**Inherent violations are the biggest obstacle to safe production in petroleum and petrochemical enterprises

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　Full-scale production brings a range of safety and environmental challenges, *inherent violations of regulations have become the root cause of safety issues. To solve this problem, it is also necessary to start with the \"three basics,\" pay attention to detailed monitoring, assign responsibilities to specific individuals, and increase investment in safety. 　　*Inherent violations are the biggest obstacle to safe production in current petroleum and petrochemical enterprises, while low competence and lack of responsibility are the two main causes of such inherent violations. 　　March 20, 2007, Beijing, overcast. At the Tarim Hotel, CNPC held an accident analysis meeting for the refining and chemical processing sector. It is easy to imagine that the atmosphere at the meeting that day was as gloomy as the sky outside. 　　Reflecting on the incidents, the participants conducted a thorough analysis of the 9 typical accidents from aspects such as the course of events, causes, accountability, and corrective measures. The painful lessons shook them to their core, and many admitted, \"We also have similar risks; fortunately, no accidents have occurred.\" Let the mistakes of those before us serve as a lesson for those who follow! ” 　　In fact, it’s not just refining companies; safety issues represent the biggest challenge facing the entire oil industry. In 2006, China National Petroleum Corporation experienced 6 major work safety accidents resulting in 3 or more deaths each. Although the natural gas spill at Sinopec’s Dazhou plant was not dangerous, it prompted the evacuation of tens of thousands of people… Behind such accidents, people wonder what exactly is the cause of safety issues remaining a persistent problem in this industry 　　Experts say, “There are various reasons for accidents, but hardware is no longer the main issue; the vast majority are caused by human factors.” More precisely, over 85% of accidents are caused by *inherent illegal operations* carried out by frontline employees. 　　*Inherent violations 　　What are *inherent violations? Experts explain that when an incorrect production practice gradually accumulates over time and turns into an *inherent way of thinking, or even is mistaken for a correct concept, potential problems arise. 　　For example, using iron tools to open and close valves, or to remove screws, flanges, etc., in the flammable and explosive areas of oil refining plants is a type of *inherent violation of safety rules. Doing this can easily generate sparks, and in the event of a leak of flammable materials, it may lead to accidents such as fires and explosions. The proper approach is to use explosion-proof tools in flammable and explosive areas, and to install prominent safety signs. 　　Any thoughtless *involuntary violation of rules can lead to an accident. Last year, a domestic petrochemical company experienced a flash explosion while cleaning the scale buildup on the inner wall of a polymerization reactor in its polyethylene plant. Afterward, investigators found that an important cause of the accident was the operators’ insufficient awareness of the risk that a small amount of alkanes present in the scale inside the polymerization reactor could volatilize in a short time and reach a flash explosion concentration. When the combustible materials trapped in the scale volatilize during operations and accumulate at the bottom of the polymerization reactor, they can cause a flash explosion when exposed to sparks generated by metal friction or impact. In this fire, 3 people died, 5 were seriously injured, and the losses were severe. 　　Similarly, the shocking explosion at Jilin Petrochemical is also a practical lesson. The direct cause of the Jilin Petrochemical explosion was that the operator on duty failed to close the valves in time when shutting down the equipment; this mistake led to an excessively high temperature in the feed system, and after some time this resulted in an explosion. Air was then drawn into the T101 tower, which was operating under negative pressure, causing explosions in both the T101 and T102 towers. Subsequently, the two *** storage tanks connected to the T101 and T102 towers, along with their associated equipment, also exploded. The continuous intensification of the fire at the explosion site caused two nitric acid storage tanks in the plant area to explode, and led to the ignition of one *** storage tank and two benzene storage tanks in Tank Area 55, which is adjacent to that workshop. 　　Surprisingly, the person involved in the accident made two mistakes in a single day. It must be said that *inherent violations have become quite entrenched at the grassroots level. 　　There must be underlying reasons for a wrong behavior to evolve from being done occasionally to being done out of habit, from occasional violations to reckless violations. As a safety director in the oil and petrochemical industry told a reporter, “We should not view unsafe behaviors that violate regulations in factories in isolation; such behaviors are often rooted in deep-seated social factors and conditions, stemming from a specific social context.” ” 　　What he said does make sense. The simplest example is when the red light is on at an intersection; even knowing that taking that step means facing danger, some people still proceed regardless. It is conceivable that someone who cannot even abide by traffic rules, someone who does not respect or take responsibility for their own life, how can such a person ensure strict compliance with the factory’s safety regulations during their eight hours of work? 　　This also leads us to talk about the employment environment and conditions in the country, which to some extent tolerate those who do not adhere to safety regulations. In the West, many companies (such as DuPont) make safety a condition for hiring employees. If a person is fired by their company for safety reasons, this negative record will prevent them from finding a job in the future. Therefore, he will go to great lengths to enforce the company’s safety policies, as this is closely tied to his own survival. However, at present, the Chinese business community has not yet formed similar strict labor unions, which leads some employees to adopt the mistaken logic that \"if this place won’t keep me, there will be another place that will\", thereby hindering the effectiveness of safety measures. 　　Root causes of violations Industry insiders admit that low quality is indeed a significant cause of improper operations. It directly affects employees’ operational skills, risk identification capabilities, and ability to handle emergencies. 　　A manager from a petrochemical company told reporters that in recent years, 90% of safety accidents in China’s petrochemical industry have been caused by unsafe human behavior, and a lack of understanding of operational procedures or an overreliance on luck have led to illegal operations, which constitute the most prominent issue among these types of violations. 　　Experts analyze that there are mainly two reasons for the relatively low quality of frontline employees at present: First, frontline work is demanding, with low incomes and low social status, so these employees try every means to get transferred to government offices ； College graduates who join companies use working at the grassroots level as a transition or stepping stone, and are not willing to settle there long-term. Therefore, it is difficult for grassroots levels to retain talent. Second, the human resource management and training systems are inadequate. For example, some companies do not have strict assessments for new employees; it’s just a formality ； In some corporate training programs, employees are only instructed on how to operate the equipment under normal conditions, with no attention paid to what to do in case of abnormal situations. Given this, it is not surprising that employee quality is on a downward trend. 　　Furthermore, a lack of responsibility is another major cause of *inherent violations. A general manager of a petrochemical company said, “Knowing but failing to act – the root cause lies in irresponsibility or inadequate accountability.” In terms of security, responsibility is more important than systems. Unclear responsibilities, inadequate supervision, and poor command are all forms of tolerance toward accidents; no matter how good the systems are, they remain just words on paper. ” 　　This was the case with an explosion at an aniline plant in China in 2006. The direct cause of this accident was that, during the process of removing the acidic water tank in the waste acid concentration unit, the operator loosened the flange at the outlet pipe of the lower head, causing acidic water containing benzene to flow out from that flange. The benzene in the water accumulated within the tank’s enclosure; once it reached a certain concentration, it spread. Driven by the north wind, it came into contact with an open flame generated during welding work in the southeast corner, resulting in an instantaneous explosion that led to 4 deaths and 11 injuries. 　　Why does the acidic water tank contain benzene? The key issue is that the workers failed to strictly follow the safety regulations and relevant operating procedures. The \"Operating Procedures for the Spent Acid Concentration Unit (Trial Version)\” stipulate that the vacuum pump must be stopped 46 minutes after feeding is ceased, yet the operators stopped the vacuum pump just 3 minutes after feeding was halted, which caused free benzene to precipitate out of the acidic water and enter the acidic water tank along with it. 　　Secondly, the unit’s \"Safety Management Regulations for Inspection and Maintenance Operations\" require that equipment, containers, and pipelines containing flammable, combustible, toxic, harmful, or corrosive materials should be subjected to steam purging, hot water washing, neutralization, and nitrogen purging prior to maintenance work, so as to ensure that no residual materials remain inside them. Additionally, analyses must be conducted in accordance with standard requirements; only after these tests are successful can the equipment be handed over to the maintenance team for repairs. However, after shutting down the waste acid concentration unit, the operators did not thoroughly clean the acidic water tanks before submitting the equipment handover form to the maintenance team. This is another direct reason for the acidic water in the tank. 　　This accident also shows that responsibility plays a crucial role in ensuring safe production. In fact, carrying out multiple tasks such as hot work, building maintenance, and equipment demolition simultaneously in the same workplace, with these tasks overlapping, already violates the regulations on safe production ； During this time, the hot work supervisor also stood outside the north gate of the spent acid concentration unit, and was thus unable to observe in a timely manner any abnormal changes occurring around the hot work site inside the plant; he failed completely to fulfill his duties as a supervisor. Meanwhile, during the equipment demolition work on the other side, the inspectors detected abnormalities while removing the outlet flange of the acidic water tank; instead of taking immediate action, they failed to inform those carrying out the hot work at all. 　　It is evident that the workers from both sides failed to communicate with each other and lacked a sense of responsibility; as a result, they carried out incorrect and illegal operations in the wrong location, which ultimately led to a tragic outcome.