ed Workplace accidents
Ulsan explosion indicates safety measures must show teeth
An explosion at a chemical plant in Ulsan on Friday killed six workers who were welding at Hanwha Chemical plant’s wastewater storage facility. One security guard was injured. It is unfortunate not only to witness the loss of lives but to have to face another safety-related accident once again.
The national industrial complex that hosts the plastic plant has had many previous warnings — nearly 200 accidents in the past five years — so safety should have been a priority there for all.
The workers were welding to connect a new pipe to a water pump on top of the wastewater storage facility when the blast happened.
Firefighters said they suspected that gas caught in the bottom of the facility might have caused the explosion. Hanwha Chemical, an affiliate of Hanwha Group, said that it conducted a safety check before the welding to measure the gas concentration around the area but not the interior of the tank, which was completely sealed.
The police and the National Forensic Service are currently carrying out investigations, and the results are expected soon. Any signs of negligence should be dealt with firmly.
Industrial plants that deal with polyvinyl chloride — which are used widely in products — should take extra caution with welding because of the danger of inflammable gas. The company’s explanation that it did not inspect the “completely-sealed” interior of the tank may well indicate a laxity on site rather than strict adherence to the step-by-step safety rules. The accident therefore begs the question whether proper safety measures were in place.
Korea is a country still reeling from “safety trauma” in the wake of the tragic sinking of the ferry Sewol last year that claimed 304 lives.
Since then the government has installed the Ministry of Public Safety and Security. This January, the Ministry of Employment and Labor established an innovation plan to tackle occupational hazards, in particular detailing stronger mutual risk management between contractors and subcontractors including obtaining permission for dangerous work in advance. The people killed at the Ulsan explosion worked for a subcontractor of Hanwha. The ministry in April also held a rally to drive home safety concerns on the first anniversary of the ferry Sewol sinking.
Yet, ensuring safety at industrial sites will require a reset of how workers and the public at large regard safety rules. The government’s pledge to ask for strengthened mutual responsibility for principal contractors for accidents involving subcontractor workers should be enforced as well.