Ministry of the Interior and Safety Launches Effectiveness Assessment of Safety Standards... 176 New and Revised Safety Standards Registered

Pilot Project for Effectiveness Diagnosis of Safety Standards Conducted... Improvement of Safety Standards for Swimming Pool Water Tanks

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 31st that it held the 11th Safety Standards Deliberation Committee and launched a 'Pilot Project for Diagnosing the Effectiveness of Safety Standards' to assess the effectiveness of safety standards managed by each ministry.

At the deliberation meeting, they discussed the plan for diagnosing the effectiveness of safety standards, the registration of 176 new and revised safety standards, and improvement measures for safety standards related to water tanks in swimming pools and other reservoirs.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to distribute self-diagnosis questionnaires, and each ministry will check whether their respective safety standards are properly functioning and being operated in the field to understand the level of effectiveness of the safety standards. Based on the pilot diagnosis results and opinions from related ministries, the Ministry will adjust the diagnosis plan and consider full implementation in the future through legislation such as the enactment of the Basic Safety Act, which was proposed to the National Assembly in November last year.

At this deliberation meeting, 176 new and revised safety standards from 14 related ministries, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, were reviewed and registered. The newly registered safety standards include 21 standards related to elevators in the construction and facilities sector, such as safety standards for emergency communication devices and door locking devices for elevators.

Additionally, 139 safety standards were revised and registered, including 60 for business and construction sites, 30 for transportation, and 18 for construction and facilities. In the industrial and construction sector, the standard for tower crane nameplates was revised to add the manufacturing year on the nameplate to prevent false registration of the year. In the transportation sector, the packaging standards for hazardous materials containers on ships were revised to require that even when double packaging is used, the name and United Nations number of the hazardous material must be displayed. Furthermore, in the construction and facilities sector, new safety standards were added to the convenience facility standards for housing for vulnerable residents, including limits on the height of entrance floor thresholds (1.5 cm or less) and door frames (3 cm or less).

Moreover, following an accident on June 24 last year where a water tank at an indoor swimming pool in Uijeongbu ruptured, damaging the building's exterior wall and one vehicle parked on the first floor, the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and other related ministries agreed to strengthen safety standards related to water tanks and reservoirs in swimming pools.

The Ministry of Environment will revise the Enforcement Rules of the Water Supply Act to require that water supply reservoirs be installed with strength considering the maximum water pressure and load when full. Previously, when a single reservoir was divided into two for cleaning purposes, special attention was required, and separate regulations were applied to withstand water pressure, but now it will be explicitly stated that all reservoirs must be installed based on the maximum water pressure when full.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had previously limited the application of the Ministry of Environment's reservoir standards to potable water supply and storage tanks installed in buildings, but going forward, this will be expanded to all supply and storage tanks regardless of potability. Therefore, non-potable water supply and storage tanks such as rainwater storage tanks or hot spring water tanks installed in buildings must also comply with reservoir standards.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will improve the lack of safety standards related to balancing tanks installed to control swimming pool water levels by establishing a separate structural safety clause for balancing tanks in the swimming pool business facility standards. They plan to prevent accidents similar to the Uijeongbu incident by conducting a survey on swimming pool balancing tanks and preparing detailed amendments.

Kim Hee-gyeom, Director of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "We will systematically manage safety standards and continuously improve them together with the relevant ministries. Through this, we will strive to prevent safety accidents and alleviate the public's anxiety in daily life."

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