[Haichuan Chemical Safety Updates] Nitrogen leak causes 4 workers at Dongbei Special Steel to lose consciousness in a steel-making furnace
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At around 7 a.m. on August 25, an emergency occurred at the Northeast Special Steel Plant in Wanghua District, Fushun City: a worker repairing a steel furnace collapsed and fell inside the furnace! The 4 workers lost consciousness due to a nitrogen leak caused by a malfunction in the furnace repair machine; by the time the firefighters arrived, 3 of them had already been rescued by other workers. ?“The fourth worker fell into the central area of the steelmaking furnace; the opening there was very small, so we decided to send someone with a slender build in to carry out the rescue…” said Fu Xiaoqiang, deputy captain of the Heping Squadron of the Wanghua District Fire and Rescue Brigade, on August 27. At 7:21 a.m. on August 25, the Heping Squad of the Fushun Wanghua District Fire and Rescue Brigade received an alert from the city’s command center: workers were trapped inside a steelmaking furnace in the Northeast Special Steel Plant area in Wanghua District! The Peace Squadron immediately dispatched 1 fire truck and 8 firefighters to the scene to carry out rescue efforts. The firefighters asked the person in charge of the factory and learned that while 4 workers were repairing the steel furnace, a malfunction of the furnace repair machine caused a nitrogen leak, resulting in the workers losing consciousness due to lack of oxygen inside the furnace. After other workers at the factory site noticed this, they used a crane to rescue the 3 unconscious workers who were in a slightly higher position. “The fourth worker whom they failed to rescue fell deep into the steel furnace, in its central area where the opening is very small. ”On August 27, Xiao Qiang wrote, “Wang Haitao, Qin Xiaobin and I arrived at the location where the 3 workers were rescued.” ” After observing the situation, the firefighters immediately devised a rescue plan: wearing air respirators made it difficult to operate inside the furnace, so it was necessary to send Wang Haitao, who was of thinner build, into the central area of the steelmaking furnace to carry out the rescue! Wang Haitao entered the steel furnace using a rescue ladder and attached a rescue harness to the fourth worker who was trapped. Workers operated the crane to lift the rescued worker out, who was then taken to the hospital for treatment by an ambulance.
Breaking News | Nitrogen leak at a pump manufacturing company in Dalian Chinese Chemical Safety Association, November 22, 2017 At around 6 p.m. on November 20, a nitrogen leak occurred at a pump manufacturing company located in Nanguanling, Dalian. As a result of this incident, several people suffered from poisoning and suffocation and were rushed to the Fourth People’s Hospital of Dalian for treatment. The reporter went to the Nanguanling area and located the company involved in the incident. The reporter learned that the company is a manufacturer of chemical pumps. During the reporter’s interview, workers were constantly coming in and out of the facility, and some employees confirmed to the reporter that the news online was true – an nitrogen leak did occur on the evening of the 20th. The reporter learned that the relevant authorities arrived at the scene immediately after the incident, and the injured were taken to a nearby hospital by ambulances for treatment. The accident resulted in multiple people being admitted to the hospital for treatment.
At 18:00 on the evening of July 9, 2016, during the construction of an environmental protection dust removal project for a mixer furnace at Wu’an Guangyao Foundry Co., Ltd., 5 workers suffered nitrogen poisoning and asphyxiation, and died despite attempts to save them. Preliminary investigations by the work safety authorities in Wu’an indicate that the accident was caused by improper operations by the construction workers. This project is an independent environmental protection dust removal system for the mixer furnace; it is still in the construction phase and has not yet been put into use. On the day of the incident, the contractor had two construction teams working simultaneously: one team was working inside the container, while the other was working on the top exterior of the container. Outside the box, workers adjusted the nitrogen valve without confirming that there were people working inside the box, which allowed nitrogen to enter the box and resulted in the asphyxiation of 5 people inside.
Reasons for the hazards of nitrogen: Nitrogen is currently widely used in chemical industries as a gas for purging, inerting, and sealing. Nitrogen is colorless and odorless, and it makes up 78% of the air, which leads many people to fail to realize its dangers. According to statistics from the global chemical industry, each year more people die from nitrogen asphyxiation in this sector than from poisoning by other toxic gases or from fires and explosions; nitrogen has thus become the leading cause of death in the chemical industry. Asphyxiation mechanism: Nitrogen, along with carbon dioxide, methane, acetylene, neon, and others, are all directly asphyxiating gases. Its characteristic is that an increase in its own concentration leads to a decrease in the oxygen level in the air, resulting in asphyxiation. Generally, asphyxiation accidents occur when the oxygen content in the air is below 18%. Nitrogen itself is not very harmful to the human body; however, when its concentration is slightly high, people may experience mild headaches, nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, and symptoms of excitement. In such cases, if detected early and ventilation conditions are improved promptly, the patient will recover on their own quite quickly. If the nitrogen content continues to increase, it reduces the oxygen level in the air, making it difficult for people to breathe. If pure nitrogen is inhaled, it can cause asphyxiation due to severe oxygen deficiency, and even lead to death. Dangers of asphyxiation: Nitrogen is an inert gas that is colorless, tasteless, and odorless; it is therefore impossible to determine whether the nitrogen level in a relatively enclosed space is excessive based solely on sensory cues. When the oxygen concentration in the air decreases, asphyxiation accidents often occur without any obvious warning signs. According to records, in the event of a nitrogen asphyxiation accident, it is very difficult for victims to escape or save themselves if they stay in an environment with a relatively high concentration of nitrogen for even 2 minutes ； When the oxygen concentration in a workspace is <10%, it can immediately cause suffocation and death.
Precautions for using nitrogen When using nitrogen, we should pay attention to the following points: 1 Nitrogen should be released in a safe location； 2 The nitrogen pipelines and connections at the public works hose station must be clearly marked ； 3 Workplaces where there may be nitrogen leaks need to be equipped with online oxygen concentration analyzers ； 4 Before entering areas where the oxygen level may be insufficient, it is necessary to test the oxygen concentration ； 5 Whenever someone is found collapsed in a confined space, rescuers must not rely on holding their breath to carry out the rescue; they must wear air respirators before entering.
The following preventive measures should be taken during the production process: 1. Strictly follow safety operating procedures and enhance training in operational skills to prevent accidents caused by improper operations that may lead to equipment damage and leaks in pipes and valves； 2. Provide safety training to workers, enabling them to understand and master the physical and chemical properties of nitrogen, as well as accident prevention and emergency response measures ； 3. Develop emergency rescue plans for asphyxiation accidents based on the actual production conditions, conduct regular drills to enhance the emergency response capabilities and skills of workers at their posts, and revise these plans as needed in response to changes in processes or staff, ensuring that they remain practical and actionable ； 4. Hang safety warning signs in areas where nitrogen leaks may occur; unauthorized personnel are strictly prohibited from entering such areas ； 5. Install forced ventilation systems in areas where nitrogen leaks may occur, in order to reduce the accumulation of nitrogen ； 6. Strictly implement the work order system ； 7. Before working in areas where there is a risk of nitrogen leakage, develop a thorough work plan first ； And submit it to the safety department for approval before proceeding with the work ； 8. Before working in areas where nitrogen leaks may occur, the equipment to be repaired must be reliably isolated from the production system. Forced purging must be carried out, and the air quality must be verified as satisfactory (oxygen content > 18%). Safety measures must be put in place before work can proceed. When a complete displacement is not possible, workers must use positive-pressure oxygen respirators, carry CO and O2 detectors properly, and have a dedicated person to provide supervision ； Wearing filter respirators is strictly prohibited when working in areas where nitrogen leaks may occur ； 9. Pure nitrogen gas must not be released into poorly ventilated areas ； Areas where nitrogen is produced, used, and in the control rooms must maintain good ventilation, and the oxygen content in the surrounding air should be analyzed regularly to ensure that its concentration remains at least 18% ； 10. Operators in the control room should strengthen the monitoring of parameters such as pressure and flow rate, so as to detect nitrogen leaks promptly and take effective control measures in a timely manner.
According to IT Home News, on January 14th, at 12:50 p.m. on the 12th of this month, a nitrogen leak occurred at LG’s display factory in Wolong-myeon, Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, resulting in 2 deaths, 1 person seriously injured, and 3 people lightly injured. Yesterday, LG of South Korea apologized for this incident and offered its condolences to the families of the victims. But this matter isn’t over yet; according to foreign media reports, LG’s factory in South Korea has been ordered to suspend its OLED TV panel production lines. It is reported that South Korea’s labor department issued a statement today ordering LG to suspend its OLED TV panel production lines until the relevant authorities determine the main cause of this nitrogen leak incident. In response, an official spokesperson for LG said that the OLED TV panel production lines have been shut down, and added that the company will fully cooperate with the relevant authorities in investigating the cause of the incident. In its response, LG also said it would restore normal operation of the production lines as soon as possible, but did not reveal whether this ban would have a negative impact on panel sales and production.
Nitrogen leak in Beilun, Ningbo causes 5 deaths; it was a liability accident – 11 people held accountable, Dayang Net, 05-26 07:08. Yesterday, the Ningbo Work Safety Supervision Bureau’s website published the \"Investigation Report on the ‘11·20’ severe asphyxiation accident at the Beilun Qingzhi branch pipeline project for industrial water supply in Ningbo\". At around 00:10 on November 20, 2013, during the jacking operation for the Beilun Qingzhi branch pipeline project for industrial water supply in Ningbo, which was undertaken by Ningbo Construction Engineering Co., Ltd., workers cracked a nitrogen pipeline belonging to Linde (Ningbo) Gas Co., Ltd., resulting in a nitrogen leak. This led to the asphyxiation death of 5 people and 1 injured person. Upon investigation, it was determined that this accident was a significant liability incident related to production safety. The direct cause was the cracking of the nitrogen pipeline by the jacking machine during the jacking construction work for the industrial water supply pipeline, which led to nitrogen leaking into the construction pipelines and work shafts, resulting in the asphyxiation and death of the workers on site. Furthermore, Linde Company violated regulations by altering the burial depth of the nitrogen pipelines during construction, failed to carry out the completion inspection for those pipelines, used them illegally for an extended period, and did not provide any information regarding the nitrogen pipelines at the preliminary design review meeting for the industrial water supply pipeline project ； Ningbo Construction Engineering illegally subcontracted the industrial water supply pipeline project; key personnel for the project failed to show up to carry out their duties, and the elevation of the pipe-jetting process was altered in violation of regulations during construction ； Ningbo Industrial Water Supply Co., Ltd. and Ningbo International Investment Consulting Co., Ltd. failed to properly fulfill their responsibilities as the project owners and supervisors for industrial water supply pipeline projects with regard to work safety ； Lack of effective supervision by Beilun District **, Qijia Mountain Sub-district, as well as the Beilun Branch of Ningbo Urban Planning Bureau and the Beilun District Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau were indirect causes of this accident. The entities and individuals responsible for the accident were held accountable in accordance with the law. Among them, three entities namely Linde Company, Ningbo Construction Engineering, and Ningbo State Investment will be subject to administrative penalties imposed by the safety supervision and construction authorities in accordance with the law; four individuals responsible for these violations will face criminal prosecution, while other relevant persons responsible will be subject to investigation. Beilun District was ordered to submit a thorough written apology to the municipal authorities. Seven responsible officials from relevant departments, including the Beilun Branch of the Ningbo Planning Bureau, the Beilun District Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, the Qijiashan Sub-district Office, and Ningbo Industrial Water Supply Co., Ltd., were given disciplinary actions such as removal from office, reprimand, or warning.