Make every effort to curb the trend of frequent occurrence of major and severe accidents

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Adhering to reform and innovation, strengthening governance in accordance with the law, and making every effort to curb the frequent occurrence of serious accidents – through the joint efforts of all parties, the total number of work safety accidents across the country continued to decline in 2015. The number of various production safety accidents and the death toll throughout the year decreased by 7.9% and 2.8% respectively on a year-on-year basis. Among them, the number of major and above accidents as well as the death toll decreased by 9.9% and 8% respectively on a year-on-year basis. The safety conditions in most regions and key industry sectors remained generally stable. **Statistics from the State Administration of Work Safety show that in 2015, the safety conditions in most regions and key industry sectors were stable: the number of coal mine accidents and the number of deaths associated with such accidents decreased by 32.3% and 36.8% respectively, while the death rate per million tons dropped to its lowest level ever** ； Accidents in industries such as non-coal mines, the chemical and hazardous materials sector, fireworks and firecrackers, road traffic, construction, production-related fires, water transportation, railway transportation, and metallurgical machinery all saw a double decline. No major accidents occurred in agricultural machinery, and civil aviation maintained a record of safe flights ； No major or severe accidents occurred in 11 provincial-level regions, including Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanghai, Hubei, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Qinghai, Ningxia, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. In 2015, the national work safety and coal supervision systems followed the directives of **** and the State Council, focusing on the implementation of various policy measures, which provided strong support for advancing work safety across the country. Responsibility is the soul of safety. The national work safety and coal supervision systems continue to strengthen the awareness of critical limits and the concept of safe development. Guided by the principle of \"five levels and five coverages,\" they work to improve the system of responsibilities for work safety. They organize activities such as \"dialogues between a thousand officials and ten thousand coal mine managers, as well as between provincial/ministerial officials and county party secretaries and county heads,\" in order to help party committees at all levels further reinforce their leadership responsibilities. At the same time, these efforts aim to ensure that relevant departments fulfill their supervision duties and that enterprises assume their own responsibilities. The rule of law is the foundation of security. To strengthen the development of a legal framework for safety, the national safety and coal supervision systems have actively promoted the implementation of the new Work Safety Law. They requested the General Office of the State Council to issue notices on enhancing safety supervision and law enforcement, introduced various regulations and rules for such supervision and enforcement, and, in collaboration with the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, issued judicial interpretations regarding legal issues related to acts that endanger work safety. They have also carried out thorough efforts to crack down on illegal activities and violations, conducted accident investigations and handling in accordance with laws and regulations, and established a system of legal advisors. Focusing on the main contradictions is an important method for strengthening work safety. In 2015, the whole country carried out comprehensive safety inspections focusing on hazardous materials and flammable and explosive substances, and intensified special safety rectification efforts in key industries, addressed potential risks associated with oil and gas transmission pipelines, conducted thorough inspections of hazards in coal mines, and carried out actions to shut down such facilities. Classified guidance and targeted supervision are implemented in areas where high-risk industries are concentrated, with continuous deepening of efforts to address issues at the source. Innovation is the driving force behind the continuous advancement of safe production. In 2015, reforms and innovations in the field of work safety were advanced steadily. Eight pilot provinces—Beijing, Guangdong, Shanghai, Hubei, Jilin, Sichuan, Fujian, and Ningxia—developed many valuable practices, continuously improved the assessment indicator system, innovated safety supervision mechanisms, and deepened efforts to streamline administration and delegate powers as well as transform government functions; phase-specific results were achieved in various aspects of these reforms. Looking back at last year’s work in safety production, many valuable explorations and successful practices hold guiding significance for carrying out safety production efforts this year and throughout the 13th Five-Year Plan period. The situation of frequent occurrence of major and severe accidents remains serious. “Although some progress has been made in work related to safety production, it is still necessary to conduct an in-depth analysis of the existing problems.” ”**Yang Huaning, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the State Administration for Work Safety, said. Based on the data, although the number of casualties and accidents has decreased in recent years, severe accidents continue to occur frequently, causing serious harm and significant negative impacts, resulting in a critical situation. Based on last year’s figures, 38 major accidents occurred in 21 provinces, on average one such accident every 10 days. These accidents resulted in 768 deaths and missing persons; the average number of deaths and missing persons per major accident was higher than in previous years. In 13 provinces, the number of major accidents or the number of deaths associated with them increased compared to the previous year. In particular, accidents such as the fire and explosion at Tianjin Port and the landslide in Shenzhen caused heavy casualties and property losses, dealing a severe blow to the sense of safety among the general public. In addition, last year there was a concentration of accidents in certain regions and industries. Last August in Shandong, four dangerous fire and explosion incidents occurred within a single month, while in December, three major mine accidents took place successively in Heilongjiang, Liaoning and other regions. The successive occurrence of similar accidents in a short period has drawn significant public attention. Major and significant accidents in areas such as elevators, tourism, catering, and road traffic occur right around people’s lives; they are closely related to people’s daily activities and travel, and they also have a direct impact on people’s sense of safety. Yang Huanning pointed out that whether they are major or extremely serious accidents, or ordinary and relatively serious accidents, all reflect deep-seated problems such as the ongoing imperfections in the systems, mechanisms, and legal framework for work safety; a weak commitment to the concept of safe development; the failure of enterprises to fulfill their primary responsibilities; inadequate safety regulations and standards; and lax supervision and law enforcement in the safety sector. These issues also indicate that the work safety system remains immature and lacks sufficient control capabilities. A clear understanding of these issues is aimed at enhancing a sense of urgency and a awareness of critical limits, clarifying the problem-oriented approach and key priorities for work throughout the year and in the future, and adhering to a strategy that addresses both symptoms and root causes, while taking into account both the present situation and long-term prospects. Currently, economic and social development bring many new opportunities and challenges to work safety. On the one hand, the optimization of the industrial structure, the increasing demand for safety across society, and a stronger awareness of safety and the rule of law have laid a better foundation and provided better opportunities for strengthening work related to safe production. China’s new industrialization, informatization, and urbanization processes are advancing steadily. The economy has entered a new normal, with efforts to shift development patterns and adjust the economic structure moving into more complex phases. There is increasing pressure to upgrade industries and eliminate outdated as well as excess production capacity, and a large number of production and business units that do not meet safety standards will withdraw from the market ； As the process of building a moderately prosperous society accelerates, safety issues have received considerable attention, and work related to safe production has become an important task for party committees at all levels in terms of strengthening social management and protecting the lives and property of the people ； The reform of the modern enterprise system has been further deepened, with continuous improvements in enterprise management standards, technical equipment levels, and the skill qualifications of industrial workers. Meanwhile, the awareness of the rule of law throughout society is also on the rise. On the other hand, the foundation for safe production is still relatively weak. Amidst profound changes and rapid development, various aspects of management, including safety management, have lagged significantly behind. Some enterprises in high-risk industries, as a result of years of extensive growth, have accumulated numerous safety risks and hidden dangers. New business models and new forms of social organizations are emerging in large numbers, while new materials, new energy sources, and new manufacturing processes are continually increasing. Additionally, overcapacity in certain industries and declining profitability pose significant difficulties for production and operation units. Issues such as reduced investment in safety measures and unstable workforce conditions also present new challenges to work safety efforts. Yang Huaning demanded that this year’s work on work safety should focus both on forward-looking and leading principles, as well as on feasibility and practicality. It is necessary to actively adapt to the overall trends of China’s economic and social development, striving to integrate immediate actions with long-term considerations. Focus on key areas and make every effort to prevent the occurrence of serious and major accidents. The State Administration for Work Safety has ordered that, while advancing work related to work safety as a whole in 2016, greater emphasis must be placed on preventing the frequent occurrence of such serious accidents. This is not only a key task in preventing work safety incidents at present but also an important measure to drive progress in overall work safety efforts. Yang Huaning said, “We must take effective measures to reduce the number of serious and major accidents and lower the death toll per accident.” ” Identify and keep a close eye on industries and areas with high safety risks, as well as the weak points in them. After analyzing the occurrence of major and severe accidents over the past decade, the **General Administration of Work Safety has identified certain patterns in the industries and time periods in which such accidents take place. Especially as urban construction expands, functional systems become increasingly complex, and populations grow more densely, safety risks accumulate. Previously relatively stable areas have seen serious accidents occur in sectors such as oil and gas pipelines, slaughterhouses, and nursing homes. Functional zones like development districts and port areas are prone to serious accidents due to their relative isolation and the situation where no single party is responsible for oversight. **The State Administration for Work Safety requires that all regions and relevant departments conduct comprehensive assessments this year of those areas and processes that pose risks of causing severe accidents resulting in many deaths and injuries, recording each one so as to have a clear understanding of the situation. Strengthen institutional, technical, and managerial measures to prevent major and severe accidents. **The State Administration of Work Safety has called for strengthening governance at the source, tightening the entry requirements for enterprises in high-risk industries such as mining and chemicals, and phasing out production capacities that do not meet safety standards. Enforce strict safety standards for urban and rural planning, design, and construction to eliminate potential safety hazards at the source. It is necessary to implement a dual preventive mechanism based on risk level management and the identification and resolution of potential hazards, in order to establish two lines of defense. In high-risk industries, efforts are being made to replace human labor with machinery and automate processes to reduce the need for manual work, and stricter technical standards have been established for the regular updating of equipment and the phasing out of outdated processing methods. Implement physical spatial segregation in workplaces with a large number of personnel and ample space, thereby reducing the number of workers per unit area; strictly approve and regulate large-scale commercial activities that involve crowd gatherings. Great attention is paid to safety issues in the construction of buildings, urban bridges, building facades, tunnels, underground utility tunnels, etc. Comprehensive inspections are carried out to address safety hazards in old urban buildings and waste dump sites, in order to prevent serious accidents such as collapses. Strictly crack down in accordance with the law on illegal activities such as the unauthorized operation of passenger buses and ships, unlicensed mining by mining enterprises, reckless digging and drilling of oil and gas pipelines, illegal transportation and operation of hazardous materials, and \"three-in-one\" premises. Minimize the losses and social impact of major accidents. It is necessary to strengthen emergency rescue efforts, improve the management of emergency plans, and establish an efficient emergency response mechanism characterized by unified command, rapid response, coordinated actions, and smooth operation, so as to ensure that rescues are carried out safely, scientifically, and effectively, thereby minimizing casualties and property losses. Safety supervision departments in various regions should actively seek leadership support from **, carry out proper management and preparation of daily emergency command platforms, strengthen the development of specialized emergency rescue teams and bases for mines, hazardous facilities, oil and gas pipelines, etc., and continuously improve the level of technical equipment and emergency response capabilities. Starting this year, over a period of 3 years, a number of rescue bases for hazardous chemicals and other such hazards will be established, featuring high professionalism and advanced technical equipment. Establish a comprehensive information-based rescue command system that integrates on-site data collection and transmission, rescue resource allocation, and remote consultation and command. It is necessary to actively serve as a good advisor to the Party committee, work together with relevant parties to handle public opinion responses following major accidents, establish and improve mechanisms for rapid news reporting as well as for the collection, analysis, and assessment of public opinion, strengthen guidance in terms of public opinion, and prevent malicious speculation that could amplify the harm and negative impacts of such accidents. Under the new historical conditions, to ensure safe production in a sustainable and effective manner, it is necessary to think ahead, take precise actions, and strive for tangible results. This requires actively exploring the objective laws governing safe production, as well as thoroughly studying the patterns and characteristics of accidents and their handling, in order to continuously improve the relevance and predictability of safety measures.