【Ministry of Emergency Management’s Special Inspection 2022】03—A company in Guangxi caught in the act of using hazardous chemicals while still in the process of construction
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The last edit to this post was made by Desert Fish on 2022-7-18 at 11:06. “This company has only completed the basic construction of the project; however, aspects such as automated control systems, installation of safety equipment, verification of the qualifications of personnel in key positions, and fire emergency procedures are not in place. There is also no proper plan for trial production. With such conditions, it is completely impossible to ensure safe production, and starting trial production in these circumstances can be considered taking risks for profit’s sake.” ”A member of the ministerial-level supervision and inspection team for enterprises with major hazardous chemical sources under the Ministry of Emergency Management said. To encourage all regions to continuously strengthen the management of safety risks associated with major hazardous sources of chemicals and to effectively prevent and control such risks, starting at the end of June, the Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched 8 working groups to various locations to conduct the first ministerial-level inspection and assessment of enterprises with major hazardous sources of chemicals in 2022. At the same time, an intermediate evaluation of the efforts to address safety risks related to chemicals was carried out. At the beginning of July, the sixth supervision and inspection team of the Ministry of Emergency Management conducted both open and covert inspections in Guangxi. In the Liutang area of the industrial zone in Liucheng County, Liuzhou City, the supervision and inspection team found that there were inadequate measures to address the safety risks associated with the relocation of chemical industries in this park, as well as gaps in the safety screening processes. Notably, the ParkYie Biotechnology Company, a project under construction in the park, began trial production on its own without completing the evaluation of the trial production plan, posing serious safety risks. Members of the supervision and inspection team told Red Star News reporters that the current nationwide campaign to address safety risks related to hazardous chemicals focuses on preventing and controlling such risks in projects related to the relocation of chemical industries; this company is both a facility representing a major hazard source and a company involved in industrial relocation. “There should be no such blind spots anymore. ” Reporters from Red Star News learned that after identifying these potential problems, the supervision and inspection team from the Ministry of Emergency Management ordered the local authorities to prompt the enterprises in question to cease their production and business activities immediately, and to initiate investigations into those enterprises. At present, the emergency management department of Liuzhou City has issued a \"Decision on On-site Disposal Measures\" to Liuzhou Yuanye Biotechnology Co., Ltd., ordering the company to suspend production and operations as well as to cease using the relevant facilities and equipment; the main responsible persons of the company were also summoned for a discussion ； At the same time, lessons were drawn from this incident to carry out further self-inspections and self-corrections within the jurisdiction.
The park records indicated that the enterprise was under construction, but an on-site inspection revealed something else. Early on July 5th, the sixth supervision and inspection team from the Ministry of Emergency Management drove to the Liutang area of the industrial zone in Liucheng County, located northwest of Liuzhou City. The enterprise registry kept by the Liutang Area Management Committee showed that Yuanye Biotechnology Company was in the “under construction” phase, so the supervision and inspection team decided to conduct an on-site inspection of this biotechnology company. Upon arriving at the site, the person in charge of Yuanye Biotechnology Company briefed the inspectors on the situation of the company, stating that it was still under construction and had not yet started production. However, when the inspection team members entered the company’s production workshop, various signs indicated that this was not the case.
Inside the workshop, the inspectors examined the company’s recent records of material receipts and inputs, as well as the production operation logs. They found crystal residues on the inner walls of containers such as the reaction vessels used in the company’s production processes, and there were packaging bags containing finished products on site. Reporters from Red Star News saw on the material requisition forms in the workshop that on June 28th and 29th, workers took delivery of various chemical raw materials on consecutive days. In total, 8.4 tons of sodium sulfite, 7.8 tons of soda ash, 12 tons of p-toluenoyl chloride, and 960 kilograms of alkaline solution were obtained over those two days. Additionally, chloromethane, a hazardous chemical with flammable and toxic properties, was also acquired. Just looking at the operation record from July 2, there are 6 batches of production records, with 50 bags of finished products having been packaged.
Inspectors told Red Star News reporters that the company uses hazardous chemicals to produce p-tolyl methyl sulfone, involving a highly regulated alkylation process, and the chloromethane storage tanks constitute a major hazard of level four. Based on the experts’ on-site inspection, it was found that the company has inherent shortcomings in terms of safety risk assessment and automated control; essential functions such as process alarm interlocks and emergency shutdown systems are inadequate, and it has not yet met the standard requirements for safe production.
The company’s manager claimed that the products were subcontracted out, but the inspection team found conclusive evidence to the contrary. Regarding the issues identified by the supervision and inspection team from the Ministry of Emergency Management, the manager of Yuanye Biotechnology Company told Red Star News that the company had not started production yet. “It was just a subcontracting of products transferred from the head office. ” Regarding the residual material in the reaction vessels and dryers, the company stated that this was due to the need for calibration by the manufacturer after the equipment was installed; “What’s there after calibration are traces of water – it hasn’t been dried out, so it’s not material.” ” The inspectors noted that crystal residues were found on the inner wall through the reactor sight glass, and since centrifugation and drying are required before packaging the finished product, crystal residues were also present on the drying unit. In addition, there are records of bagging attached to the dryer, and the packaging bags containing the finished products also contain materials; there are also loading and unloading forklifts on site, indicating that the entire production process has been completed, and it is likely that the products have been sold as well. In addition, the supervision and inspection team also found that the principal responsible persons, safety management personnel, and operators of the alkylation process at Yuanye Biotechnology Company did not meet the required educational and qualification standards. It is reported that, in accordance with the \"Three-Year Action Plan for Special Rectification of Hazardous Chemicals Safety,\" the principal persons in charge of enterprises related to the \"two key areas and one major risk\" (hazardous chemicals under strict supervision, chemical processes under strict supervision, and major hazard sources), as well as those in charge of production, equipment, technology, and safety, as well as safety management personnel, must possess a college degree or above in related fields such as chemistry or chemical engineering, or hold an intermediate or higher professional title in the chemical industry. Operators of production units and storage facilities involving major hazard sources and chemical processes under strict supervision must have a high school education or above, or possess an intermediate or higher level of vocational education in the chemical field. At present, the key personnel, those in charge of specific areas, safety officers, and operators of the alkylation process at Yuanye Biotechnology Company do not meet the requirements set for this three-year initiative; the company is currently arranging for recruitment and training.
In terms of safe production, form outweighs action.
【Ministry of Emergency Management’s Special Inspection 2022】Summary Edition – Feel free to join the discussions and conduct self-inspections! ! ! ! https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=3418729 (Source: Huahai Chuanliu – Haichuan Network)
Automation control, the provision of safety facilities and equipment, verification of the qualifications of personnel in key positions, and fire emergency preparedness – none of these were in place. There was also no proper trial production plan; the conditions for safe production were completely lacking. Starting trial production under such circumstances can be considered taking risks for profit’s sake.
At 3:20 p.m. on March 5, 2021, a fire broke out in the company’s anti-sulfidation rejuvenator production workshop during trial production. Following the accident, the company immediately activated its emergency response plan, took appropriate actions to evacuate people swiftly, organized firefighting efforts, and informed the relevant local authorities in accordance with established procedures, thereby cooperating actively with the emergency fire services in carrying out firefighting and rescue operations. The fire was extinguished that night, and the accident scene was brought under effective control. This accident resulted in 1 death, with no environmental pollution incidents or secondary disasters occurring. The announcement states that the company has ceased production, with an estimated duration of this shutdown of no more than 30 days. At present, the company is fully cooperating with the relevant **departments in investigating and analyzing the causes of the accident. At the same time, it is conducting thorough self-inspections and self-corrections in accordance with the relevant standards, in order to resume normal production as soon as possible and avoid any impact on its operational activities. The announcement states that the company’s main products at present are sulfur-containing silane couplings and fumed silica. The anti-sulfidation agent is a chemical additive used in rubber; it is not one of the company’s main products. As of the end of the third quarter of 2020, this product accounted for 1.17% of the company’s total revenue from core business activities. According to available information, Jiangxi Hongbai New Materials Co., Ltd. was established in 2005, and in December 2017 it was restructured into a modern joint-venture stock company. The company is primarily engaged in the research, development, production, and sales of new silicon-based materials such as functional silanes and nanosilicon materials. Its products are widely used in industries including automobiles, rubber products, construction, and pharmaceuticals. The company’s registered capital is 249 million yuan; its headquarters are located in Jingdezhen, with subsidiaries and branches in **, Macau, Dongguan, and Harbin.