The State Administration of Work Safety releases an analysis of lessons learned from typical accidents in confined spaces

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Recently, there have been a high number of safety accidents related to work in confined spaces. **The State Administration for Work Safety has summarized the typical accidents that have occurred in such environments this year, analyzed the lessons learned from them, and provided relevant safety guidelines. **The State Administration of Work Safety believes that although these several typical accidents were not severe or catastrophic, their causes are highly representative and the lessons they offer are profound. Issues such as unreasonable design, inadequate training, and improper emergency response are widespread, and these serve as a warning. **The State Administration of Work Safety requires all relevant local authorities and organizations to effectively urge enterprises to strictly implement the approval system for work in confined spaces, to carry out thorough safety training, and to ensure that workers possess the knowledge necessary for safe work in such environments as well as the skills for emergency rescue, thereby preventing reckless attempts at rescue. **The State Administration of Work Safety calls on the whole society to thoroughly learn from the lessons of these accidents in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring. The major poisoning incident on March 18 in Hainan: A typical case – On March 18, Weilin Rubber Company in Danzhou City, Hainan Province, organized operations to clean the rubber wastewater tanks. One employee fainted suddenly while working in one of these tanks; two other employees and the factory manager, who arrived upon hearing the news, went into the tank to try to save him. As a result, all three people died from poisoning. Lesson analysis: Companies have a mistaken understanding of confined spaces; they believe that open pools do not constitute confined spaces and therefore cannot cause poisoning. The company failed to provide its employees with safety training regarding work in confined spaces; the employees lacked awareness of the safety risks associated with such work, were unaware of the dangers of poisoning and suffocation in confined spaces, and entered these spaces without taking any measures such as ventilation, monitoring, or protection. Basic knowledge of safe production: A confined space refers to a space that is enclosed or partially enclosed, with poor natural ventilation; such spaces are prone to the accumulation of toxic, harmful, flammable, and explosive gases, which can lead to poisoning, fire, or explosion accidents. Additionally, insufficient oxygen levels in such spaces can cause asphyxiation. When working in confined spaces such as wastewater tanks, septic tanks, fermentation tanks, pickling tanks, manholes, and ditches, the toxic hydrogen sulfide gas that accumulates within these tanks/holes/ditches or is released as a result of activities carried out there can cause poisoning, even leading to death within seconds. Before carrying out work in confined spaces, company employees must receive specialized training to understand the safety requirements for working in such environments. Without training and appropriate protective measures in place, employees have the right to refuse work in confined spaces. The major poisoning incident on January 14 in Yunnan: A typical case – At 21:20 on January 14, the deputy director of the processing workshop at Yunnan Honghe Jinkē Sugar Industry Co., Ltd. ordered 5 workers to go to the fifth floor to clean syrup tanks No. 7 and No. 8. At 21:46, a worker entered Tank No. 7 containing syrup; he fainted while bending down to carry out his tasks. The people on site noticed this and called for help using walkie-talkies, and 11 workers in the vicinity rushed to assist him. As a result, 4 people died, 2 suffered moderate poisoning, and 6 suffered mild poisoning. Lesson analysis: The company failed to implement an approval system for work in confined spaces, did not conduct risk assessments of such spaces in advance, and did not take targeted preventive measures against those risks, which led to the accident. Attempting rescue efforts in a hasty manner resulted in an increase in casualties. Basic knowledge of safe production: Enterprises should implement an approval system for work in confined spaces, and conduct safety checks on each condition related to such work. Before carrying out work in confined spaces, enterprises shall conduct risk identification, analyze the existing hazardous factors, propose measures to eliminate or control these hazards, develop a plan for working in confined spaces, and have it approved by the enterprise’s management. Operations in confined spaces must strictly adhere to the principle of \"ventilate first, then test, and finally proceed with work\". Working in confined spaces is a high-risk activity; companies must, in accordance with relevant regulatory requirements, equip themselves with the necessary testing, ventilation, and protective equipment, and install safety warning signs in such areas to ensure operational safety. The August 28 poisoning incident in Hunan: A typical case – Around 11 a.m. on August 28, during the process of restarting production after shutting down due to the hot weather, a worker at Anxiang Zhongxin Paper Industry Co., Ltd. in Changde City, Hunan Province, fainted in a pulp tank after being poisoned while cleaning waste from it. The company’s owner and seven other workers went into the tank to try to rescue him, and they too were poisoned as a result. In total, 7 people died and 2 were seriously injured. Lesson analysis: The company failed to provide its employees with safety training regarding the requirements for working safely in confined spaces and emergency rescue procedures. No emergency equipment was available at the work site, and when an accident occurred, the people on site entered the confined space without taking any protective measures in an attempt to carry out rescue efforts, which resulted in injuries or deaths among the rescuers. In the vast majority of confined space accidents, reckless attempts to rescue victims lead to an increase in casualties. Basic knowledge of safe production: In the event of an accident during work in confined spaces, the personnel on site should immediately call the police; attempting rescue actions blindly is prohibited. Emergency responders should take proper protective measures, wearing necessary breathing equipment and rescue gear. Enterprises should develop emergency response plans for incidents in confined spaces and conduct regular emergency drills to continuously improve their ability to handle such situations, thereby preventing the expansion of casualties resulting from hasty rescue attempts. Hubei 10•14 Asphyxiation Incident: A typical accident – At around 16:50 on October 14, an asphyxiation incident caused by nitrogen occurred at Lantian United Gas Co., Ltd. in Xishui County, Huanggang City, Hubei Province, resulting in 3 deaths. Lesson analysis: The device design is unreasonable; the excess nitrogen exhaust pipe is connected to a pit, posing a high safety risk. Due to inadequate management of confined spaces, a maintenance worker suffocated while opening the pit cover to fetch water. Improper on-site emergency response and reckless attempts to provide assistance led to the expansion of the accident. Basic knowledge of safe production: Inhaling high concentrations of nitrogen can cause oxygen deficiency and asphyxiation, leading to rapid loss of consciousness and death due to the cessation of breathing and heartbeat. Chemical (**chemical) enterprises are strictly prohibited from carrying out operations such as hot work, entry into confined spaces, work at heights, lifting operations, temporary power use, excavation, inspection and maintenance, and removal or installation of blind flanges without prior approval. The October 19 poisoning incident in Jiangsu: A typical accident – At around 2:40 p.m. on October 19, workers at the methanol plant of Supor Group in Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province, suffered carbon monoxide poisoning while carrying out dust removal tasks in a vacuum black water cooling and separation tank in the gas processing section; as a result, 3 workers died. Lesson analysis: The faulty equipment was not properly isolated, allowing toxic gases such as carbon monoxide to enter, resulting in 3 deaths from poisoning. Basic knowledge of safe production: Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas; exposure to high concentrations of it for a short period of time can be fatal. It is also explosive when mixed with air, with an explosion limit ranging from 12.5% to 74.2%. Before entering confined spaces associated with chemical processing equipment, it is necessary to thoroughly isolate, clean, and purge such spaces. Not only must the oxygen level within the confined space be measured quantitatively, but the levels of toxic and harmful gases as well as flammable gases also need to be analyzed quantitatively; work can only proceed once these conditions are met.