Fire Agency: "218 Chemical Accidents Occurred Domestically Last Year"

Plan to Enhance Response Capabilities for Rare Chemical Substance Incidents

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The National Fire Agency announced on the 22nd the analysis results of large and small chemical accidents that occurred domestically last year. In 2022, the total number of chemical accidents in Korea was 218, with 241 casualties (13 deaths, 228 injuries). While the number of incidents decreased compared to the previous year, casualties increased.

By period, there was a temporary spike in the accident rate in April when temperatures began to rise, and most accidents occurred during the hot summer months such as August (30 cases), September (22 cases), and July (20 cases). This trend is consistent with the chemical accident occurrence patterns observed over the past three years.

Looking at the status of chemical accidents by province, Gyeonggi-do had the highest number with 42 cases, followed by Jeonnam (29 cases), Incheon (23 cases), Ulsan (18 cases), and Seoul and Gyeongbuk (16 cases each). Additionally, unlike previous years, five chemical accidents involving mercury, formalin, and nitric acid leaks occurred in the Jeju region.

Among the chemical accidents in Jeju, two out of five occurred at educational facilities, where mercury and formalin leaks were confirmed to have happened due to reasons such as aging laboratories and long-term storage (neglect) of reagents.

Considering all accident substances, mercury (Hg) leaks caused by negligence in educational institution laboratories showed the highest frequency, with 25 cases. Notably, this number has surged in recent years: 16 cases in 2021, 26 cases in 2020, and 17 cases in 2019.

Next were hydrochloric acid (HCl, 19 cases), ammonia (NH3, 14 cases), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, 8 cases), nitric acid (HNO3, 7 cases), liquid nitrogen (N2, 6 cases), sulfuric acid (H2SO4, 6 cases), butane (C4H10, 5 cases), and formalin (aq HCHO, 5 cases) in descending order.

Meanwhile, the frequency of accidents involving rare chemical substances unfamiliar to on-site responders, such as diphenyl carbonate (DPC), methacrylic acid (MAA), dicumyl peroxide (DCP), methylcyclopentane (MCP), and ethylidene norbornene (ENB), also showed an increasing trend.

Accordingly, the National Fire Agency published the 'Chemical Accident On-Site Response Guidebook,' which contains 'on-site response information' necessary for initial safety measures and rescue activities by firefighters during chemical accidents, and has begun strengthening the special chemical accident response capabilities and on-site safety management of dispatched personnel.

Goo Dong-wook, Head of Research Planning and Support at the National Fire Research Institute, stated, “Since chemical accidents can cause many casualties and serious environmental damage, safety management at workplaces or educational facilities handling chemicals is of utmost importance.” He urged, “For old reagents, please request specialized hazardous chemical disposal companies to safely discard them.” He added, “We will strive to improve the accident response proficiency of dispatched firefighters as well as strengthen specialized capabilities for chemical accident response.”

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