Safety | Verdict issued in the “8·31” major accident at Dongying Binyuan Chemical Co., Ltd.; hope that those working in the field of safety will no longer experience accidents

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Safety: Every year, around this time near the end of the year, it is the happiest time for us in the chemical industry, as the hard work of the whole year finally comes to an end, and the day when we can receive our year-end bonuses and go home to be with our families is getting closer. Yet many workers in the chemical industry were never given another chance to be with their families. I still remember that at this time last year, the verdict regarding the serious explosion incident at Binyuan Company on August 31st was announced. Today, Xiao Qi will take everyone to revisit this incident that seems to have been forgotten, hoping that it will serve as a warning to us all. Xiao Qi wishes all those working in the chemical industry smooth progress and safety. Chemical industry workers should take this as a warning. A review of the serious explosion incident at Binyuan Company on \"8·31\": At 23:18 on August 31, 2015, a severe explosion occurred during the commissioning phase of the diamine unit in Binyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. in Shandong Province (hereinafter referred to as \"Binyuan Company\”), which is part of a new production facility designed to manufacture 20,000 tons per year of modified adhesive materials. The explosion resulted in 13 deaths, 25 injuries, and direct economic losses of 43.26 million yuan. 1. Course of the accident: On August 28, 2015, with the approval of Li Peixiang, the chairman and general manager of Binyuan Company, the nitration unit was started up for trial operation. From 15:00 on February 28, 2015, to 24:00 on February 29, two trial runs were carried out; in both cases, the unstable temperature control of the nitration machine, unstable cooling water regulation, and poor control of the valves in the material pipelines led to significant temperature fluctuations, resulting in unstable operation and shutdowns. At around 16:38 on August 31, 2015, the company carried out the third material feeding process. After the material was fed in, the temperature of Nitration Machine No. 4 fluctuated significantly from 21:27 to 22:25, reaching a maximum of 96°C (the normal temperature is 60–70°C) ； The temperature of the 5# nitration machine fluctuated significantly from 16:47 to 22:25, reaching a maximum of 94.99°C (the normal temperature range is 60–80°C). The workshop staff used industrial water to spray water on the upper housings of the No. 4 and No. 5 nitration machines in order to cool them down, while the control room increased the volume of water used for circulating cooling. During that period, there was significant smoke on the second floor of the nitration unit; following the advice of the experts guiding the commissioning process, the unit was shut down again, and it was decided not to restart it that night. Feeding was stopped at 22:24, and by 22:52 the temperature of the nitration machine stabilized. To prevent the mixed benzene from solidifying in the nitration reseparator (X1102), plant staff inserted a rubber hose into the observation hole at the top of the nitration reseparator on the second floor of the nitration unit, attempting to draw out the mixed benzene using a siphon method, but were unsuccessful. Thereafter, going to the first floor of the unit, the flange on the drain pipe (DN50), located at a height of about 2.5 meters above the ground, was removed in order to empty the material from the lower part of the nitration reseparator. Subsequently, the operators on the second floor of the unit opened the valve on the drain pipe there, and the material inside the nitration reseparator flowed out through the removed flange; at first white smoke appeared, followed by yellow, red, and brownish-red colors. Seeing this, some people evacuated the scene. 2–3 minutes after the material was released, an operator outside the northeast door of the nitration plant saw a flame with a diameter of about 1 meter appearing in the area between the pre-washing machine and the nitration re-separator; immediately, he ran along with 4 other operators to a location 100 meters away in the northeast direction. At 23:18:05 (DCS time; the verified Beijing time was 23:19:30), an explosion occurred in the nitration unit. 2. Emergency response: Upon receiving the report, the top leaders of the Dongying Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, as well as those of the Lijin County Party Committee and County Government, immediately activated the emergency plan. They rushed to the accident site, established a on-site rescue command center, and set up seven specialized task teams for security and surveillance, disaster relief, technical support, medical assistance, public relations, logistics support, and post-incident handling. Mayor Zhao Haozhi of Dongying served as the overall commander to organize and direct the rescue efforts. On September 1, 2015, at 4 a.m., after the open flame was extinguished, the on-site command center promptly assembled experts to carefully analyze and assess the situation, formulated plans for searching for the missing persons and handling emergency situations, and launched full-scale rescue efforts. More than 70 professional technicians from fields such as chemistry, environmental protection, firefighting, and ** were deployed, along with 9 fire search dogs; continuous work was carried out 24/7 to dismantle the site and conduct thorough searches across a wide area. Medical staff, criminal investigators from the public security forces, forensic experts, and others were involved in the identification process and DNA comparison; by 12:00 on September 5, 2015, the identities of all the victims had been determined. 3 Casualties, economic losses from the accident, and impacts on the surrounding area 1. Casualties and direct economic losses caused by the accident. This accident resulted in 13 deaths and 25 injuries ； The direct economic loss was 43.26 million yuan. 2. Damage caused by the accident to the surrounding area. The accident caused a secondary explosion in the nitration unit, resulting in the complete destruction of the frame structure building. At the center of the explosion, an elliptical conical crater was formed, measuring 14.5 meters from north to south, 18 meters from east to west, and 3.2 meters deep. The explosion caused the benzidine hydrogenation unit on the north side to collapse ； The benzene storage tank in Category A tank farm on the south side exploded and ruptured (the tank contained 582.9 tons of benzene, equivalent to about 670 m3, accounting for 70.5% of the total volume), resulting in the deformation of the empty tanks holding benzene and mixed benzene. The shock wave generated by the explosion caused varying degrees of damage to the glass in surrounding buildings and structures. 4 Causes and Nature of the Accident 1. Immediate Cause: The workshop supervisor gave illegal instructions, ordering operators to discharge the material containing mixed benzene from the nitration and separation unit onto the floor in violation of regulations. In the presence of strong oxidizing agents such as sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and nitrogen dioxide produced by the decomposition of nitric acid, this material was discharged from a high altitude onto the concrete floor on the first floor; under the force of impact, it caught fire. The flames ignited nearby equipment such as nitration machines and pre-washing units, raising the temperature of the materials containing benzene and resulting in an explosion. This was the immediate cause of the accident. 2. Indirect causes: (1) Bin Yuan Company lacks a proper understanding of the laws and regulations related to safe production as well as adequate safety awareness; it ignores national laws, fails to fulfill its responsibilities in this regard, and commits serious violations of laws and regulations during project construction and trial production. (2) Illegal construction. The company started construction without obtaining the necessary approvals from relevant departments such as those responsible for land use, planning, housing construction, work safety, fire protection, and environmental protection ； After departments such as those responsible for environmental protection, work safety supervision, and housing construction halted their construction activities in accordance with the law, they evaded supervision, ignored the orders to stop construction, and proceeded with the work on their own. (3) Unregulated material feeding during trial operation. The accident-stricken unit was not subjected to the “three inspections and four determinations” in strict accordance with the \"Shandong Province Safety Commissioning Guidelines for Chemical Plants\"; no review of the commissioning plan or of the safety conditions was carried out, no commissioning management organization was established, and construction was carried out in violation of regulations. To this end, Shandong Province **ordered the Lijin County Party Committee and the county **to submit a thorough self-criticism to the Dongying City Party Committee and the city ** ； The Dongying Municipal Party Committee and the municipal government submitted a thorough self-criticism to the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government. At the same time, Li Peixiang, chairman and general manager of Shandong Binyuan Chemical Co., Ltd., was banned for life from serving as the chief executive of any enterprise operating in the chemical and hazardous chemicals industry; the Dongying Work Safety Supervision Bureau imposed on him a fine equal to 60% of his income from the previous year ； A fine of 2 million yuan was imposed on Shandong Binyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. The verdict was delivered in the case of the major explosion incident on August 31 in Lijin. The court found that in March 2014, the defendant Li Peixiang registered Shandong Binyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. in Lijin County, serving as the company’s chairman and general manager. The newly built project within the factory, which has an annual production capacity of 20,000 tons of modified adhesive materials as a by-product, falls under the category of hazardous chemical production projects. On August 19, 2015, the company established a Safety Production Management Committee, with the defendant Deng Xuezhen serving as the director of this committee. The Lijin County Court held that Shandong Binyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. ignored national laws and regulations on work safety, refused to comply with safety requirements, and failed to fulfill its corporate responsibilities as required by law. It carried out trial production in violation of regulations when its safety facilities and conditions did not meet national standards, resulting in a major explosion accident that caused severe casualties and enormous economic losses. The circumstances were particularly serious. The defendant Li Peixiang, as the company’s chairman and general manager, and the defendant Deng Xuezhen, as the director of the company’s work safety management office, were the supervisors directly responsible for the safety facilities and conditions; their actions constituted the crime of causing serious work safety accidents, and they should be punished in accordance with the law. The facts and charges alleged by the public prosecution authority are established and are supported. Regarding the defense argument put forward by the two defendants and their defenders regarding the circumstance of turning themselves in, upon investigation, it was found that defendant Li Peixiang was summoned by the public security authorities near the accident scene; this does not constitute voluntary surrender, and therefore it does not meet the legal requirements for turning oneself in. However, after being brought in, he confessed to the facts of the crime, which constitutes a confession ； After the accident, the defendant Deng Xuezhen cooperated actively with the relevant authorities in handling the matter. He was later summoned to appear in court by phone from the investigating authorities, and upon arrival he confessed truthfully to his criminal acts, which qualifies him as having turned himself in in accordance with the law. The defense arguments put forward by the defenders of the two defendants, namely that \"after the accident the defendants actively organized rescue efforts, compensated the victim for substantial economic losses, and pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in court, thus presenting various circumstances that warrant a lighter sentence,\" are valid and are accepted. The defendant Li Peixiang may be given a lighter sentence, while the defendant Deng Xuezhen may have his sentence reduced taking into account his act of turning himself in. On December 3, 2015, reporters learned from the Shandong Provincial Work Safety Supervision Bureau that, as determined through investigation, the serious explosion incident that occurred at Shandong Binyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. on August 31 was a major accident resulting from negligence in work safety; 30 individuals responsible for this incident were subject to criminal or disciplinary actions. Among them, Li Peixiang, the chairman and general manager of Binyuan Company, was arrested; Deng Xuezhen, the director of the Environmental Safety Office at Binyuan Company, and Gu Pengfei, the director of the Quality, Safety, and Environmental Protection Office at Binyuan New Materials Co., Ltd., were placed under criminal detention ； Zhao Shaoqing, the deputy head of Lijin County, and Zuo Zhenming, the director of the county’s work safety supervision bureau, were subjected to sanctions including the removal from their party positions as well as administrative demotions. Two vice mayors of Dongying City were given administrative reprimands, while 23 other people were subject to party or administrative disciplinary actions. On the morning of December 30, 2015, the People’s Court of Lijin County in Shandong Province held a public trial and delivered a verdict on the serious explosion incident that occurred at Shandong Binyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. on August 31. Li Peixiang, the company’s chairman and general manager, and Deng Xuezhen, the head of the safety management office, were found guilty of committing serious labor safety violations; they were sentenced to six years and two years in prison respectively.