[Haichuan Chemical Safety Updates] Starting from the 10th, comprehensive inspections and supervision of enterprises with major hazardous chemical sources will be carried out

On top of the problems that have accumulated over time, there are now some new security risks as well. Industry insiders told reporters that faced issues such as shrinking market demand and a significant increase in inventory pressure, some chemical companies operate their facilities at reduced capacity or even shut them down and restart them frequently, which makes it difficult to organize production and increases safety risks. Some companies, due to declining profitability, may reduce investments in safety measures, fail to address potential hazards in a timely manner, experience staff turnover, and provide inadequate training, all of which have a negative impact on safe production. A responsible official from the Ministry of Emergency Management said that recently, the Fire and Rescue Bureau carried out cross-regional supervision visits and found that hazardous chemical enterprises still had numerous fire safety hazards in their actual storage and operational management: for example, some fire protection facilities and equipment were outdated and corroded, some fire valves were damaged and could not be closed properly, and some enterprises did not have functional dedicated fire teams nor had they established mechanisms for emergency response to industrial accidents. Any carelessness could easily lead to fires and explosions.

A responsible official from the Ministry of Emergency Management said that this special inspection and supervision effort is aimed at achieving the goals of \"two comprehensives and one establishment\", that is, ensuring comprehensive coverage of inspections and supervision of enterprises with major hazardous sources of hazardous chemicals； All major risk hazards identified through inspections and supervision are placed on a special monitoring list for targeted rectification ； The national emergency response system has established a joint regulatory mechanism for hazardous chemicals that ensures coordination between higher-level authorities and local agencies. How can we ensure that potential hazards are properly addressed? It is understood that this special inspection and supervision will be carried out at three levels: coordinated promotion at the ministerial level, organization and scheduling at the provincial level, and actual implementation at the municipal level. The Ministry of Emergency Management will regularly report on the inspection and supervision activities carried out in various regions, and at appropriate times expose those enterprises that have failed to properly address major safety hazards or made slow progress in doing so. On June 20, the major accident hazards that have not yet been rectified will be assigned to various provinces in the name of the Safety Committee Office of the State Council, with clear requirements and responsibilities for rectification specified. (Source: People’s Daily App)

To further promote the implementation of the \"Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Comprehensively Strengthening Work Safety in the Handling of Hazardous Chemicals\", as well as the requirements set out in the three-year action plans for special rectifications regarding hazardous chemical safety and fire safety issued by the State Council’s Safety Commission, and to effectively address various safety risks faced by enterprises that handle major hazardous chemical sources, the Ministry of Emergency Management has decided to organize emergency management departments and fire rescue agencies across the country to carry out special inspections and supervision of such enterprises (referred to as special inspection and supervision). The proposed plan is as follows: I. General requirements (1) Timeline. May 10, 2020, to June 30, 2020. In principle, the centralized on-site inspection and supervision should be completed by June 10, and all major issues should have been addressed through supervision and rectification by June 30. (II) Scope of inspection. Enterprises such as large petrochemical complexes, crude oil storage facilities, and key petrochemical companies that are included in the list of major hazardous sources for hazardous chemicals. The key areas to inspect are the hazardous chemical storage tank areas and storage warehouses. (III) Work objectives. Through this special inspection and supervision effort, the goals of \"two comprehensives and one establishment\" are to be achieved: comprehensive inspection and supervision of enterprises with major hazardous sources of hazardous chemicals; thorough addressing of major accident hazards identified through such inspections through targeted supervision; and the establishment of a joint supervision mechanism for hazardous chemicals within the national emergency management system, one that ensures coordination between different levels and regions.

II. Key Points (1) Implementation of the enterprise’s primary responsibility for safe production: The effectiveness of the enterprise’s systems for identifying and addressing potential hazards; the proper functioning of alarm systems for flammable and toxic gases in hazardous chemical storage areas and warehouses, as well as safety instrumented systems (SIS), emergency shutdown systems (ESD), video surveillance systems, level alarm systems, overpressure alarm systems for containers, emergency shut-off devices, safety valves and cut-off valves, pressure relief systems, universal piping filling systems, explosion-proof electrical equipment, and cooling facilities. Additionally, it includes how the enterprise stores hazardous chemicals in accordance with relevant standards, as well as the safety management practices related to loading and unloading operations in these storage areas. (II) Implementation of the enterprise’s primary responsibilities regarding fire safety: whether fire separation distances, fire dikes, access roads for fire trucks, and fire water sources meet the required standards; the proper condition of fire pump rooms, foam pump rooms, fire water networks, high-pressure supply systems, automatic fire alarm systems, automatic extinguishing systems, portable fire extinguishers, fire hydrants, fire monitors, vertical fire pipes, foam extinguishing systems, and fixed fire sprinklers; the establishment of the enterprise’s dedicated fire brigade and specialized response teams, as well as the conduct of emergency drill exercises and the availability of fire-fighting supplies. (III) Contents of the three-year action plan for rectification: The implementation of the requirements regarding major hazard sources such as tank farms, as outlined in the \"Three-Year Action Plan for Special Rectification of Hazardous Chemicals Safety\" issued by the State Council’s Safety Committee; and the progress made in implementing the projects aimed at enhancing the fire safety capabilities of petrochemical enterprises, as specified in the \"Three-Year Action Plan for Special Rectification of Fire Safety\".

To further promote the implementation of the \"Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council on Comprehensively Strengthening Work Safety in the Handling of Hazardous Chemicals\", as well as the requirements set out in the three-year action plans for special rectifications regarding hazardous chemical safety and fire safety issued by the State Council’s Safety Commission, and to effectively address various safety risks faced by enterprises that handle major hazardous chemical sources, the Ministry of Emergency Management has decided to organize emergency management departments and fire rescue agencies across the country to carry out special inspections and supervision of such enterprises (referred to as special inspection and supervision). The proposed plan is as follows: I. General requirements (1) Timeline. May 10, 2020, to June 30, 2020. In principle, the centralized on-site inspection and supervision should be completed by June 10, and all major issues should have been addressed through supervision and rectification by June 30. (II) Scope of inspection. Enterprises such as large petrochemical complexes, crude oil storage facilities, and key petrochemical companies that are included in the list of major hazardous sources for hazardous chemicals. The key areas to inspect are the hazardous chemical storage tank areas and storage warehouses. (III) Work objectives. Through this special inspection and supervision effort, the goals of \"two comprehensives and one establishment\" are to be achieved: comprehensive inspection and supervision of enterprises with major hazardous sources of hazardous chemicals; thorough addressing of major accident hazards identified through such inspections through targeted supervision; and the establishment of a joint supervision mechanism for hazardous chemicals within the national emergency management system, one that ensures coordination between different levels and regions.

There are 16 key items focusing on this special inspection and supervision. https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/mmbiz_png/7QRTvkK2qC7H2bowpqCQLXiczqD2rfB49Avt1ucibvLB4q9MAuuhkvWv8hKVicVV1LEWTpLjIPm2yK65AmQiaX2OnA/640?wx_fmt=png&tp=webp&wxfrom=5&wx_lazy=1&wx_co=1 https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/mmbiz_png/7QRTvkK2qC7H2bowpqCQLXiczqD2rfB49bSNhOf9PA60W96RTC7krIFR6Euia8W6U7d4CWuiaG0DQ22ibS0gd4LTaQ/640?wx_fmt=png&tp=webp&wxfrom=5&wx_lazy=1&wx_co=1 Do enterprises establish systems for identifying and addressing potential hazards related to production safety and fire safety, and do they implement these systems effectively? 2. Are there any issues with hazardous chemical storage tanks such as operation at excessive temperatures, pressures, or liquid levels, as well as arbitrary changes to the stored substances? 3. Are the safety valves, cut-off valves, pressure relief systems, and cooling facilities of the hazardous chemical storage tanks in good condition and operating properly? 4. Whether the temperature, pressure, liquid level monitoring systems, as well as the alarm and interlock systems for flammable and toxic gases are in operation in the hazardous chemicals tank area; whether important parameters can be transmitted remotely and recorded continuously. 5. Whether there is any occurrence of the floating roof sinking to the bottom during the operation of the internal floating roof tank. 6 Are detection and alarm devices installed in areas where flammable and toxic gases may leak, in accordance with **standards and industry standards? Are explosion-proof electrical equipment installed and used in areas at risk of explosions, in line with **standards and industry standards? 7 Whether the hazardous chemical storage areas that constitute level 1 and level 2 major hazard sources are equipped with emergency shut-off functions; whether such storage areas for level 1 and level 2 major hazard sources involving toxic gases, liquefied gases, and highly toxic liquids are fitted with independent safety instrumented systems. Are water injection measures implemented in 8 fully pressurized liquefied hydrocarbon storage tanks in accordance with **standards and industry standards? 9 Is a universal pipeline filling system used for filling flammable, explosive, toxic, and harmful liquefied gases such as liquefied hydrocarbons, liquid ammonia, and liquid chlorine? 10. Whether the fire protection facilities in the hazardous chemicals tank farm and storage areas are in good condition and functional, and whether the on-duty operators know how to use them skillfully; whether the fire control room, fire pump room, and foam pump room are operating properly. 11. Are there any instances of carrying out welding work or entering confined spaces in oil and gas tank areas without conducting gas testing or obtaining the necessary work permits? Are untrained personnel and contractors lacking the required qualifications being used to work in these areas? Is there any unauthorized use of motor vehicles or presence of outsiders in the tank areas? 12. Check whether the monitoring and early-warning systems for major hazard sources of level 1 and 2 are in normal operation, and whether the video surveillance system is functioning properly 24 hours a day. 13 Are hazardous chemicals stored in accordance with **standards and industry standards for classification and zoning? Is there any storage of such chemicals in excess quantities or of more types than allowed, and is there any mixing of substances that are incompatible with each other? 14 Whether the emergency response plan is practical and effective, and whether regular emergency drills are conducted along with subsequent reviews and improvements. 15. Are the fire separation distances and fire dikes for storage tanks in compliance with requirements? Are the fire truck access routes unobstructed? Is the reserve of firefighting agents sufficient to meet rescue needs? 16. Do the enterprise’s full-time fire brigades and process response teams conduct practical training and joint drills to establish and improve emergency response coordination mechanisms?

The evaluation of the overall situation of China’s chemical industry is quite accurate