[The Police File]Batteries That Fueled the Aricell Tragedy: Without Proper Manuals, Disasters Will Repeat

Twenty-three people died in a fire accident at the Arisell factory, a primary battery manufacturer in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. On the morning of the 24th at 10:30 a.m., a fire that started from lithium batteries stored on the second floor of Building 3 rapidly spread throughout the entire workplace in less than a minute. The workers nearby had far too little time to escape, and ultimately, 23 people, including five Koreans, lost their lives.

The exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined. The police are focusing their investigation on the initial ignition area to identify the cause of the fire, while also filing charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury against five factory officials and imposing travel bans. However, it appears certain that this tragedy, which will be recorded as the worst chemical plant accident in history, was a man-made disaster caused by poor safety management.

Chemical plants, which are potential "powder kegs," experience multiple fire accidents every year. In particular, lithium, a core material of batteries, can cause chain explosions leading to large-scale disasters if ignited, as seen in this incident. Moreover, as demonstrated in this tragedy, lithium becomes more explosive when exposed to very high temperatures or in contact with steam, making fire suppression difficult.

However, there are currently no effective measures specifically addressing fires involving such chemicals, especially metals. Legal standards for metal fire-specific extinguishers (Class D extinguishers) were only established last year. Considering that the number of fires caused by "water contact with water-reactive substances" increased more than twofold from 12 cases in 2013 to 28 cases last year, these measures can be seen as mere stopgap solutions implemented after the damage was done.

The use of chemicals, including lithium, is expected to increase further. Lithium-ion batteries are used not only in electric vehicles, mobile phones, and laptops but also in energy storage systems (ESS) and other modern electronic devices and electrical equipment. South Korea is home to many companies leading the global battery market. There is no guarantee that such accidents will not occur in factories larger than Arisell’s. Should such accidents happen in large-scale factories, the economic and industrial damage is expected to be enormous.

A line from the drama "Stove League" spoken by the main character, Manager Baek Seung-soo (played by Namgoong Min), comes to mind. When asked by a player, "Are you trying to fix the barn after losing the cow?" Manager Baek replied, "Yes, we have to fix it. Why wouldn’t we fix it after losing a cow? Anyone who doesn’t fix it will never raise cows again." It is undeniable that there have been gaps in the safety and hazardous material management of chemicals until now. However, we must not remain idle. Even if it feels late, safety management measures to respond to chemical-related fires must be established.

Of course, it is necessary to thoroughly investigate whether there were any issues or violations of regulations regarding the battery storage methods at the Arisell factory, but it is time to have proper safety manuals in place. It is essential to create safe storage and handling procedures for chemicals and to institutionally establish fire extinguishing systems capable of early suppression in case of fire. Accidents that cause innocent lives to end tragically must never be repeated.

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