Assemblyman Heo Jongsik: "E1 Incheon Terminal Gas Leak Was a Man-Made Disaster... Unsuitable Materials and Poor Construction"

Limitations of Private Safety Management Pointed Out
"Government and Other Authorities Must Step Up to Strengthen Safety Systems"

There have been claims that the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) leak accident at the E1 Incheon Terminal in Songdo, Incheon last August was a "man-made disaster" caused by a combination of unsuitable materials and poor construction.

According to an investigation report submitted by the Korea Gas Safety Corporation to Assemblyman Heo Jongsik of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Dong-gu and Michuhol-gu Gap, Incheon), a member of the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee, the accident occurred at 12:28 p.m. on August 6, while LPG was being transferred from a vessel to an onshore storage tank. The leak happened at a pipe joint during this process.

The E1 control room monitored and reported the gas leak 19 minutes after the accident occurred. It was confirmed that 22.8 tons of gas-enough to fill more than 700 taxis-leaked over the course of an hour and 30 minutes.

The investigation found that the "gasket," which connects and seals the pipes, was made of Teflon material that could withstand a maximum pressure of only 5 MPa (megapascals). However, the pipe was subjected to a pressure of 7.18 MPa. This is more than 40% higher than the gasket's maximum tolerance, meaning that an unsuitable material that should never have been used was installed from the beginning.

In addition, traces were found indicating that the gasket was not centered but was installed off to one side. Because it was installed in this misaligned state, the pressure was unevenly concentrated on the gasket. As a result, the gasket deformed and ruptured under excessive pressure, causing a large amount of gas to be released.

This particular pipe had been operated twice earlier in the year-from January 13 to February 19, and from February 24 to March 26-before remaining unused for about four months. The problem occurred during the reactivation process on the day of the accident. E1 stated, "GS Engineering & Construction was responsible for the design and construction, and we will check the inspection and supervision records after installation," in a message to the assemblyman's office.

Assemblyman Heo pointed out, "It has been revealed that every stage of safety management-from design, construction, inspection, to supervision-was inadequate. E1 only replaced the problematic gasket with a metal material more than eight times stronger than the original after the accident, but proper materials should have been used from the start."

He continued, "Around the E1 Incheon Terminal, there are many hazardous facilities concentrated in the area, such as the Korea Gas Corporation's Incheon Terminal, the Incheon Environmental Corporation's incineration facility, and Incheon New Port. This makes it an area in urgent need of special safety measures. As this accident has clearly shown the limitations of relying solely on private safety management, the government and local authorities must step in directly to significantly strengthen the safety management system."