Seoul City Conducts Surprise Inspections on Illegal Hazardous Material Handlers... 33 Companies Caught

By March 10, 74 Sites Inspected with 41 Violations Confirmed... 4 Cases Booked, 11 Fines Issued
Variety of Hazardous Items in Daily Life Including Disinfectant Ethanol, Diffusers, Solid Fuels

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters announced on the 25th that it conducted surprise inspections on businesses selling hazardous materials in daily life and identified 33 locations illegally storing or handling such materials.

So far, the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters has collected commonly accessible household chemical products from the vicinity and requested the National Fire Research Institute to determine whether they qualify as hazardous materials. The assessment confirmed that various products such as disinfectant alcohol, diffusers, solid fuels, and vehicle oils fall under hazardous materials as defined by the Hazardous Materials Safety Control Act.

Accordingly, from January 26 to March 10, the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters formed an inspection team consisting of the Gas Hazardous Materials Safety Team and the 119 Metropolitan Investigation Unit to inspect 74 businesses selling household chemical products such as air fresheners, camping supplies, building materials, and vehicle oils.

As a result of the inspections, 41 violations were detected across 33 businesses, including 4 criminal charges and 11 fines. The most common violation was storing or handling hazardous materials exceeding permitted standards without proper facilities. Other violations included improper labeling of hazardous material transport containers and breaches of Seoul city ordinances regarding small quantities of hazardous materials.

Choi Tae-young, head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters, stated, “While sales channels for household chemical products are diversifying these days, there is a lack of proper awareness regarding their risks. We will continue to promote the fire hazards of household chemical products and persistently crack down on illegal activities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.