Dangerous accidents are trending everywhere — do you know where 77% of these accidents occur?

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Recently, news of another dangerous accident has shocked everyone once again. When it comes to hazards, there are many topics related to safety. Do you know that actually 77% of hazard incidents occur during transportation? (EHS.CN) How many families have been destroyed by an accident? On March 1, 2014, a particularly severe road traffic accident involving methanol combustion on the Jinji Expressway resulted in 40 deaths, 12 injuries, and 42 vehicles being destroyed, with direct economic losses amounting to 81.97 million yuan. 　　At 2:57 on July 19 of the same year, at kilometer 1309.33 of the Shanghai-Kunming Expressway in Shaoyang City, Hunan Province, a light truck carrying ethanol was traveling from east to west when it collided rear-end with a bus that was stopped in line ahead. An immediate large-scale release of ethanol led to a fire, resulting in 54 deaths and 6 injuries (4 of whom died due to severe injuries despite medical efforts). The direct economic loss amounted to over 53 million yuan. 　　**Data from the Work Safety Administration and fire departments show that in the hazardous materials accidents that have occurred in China in recent years, 77% of them took place during transportation; thus, the logistics of hazardous materials has become the most risky aspect in terms of safety, often referred to by the public as \"moving hazards\". 　　Over 95% of chemical raw materials need to be transported over long distances. According to statistics from relevant authorities, in 2013 the total output value of China’s chemical industry reached 14.25 trillion yuan; more than 80% of these materials were hazardous, with a total volume of over 1.8 billion tons. As a result, over 95% of chemical raw materials must be transported over long distances. 　　Cai Jin, vice president of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, has said that a huge volume of hazardous materials must be transported through the logistics sector throughout the industrial chain, from factory production to end-user consumption. \"Each year, approximately 200 million tons of hazardous materials are transported by road.\" ” 　　“Hazardous materials exist in liquid, solid, and gaseous states. Their packaging ranges from small containers of 0.1 milliliters to barrels holding 220 kilograms, tank trucks carrying 40 tons, and ships capable of transporting thousands of tons. The transportation of such materials involves various factors such as the environment, people, vehicles, and the goods themselves, and it is these characteristics that result in a relatively high level of risk associated with the logistics of hazardous materials. ”Industry insiders say. 　　Sinopec Chemical Sales Co., Ltd. produces 50 million tons of chemical products each year, some of which need to be delivered to customers via long-distance logistics. A significant portion of these products are hazardous materials that are flammable, explosive, toxic, or corrosive. The volume of products that we arrange for delivery ourselves is roughly between 15 million tons and 20 million tons; for the rest of the products, customers are responsible for picking them up themselves. 　　“Due to the many uncertainties involved in transportation, it is difficult to completely prevent accidents from occurring. And once an accident does happen during the transport of hazardous materials, it often results in a severe disaster that claims dozens of lives. ”Zhang Guoming, deputy general manager of Sinopec Chemical Sales Co., Ltd., once said this. 　　One can engage in this business with just 5 transport vehicles. In fact, the severe shortage of transportation capacity among hazardous materials transportation companies leads to a persistent situation of small-scale, weak, and disorganized operations. Zhang Guoming suggested that journalists go and take a look in the Yangtze River basin, as there are many \"couple boats\" there; a family of two can use just one boat to carry out logistics operations. ” 　　The entry requirement for enterprises engaged in hazardous road transportation is 5 transport vehicles, which has objectively led to the emergence of many small-scale companies with insufficient investment in safety measures and low management standards. 　　“From the perspective of the overall chemical industry chain, the lower down in the value chain a product is, the higher its toxicity and its risk of being flammable or explosive. In recent years, the production volume of chemical products has been increasing continuously, while in the enterprises that form part of this industrial chain – such as hazardous materials logistics companies – management practices are relatively backward and inefficient, and it is very common for employees to have low technical skills. ”Industry insiders say. 　　According to the report on the development of the hazardous materials logistics industry released in 2014, there is a phenomenon of \"three shortages\" in the entire hazardous materials logistics sector. The first is the low number of professional practitioners. Currently, there are over 30 million people working in road transportation across the country, but only 1.2 million of them hold professional qualification certificates; including drivers and escorts, this represents just 4% of all those working in this sector. Second, the number of companies engaged in road-safe transportation is very small. There are over 750,000 enterprises engaged in road transportation included in the statistics, yet in reality, only about 10,000 of these enterprises possess the necessary qualifications, accounting for just 1.3%. Third is the low total tonnage of road transport cargo vehicles. There are approximately 300,000 special vehicles for transporting hazardous materials, with a total tonnage of around 5 million tons; thus, the capacity for transporting such materials is insufficient. 　　Furthermore, although there are numerous national, industry, and local standards in the hazardous materials logistics sector, differences among these standards as well as local protectionism restrict the ability of enterprises to meet these standards and to operate properly. This leads to fierce competition in business operations, and some small, scattered, unorganized, and low-quality enterprises are able to take advantage of loopholes, which hinders the healthy and orderly development of the industry. 　　Many regulations were issued, but what was the result? In 2002, the State Council promulgated the **Regulations on the Safety Management of Chemicals**; in 2006, it introduced mandatory standards requiring that vehicles used for transporting hazardous materials be equipped with emergency shut-off valves. In 2013, the Ministry of Transport adopted the **Regulations on the Management of Road Transport of Hazardous Goods**, which set out detailed rules regarding safety standards, operational qualifications, and management systems for such transport. In addition, there are more than a dozen industry standards such as the Rules for the Car Transport of Dangerous Goods. 　　However, having a system does not mean it will be effective. Regarding the reasons for the frequent occurrence of such accidents, some experts say that inadequate enforcement by the relevant authorities is the main cause; it is necessary to implement strict controls on aspects such as the production, storage, and handling of such substances, as well as on the qualifications of enterprises involved in transportation, vehicles used for transportation, and drivers. From: China Water Network