【Ministry of Emergency Management’s Special Inspection 2022】08—Weak fire-fighting capabilities in enterprises, poor management of hot work operations

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The last edit to this post was made by Desert Fish on 2022-7-18 at 11:13. The company’s fire protection capabilities are weak, and fire management is in a terrible state. On July 8, an inspection team went to Golmud Xinqian Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd., and found that the company had a low level of safety awareness and inadequate basic safety equipment. The supervision and inspection team found that the gas detection and alarm devices for flammable and toxic gases at the enterprise’s production site did not have certification labels attached, nor were there any identification tags hung on them. Furthermore, the control room is not equipped with optical flash alarms for detecting combustible gases and toxic gases. The stop valves in front of the safety valves in the liquid ammonia and liquid chlorine storage areas lack valve operation signs and seals; moreover, the steel wires used for sealing some of the safety valve calibration signs have been damaged. The primary load requirement of being powered by dual power sources is also not met. The supervision and inspection team also pointed out that the fire management practices in the enterprise need to be improved, as the current system is in a complete mess. Experts say that companies should further refine the use of tools for analyzing operational safety risks as well as the content of safety briefings. It is necessary to specify the valid period for work permits related to special operations such as hot work, and to clarify the responsibilities of approvers and supervisors, as well as the requirement of having two supervisors when contractors carry out work together. The supervision and inspection team also found during its checks that the professional competence of the company’s staff needs to be improved. For example, the certification management for personnel engaged in special types of work needs to be strengthened; all operators responsible for feeding catalysts into the chloroacetic acid production plant must hold certificates for working in chlorination processes, as there are currently some individuals who lack such certificates. Furthermore, some operators are not familiar with how to use certain basic safety equipment. During the inspection, the experts found that the cut-off valves in the enterprise’s liquid chlorine unloading system were not installed or used correctly; the cut-off valves currently in use fail to provide any protective function at all. Furthermore, corporate fire safety also poses numerous risks. The enterprise’s mini fire stations are inadequately equipped with items such as fire protection suits and explosion-proof lighting. The fire hydrant system within the factory complex is not functioning properly; the backup fire pump is defective, and there are also damages to the fire protection piping network. The enterprise’s customized fire extinguishing and emergency evacuation plans lack provisions regarding coordination with the fire department. The head of the local authorities ordered the company to make immediate corrections, stating that \"potential hazards should be treated as accidents; it is absolutely unacceptable to allow such hazards to develop into actual accidents.\" ”