【Ministry of Emergency Management’s Special Inspection 2022】09—Companies failed to conduct thorough self-inspections; expert inspections targeted the key issues directly

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This post was last edited by Desert Fish on 2022-7-18 at 11:14. Every summer, as the temperature rises, so does the risk level of hazardous chemical accidents. Recently, with the Ministry of Emergency Management launching the first ministerial-level inspection and verification campaign in 2022 for enterprises handling major hazardous chemicals, a new round of nationwide inspections to identify safety risks and hazards related to such chemicals has begun. This time, the eighth supervision and inspection team conducted inspections in Fuzhou, Putian, and Quanzhou, examining 4 chemical industrial parks, 7 enterprises that produce (use) major hazard sources, and 2 oil and gas storage enterprises, identifying a total of 86 potential problems and hazards. At the same time, drawing on the lessons learned from the major chlorine gas leak incident that occurred at the Port of Aqaba in Jordan on June 27, the safety of liquid chlorine storage tanks was made an important focus of supervision, resulting in the identification of 7 potential safety issues at one chlor-alkali enterprise. A responsible official from the Fujian Provincial Emergency Management Department said that efforts will be accelerated to address all the issues identified during this supervision and inspection, and enterprises that engage in illegal or irregular activities will be subject to severe penalties in accordance with the law. At the same time, strengthen the joint working mechanism for \"coordination between regulatory and industry entities,\" enhance communication with relevant departments, and build a coordinated effort for comprehensive regulation to ensure the safe production of enterprises. As of the time of publication, 56 safety issues have been resolved (including 2 major accident hazards). Companies conduct insufficient and superficial self-inspections, while expert inspections target the key issues. The eighth supervision and inspection team in Fujian chose the Jiangyin Industrial Zone in Fuzhou as its first stop. The safety self-assessment score of the first randomly inspected hazardous chemicals manufacturing enterprise exceeded 900 out of 1000 points, indicating a low risk level. As a well-known local chemical company, it is quite confident in its own safety production practices. The experts from the supervision and inspection team got straight to the point; after learning about the basic situation of the enterprise upon arriving at the site, they divided into groups to conduct thorough inspections of the enterprise’s records, areas containing major hazard sources, and fire protection facilities. “Why does the SIS system shut down immediately after an alarm is triggered? ”“Is it correct to arrange the burst disc in this way? ”“Stop making excuses; don’t play tricks with things that are safe! ” At a large chemical manufacturing facility in Jiangyin Port, Fuzhou, Fujian, the experts from the inspection team targeted the key issues and kept asking questions; the company’s manager was sweating profusely and agreed to implement all the required changes on the spot. In the enterprise’s areas containing major hazard sources, several storage tanks standing over ten meters tall are arranged in sequence, with material pipelines laid out in an orderly manner; various devices and facilities emit noises as they operate. Guided by company staff, the experts from the supervision and inspection team inspected everything as they walked, paying close attention to key areas and facilities; from time to time, they climbed onto the operation platforms using both hands and feet to ask questions of the plant’s management.