Gyeonggi-do Fire Department Reports Decrease in Hazardous Material Accidents but Increase in Casualties

Hazardous Materials Explosion Accident

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Last year, hazardous material accidents in Gyeonggi Province decreased, but casualties increased. In particular, static electricity-related hazardous material accidents were the most frequent, indicating a need for continuous attention to this issue.

According to the "2022 Hazardous Material Accident Analysis Results" announced by the Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters on the 23rd, there were a total of 21 hazardous material accidents in Gyeonggi Province last year, including 9 fires, 8 explosions, and 4 leaks. This is 6 fewer than the 27 cases in the previous year. However, casualties from accidents surged from 16 people in 2021, including 7 serious injuries, to 37 people last year, including 3 deaths. Notably, there were 3 fatalities.

Hazardous materials refer to flammable or explosive substances.

By accident location, 6 cases occurred at unauthorized sites, accounting for 28.57% of the total. This was followed by 3 cases at general handling facilities, and 2 cases each at manufacturing plants, gas stations, and outdoor tanks.

Regarding causes, human factors accounted for the majority with 15 cases (71.4%). More specifically, careless handling of hazardous materials accounted for 9 cases (60%).

The ignition causes of accidents were led by static electricity ignition with 6 cases (35%), followed by unknown causes with 4 cases (24%), welding and cutting sparks with 2 cases (12%), and one case each of direct flame, electric sparks, impact and friction sparks, and overheating and friction heat.

Accordingly, the Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters will strengthen public-private joint safety management consulting for related workplaces to prevent hazardous material accidents this year. Additionally, to enhance the responsibility of persons in charge of regular inspections, more than 3% of workplaces that received favorable inspection results will be subject to sample inspections.

During consulting and sample inspections, it will be checked whether grounding equipment to prevent static electricity is installed and functioning properly at workplaces, and if the risk of accidents is high, the wearing of antistatic clothing to prevent static electricity will also be recommended.

Furthermore, focused safety inspections will be conducted on large-scale hazardous material workplaces, and unauthorized hazardous material storage and handling as well as seasonal fire inspections of gas stations will be carried out regularly.

In addition, promotional materials and statistical data books on hazardous material accident cases will be produced and published, and on-site training for completion inspections will be provided to fire station personnel in charge.

Cho Sun-ho, head of the Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters, stated, "It is most important that hazardous material safety managers have legal knowledge and responsibility to supervise hazardous material handlers and manage the safety of hazardous material facilities." He added, "We plan to conduct periodic fire inspections and planned investigations targeting small hazardous material businesses that may store or handle hazardous materials at unauthorized locations."

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