible for work safety supervision and management as well as the departments in charge of special equipment safety supervision and management ； 7. Submit to the safety inspections conducted by the authorities in charge of the safety supervision of special equipment. V. How does the Regulations on the Safety Supervision of Special Equipment address registration? Answer: The Regulations stipulate that before special equipment is put into use or within 30 days after it is put into use, the entity using such equipment shall register with the special equipment safety supervision and management department of the municipality directly under the Central Government or the city divided into districts. The registration mark shall be placed or attached in a prominent position on such special equipment.
VI. What should the quality supervision authorities do when they discover that entities responsible for the production or use of special equipment are in violation of the Regulations and safety technical standards, or when there are potential accident hazards associated with the special equipment in use? Answer: When it is discovered that the production or usage units are violating the Regulations and safety technical specifications, or that the special equipment in use poses potential accident risks, a written order regarding the supervision of special equipment safety shall be issued promptly, ordering the relevant units to take measures to correct such violations or eliminate the potential accident risks. If emergency actions are necessary in such situations, a written notice shall be sent subsequently. VII. What should quality supervision authorities do when they discover that entities involved in the production or use of special equipment are committing serious illegal acts or have significant potential hazards that could lead to accidents? Answer: When major illegal acts or serious potential accident hazards are detected in special equipment manufacturing and usage units, it is necessary to take the appropriate measures while promptly reporting to the higher-level special equipment safety supervision and management department ； When dealing with illegal acts or serious potential accident hazards that require the support and cooperation of the local people’s government and relevant departments, it is necessary to report to the local government and inform the relevant departments. VIII. What actions should be taken if it is discovered that unauthorized manufacturing, installation, or modification of boilers, pressure vessels, elevators, lifting machinery, large-scale amusement facilities and their safety accessories and protective devices, as well as manufacturing of pressure pipeline components, is taking place? Answer: The special equipment safety supervision and management authorities shall shut it down, confiscate the illegally manufactured products; if installation or modification has already been carried out, orders shall be given to restore the original condition or to have such work redone by a licensed entity within a specified time limit, along with a fine of between 50,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan ； Those who violate criminal laws shall be held criminally liable in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law regarding crimes such as the production and sale of substandard products, illegal business operations, serious liability accidents, or other related offenses, against the responsible supervisors and other persons directly liable. IX. What should be done if it is discovered that, within 30 days of putting special equipment into use, the unit using such equipment has failed to register it with the authorities responsible for supervising and managing safety related to special equipment, is using special equipment that has not passed regular inspection, or fails to take appropriate action when the equipment malfunctions or exhibits abnormal behavior? Answer: Upon discovering such circumstances, the special equipment safety supervision and management department shall order rectification within a specified time limit ； If the violation is not corrected by the deadline, a fine of not less than 2,000 yuan but not more than 20,000 yuan shall be imposed ； In cases of serious violations, orders shall be issued to cease use or suspend operations for rectification. X. **What are the regulations set by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine regarding serious violations related to special equipment? Answer: **The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine stipulates that the following actions constitute serious violations regarding special equipment. 1. Engaging in the production, use, inspection, and testing of special equipment without permission ； 2. Illegal use of special equipment, resulting in accidents of severe severity or above (including severe accidents) ； 3. Those who conceal and fail to report an accident.
XI. Which potential hazards in special equipment can be identified as serious accident hazards? Answer: **The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine stipulates that the following potential hazards in special equipment can be classified as serious accident hazards. 1. Those using specially manufactured equipment produced illegally ； 2. Used beyond the specified parameter range for special equipment ； 3. Used continuously in the absence of safety accessories or safety devices, or with such accessories or devices that are malfunctioning ； 4. Use of special equipment that should be scrapped or has been found to be unqualified upon inspection ； 5. Using special equipment with obvious faults or abnormalities, or using special equipment that has not been corrected despite orders to do so ； 6. Continuing to use special equipment after an accident has occurred without reporting it. XII. Which illegal acts committed by entities using special equipment can be considered serious? Answer: **The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine stipulates that the following illegal acts committed by entities that operate special equipment can be considered serious in nature. 1. Those who act deliberately in violation of the rules or refuse to correct their behavior despite repeated warnings ； 2. Those that hinder supervision and inspection ； 3. Transfering or destroying evidence, or arbitrarily damaging the sealed state ； 4. Falsifying relevant documents or certificates, giving false testimony, or threatening witnesses to give false testimony ； 5. A large number of devices were not subject to supervision and inspection during the manufacturing, installation, modification, and maintenance processes ； 6. Incidents that cause significant losses or involve accidents of a severe nature or above (including severe accidents).
Different concepts regarding accidents involving special equipment: 1. According to Article 4 of the \"Regulations on the Handling of Accidents Involving Boilers, Pressure Vessels, Pressure Pipelines, and Other Special Equipment\", such accidents are classified into extremely serious accidents, serious accidents, major accidents, significant accidents, and minor accidents, based on the extent of casualties and damage caused. A particularly serious accident refers to an equipment accident that results in 30 or more deaths (including 30), or 100 or more injuries (including acute poisoning, the same hereinafter), or direct economic losses of 10 million yuan or more. A major accident refers to an equipment accident that results in 10–29 deaths, or 50–99 injuries, or direct economic losses of 5 million yuan (including 5 million yuan) or more but less than 10 million yuan. A major accident refers to an equipment accident that results in 3 to 9 deaths, or 20 to 49 injuries, or direct economic losses of 1 million yuan (including 1 million yuan) or more but less than 5 million yuan. A serious accident refers to an equipment explosion incident that results in 1–2 deaths, or 19 or fewer injuries, or direct economic losses of 500,000 yuan or more but less than 1 million yuan, with no casualties. A minor accident refers to an equipment incident in which there are no casualties, the equipment is damaged and cannot operate properly, and the direct economic loss is less than 500,000 yuan. 2. In accordance with Articles 61 to 64 of the Revised Regulations on the Safety Supervision of Special Equipment, which came into effect on May 1, special equipment accidents are classified into four categories: extremely serious accidents, serious accidents, relatively serious accidents, and ordinary accidents. Excerpt: Relevant provisions of the Regulations (Revised Version) Article 61 An accident is considered a particularly serious accident under any of the following circumstances: (1) An accident involving special equipment results in 30 or more deaths, or 100 or more serious injuries (including acute industrial poisoning; the same applies hereafter), or direct economic losses of over 100 million yuan ； (II) Explosions of boilers of 600 megawatts or more ； (III) Leakage of toxic substances from pressure vessels and pressure pipelines, resulting in the evacuation of more than 150,000 people ； (IV) In the case of cable cars for passenger transport or large amusement facilities, where 100 or more people are trapped at a high altitude for more than 48 hours. Article 62 A major accident shall be deemed to exist under any of the following circumstances: (1) An accident involving special equipment results in 10 to 30 deaths, or 50 to 100 serious injuries, or direct economic losses ranging from 50 million yuan to 100 million yuan ； (II) Boilers of 600 megawatts or more that have been shut down due to safety issues for more than 240 hours ； (III) Leakage of toxic substances from pressure vessels and pressure pipelines, resulting in the evacuation of more than 50,000 but less than 150,000 people ； (IV) In the case of passenger cable cars and large amusement rides, where 100 or more people are trapped at a high altitude for a period of time ranging from 24 hours to 48 hours. Article 63 A relatively serious accident shall be considered in any of the following circumstances: (1) An accident involving special equipment results in 3 to 10 deaths, or 10 to 50 serious injuries, or direct economic losses ranging from 10 million yuan to 50 million yuan ； (II) Explosions of boilers, pressure vessels, and pressure pipelines ； (III) Leakage of toxic substances from pressure vessels or pressure pipelines, resulting in the evacuation of more than 10,000 but less than 50,000 people ； (IV) Overall overturning of lifting machinery ； (5) People trapped at heights on passenger cable cars or large amusement rides for more than 12 hours. Article 64 A general accident shall be classified under any of the following circumstances: (1) An accident involving special equipment results in 3 or fewer deaths, or 10 or fewer serious injuries, or direct economic losses ranging from 10,000 yuan to 10 million yuan ； (II) Leakage of toxic substances from pressure vessels or pressure pipelines, resulting in the evacuation of more than 500 but less than 10,000 people ； (III) People trapped in the elevator car for more than 2 hours ； (IV) Breakage of the main load-bearing structural components of the lifting machinery, or collapse of the lifting mechanism ； (5) Persons stranded at a high altitude on a passenger cable car for more than 3.5 hours but less than 12 hours ； (VI) Persons trapped at a height on large amusement rides for more than 1 hour but less than 12 hours. In addition to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the department under the State Council responsible for the safety supervision and management of special equipment may issue supplementary regulations regarding other circumstances of general accidents.