I want to see what fatal problems a chemical company has, where should I start?

I read a piece of news online. You can try it: People's Daily Online, Beijing, June 18 According to the website of the State Administration of Work Safety, from June 9 to 12, as one of the first three secret investigation teams sent by the State Administration of Work Safety, the three undercover investigation teams supervised by the State Administration of Work Safety The chemical industry undercover investigation team led by the director of the department, Wang Haoshui, made a surprise inspection of 11 hazardous chemical companies involving chlorine, ammonia, poor safety production conditions, and accidents. They found 65 hidden dangers, many of which were loopholes. Fatal, most of them are common fatal problems in enterprises, or even some intolerable low-level mistakes.

The website of the State Administration of Work Safety forwarded the full text of the follow-up interview article by a reporter from China Work Safety News. The full text is as follows:

It spanned three provinces and four places, traveled thousands of kilometers, and climbed to tens of meters. From the top of the high dimethyl ether storage tank, I entered the pungent chlorine filling site, saw scenes of dangerous production scenes, and discovered shocking hidden dangers everywhere...

June 9 to 12 On September 1, during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, as one of the first three undercover investigation teams sent by the State Administration of Work Safety, the chemical industry undercover investigation team led by Wang Haoshui, Director of the Third Supervision Department of the State Administration of Work Safety, raided 11 chlorine- and ammonia-related companies. , hazardous chemicals companies with poor production safety conditions and accidents have discovered 65 hidden dangers.

The reporter followed and interviewed with the secret investigation team, witnessed the most realistic production scenes of hazardous chemicals companies, and recorded the working status of the secret investigation team members who gave up their vacations and stuck to the front line.

Urgent notice, the inspection schedule is completely confidential

Ban Hongsheng, director of the safety and technology department of Hebei Cangzhou Dahua Co., Ltd., and Xi Xueqiang, safety director of Hebei Shenghua Chemical Co., Ltd., both received temporary notices. Notified. They don't know where to go for inspection, and even the personnel of the State Administration of Work Safety are not sure which company to go to for inspection.

At 8:30 on June 9, Ban Hongsheng appeared at the agreed meeting place on time. The director of the safety and technology department of Hebei Cangzhou Dahua Co., Ltd. is one of the experts invited by the chemical undercover investigation team of the General Administration. "On the evening of yesterday (June 8), I received the notice. I hurriedly bought the last train ticket and rushed here overnight." He only slept for more than three hours at night, and his eyes were red.

Not only Ban Hongsheng, but also other members of the secret investigation team suddenly received the notice without any preparation. Afraid of missing the meeting time, another invited expert, Xi Xueqiang, safety director of Hebei Shenghua Chemical Co., Ltd., drove from Zhangjiakou to Beijing at 5:00 on the 9th.

"Where are we going and which companies are we checking?" As soon as we met, everyone asked each other invariably, but no one could give a definite answer. The itinerary is completely confidential.

After the personnel arrived, the leader of the undercover investigation team, Wang Haoshui, director of the Third Supervision Department of the General Administration, held a short meeting. However, the questions in everyone's mind have not been answered. Where to go is still a question mark. However, Wang Haoshui repeatedly emphasized the inspection discipline, making everyone aware that this inspection was unusual. "According to the requirements of the Party Committee of the General Administration, no notices, no greetings, no listening to reports, and direct inspection of the site are required for this inspection. The purpose is to detect hidden dangers and find problems. Therefore, no matter whether the company you go to is familiar to you, please do not report the news. , This is discipline." Wang Haoshui said seriously.

At 9 o'clock sharp, the undercover investigation team drove off.

"Let's go to Hengshui first." Once on the bus, Wang Haoshui only told the driver the general direction in general. Sun Guangyu, a member of the secret investigation team and deputy director of the Third Supervision Department, took out the prepared tablet computer, looked up the route, and worked on site.

On the way, except for occasionally discussing the route to Hengshui, everyone was silent. There was only the crackling sound of rain hitting the car windows. The true destination remains unknown.

In the next few days, it was also until the last moment that the accompanying experts and reporters did not know where to inspect.

Sun Guangyu has a list of companies prepared in advance, but this is not the final inspection list. Every time he went to a place, Wang Haoshui randomly selected a company from the list, then used the navigation device to find the company's specific location, and drove straight to the production site. Later, they simply stopped using the list and checked wherever they drove. When they saw small businesses with outdated equipment, they immediately stopped to inspect them.

On-site management, there are too many things that make people worry

In four days, the undercover investigation team traveled nearly 1,500 kilometers and conducted surprise inspections of 11 companies and found a large number of problems. The phenomenon of management chaos exists in almost every enterprise. In the eyes of secret investigation team experts, many loopholes are fatal.

In four days, the undercover investigation team traveled nearly 1,500 kilometers from Hengshui to Liaocheng, to Puyang, and then back to Zhao County (located in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province), conducting surprise inspections on 11 companies. The sudden visit of the secret investigation team caught many companies off guard, leaving them with no time to "paint up" the existing problems and hidden dangers on site.

Hebei Jiheng Chemical Co., Ltd., located on Jiheng Road, Hengshui City, was the first stop of the undercover investigation team's surprise inspection. At around 15:00 on the 9th, through GPS navigation, the undercover investigation team quickly found the company's production site.

To everyone’s surprise, this company claims on its website that it has “strong technical force, advanced production equipment, and complete testing methods” and “is the only legal supplier in the U.S. market in the field of chlorine-containing disinfectants.” "In the enterprise, more than 10 major hidden dangers were easily uncovered, including the liquid chlorine storage tank being adjacent to the liquid chlorine filling site, failure to conduct flammable gas analysis during hot work, and fire monitors leaving the fire scene. What’s even more frightening is that in this so-called “high-tech enterprise”, 3 of the 5 combustible gas alarm systems used on-site reported false alarms due to malfunctions. No one, whether it was the safety manager, the workshop leader, or the process technician, noticed it, and no one could tell the meaning of the reading on the meter. The flammable gas alarm system, which is in charge of the safety lifeblood of the enterprise, has become a deaf ear.

Jiheng Chemical is not an isolated case. In subsequent spot checks, the undercover investigation team found that chaotic on-site management existed in almost every company.

Longyu Chemical Co., Ltd., located on Huanghe West Road, Hualong District, Puyang City, mainly produces methanol and is a secondary safety production standardization enterprise. In the eyes of outsiders, this subsidiary company of Henan Yongmei Group has a glamorous appearance, and the scale of storage tanks and the advanced level of installation are beyond the reach of surrounding small and medium-sized enterprises. But in the eyes of experts from the secret investigation team, its on-site management loopholes are fatal.

As soon as he entered the site of the dimethyl ether storage tank, Wang Haoshui saw at a glance that there was a problem with the safety valve of the storage tank: "Why is the safety valve not connected to a torch when it is emptied? Why is it discharged directly to the atmosphere?" "We have There is a pressure switch specially connected to the torch, as well as an emergency venting device.” The person in charge of the Safety and Environmental Protection Department seemed very confident and repeatedly emphasized the advanced nature of his equipment. "That can't replace the safety valve! What we have to consider now is what to do if the emergency venting device fails?" Wang Haoshui refuted sternly.

It turns out that the Bhopal accident in India in 1984 resulted in the rapid spread of toxic gases due to the failure of the emergency venting device to open, resulting in the death of more than 3,500 people. When reflecting on the accident, it was found that "Union Carbide was too complacent in managing highly toxic gases and never really worried about the problems it would cause." "Learn the lessons of the Bhopal accident!" Wang Haoshui said this several times.

Puyang R&F Chemical Co., Ltd., which is not far away from Longyu Chemical, is also surprising. There was no factory name and no doorman. A man who looked like a boss claimed to be the driver, and a man who looked like a farmer claimed to be the safety officer. The pungent smell of chlorine permeated the site. Chlorine storage tanks, empty or real, were stacked haphazardly. The distance between the storage tank area and the production area was less than 5 meters. The only computer used to monitor the concentration of liquid chlorine was covered with dust. The computer keyboard The thick dust makes it difficult to discern signs of use. What you see in front of you makes it difficult to connect it with the on-site pictures posted on the company's website and the corporate advertisement that "has passed ISO9001 international system certification."

In Liaocheng Shenxian Guyun Economic and Technological Development Zone, Shenxian Huaxiang Salt Chemical Co., Ltd. can be said to be the enterprise with the “freest access” during this inspection. The guard ignored the arrival of the secret investigation team, and the secret investigation team members entered the production site unimpeded without even showing their IDs.

The freedom of entry and exit exactly reflects the chaos of management, and the scenes that followed also confirmed this: in the central control room, rainwater leaking from the roof continued to drip on the computer used for security monitoring. The personnel turned a blind eye to the danger that could cause a short circuit in the computer at any time; at the production site, the safety valve was severely corroded, with traces of leakage and leakage everywhere. It was almost impossible to find intact valves and flanges with sufficient bolts on the site. The inspection sign marked The time was more than an hour earlier than the actual time; in the tank area, the outer protective layer of the liquid chlorine storage tank fell off in large areas, the liquid level gauge outside the tank had long been turned into a pile of waste, and there was no one to record the pressure and temperature on site. Remote transmission instrument; in the production operation room, 4 of the 5 gas masks used for emergencies have been scrapped...

"It's terrible. I don't know how this company survives?" The two experts, Xi Xueqiang and Ban Hongsheng, felt incredible about the scene in front of them.

Simple mistakes have become a "common problem" in some companies

"No company can make people feel at ease." Along the way, this has almost become the mantra of the secret investigation team members. Although everyone's stated goal was to "see the real situation and identify the problems" before departure, the problems found on site were still much more serious than expected.

In the inspection of 11 companies, the secret investigation team found 65 hidden dangers, most of which were common security problems or even some intolerable low-level mistakes.

On the morning of the 10th, at the tank area of ??Aukete Chemical Group Co., Ltd. located on Guandao North Street, Gaotang County, Shandong Province, a nearly 2-meter-high cofferdam with a height and width of about 50 meters was opened at the bottom. Centimeter hole, a hose protruding from the hole. "What is the cofferdam used for?" the secret investigation team member asked. The vice president in charge of safety said plausibly: "Prevent the materials in the storage tank from leaking." "What is the hole below for?" "Drainage." "In this case, how can the holed cofferdam prevent materials from leaking?" Darkly The investigation team members' questioning made the vice president speechless for a moment.

This approach of companies spending money to repair cofferdams and then destroying them is laughable. Unexpectedly, on the morning of the 11th, the cofferdam with a hole in the bottom appeared again at the storage tank site of Puyang Hongye Biochemical Co., Ltd.

On the ground within the cofferdam, Hongye Biochemical specially dug a trapezoidal water channel. The end of the water channel is at the hole at the bottom of the cofferdam. This company uses furfural hydrogenation to produce furfuryl alcohol, and the storage tanks contain flammable and explosive materials. "You only consider the convenience of drainage, but have you ever thought that once the tank catches fire and explodes, a large amount of flaming materials will flow out from the hole, causing the fire to be uncontrollable." Wang Haoshui was very angry about the company's practices. "I will make rectifications as soon as possible." I'm worried about you!"

However, in addition to the unsealed cofferdam, in this company that claims to be the world's largest furfuryl alcohol and furfural production base, the undercover team also discovered some low-level mistakes that are inconsistent with its identity. . At the enterprise site that is being renovated, on one side is a furfural hydrogenation unit under construction; on the other side, the main project of a 5-story building has been completed, and the distance between the two is less than 30 meters. What no one expected was that the company would use this building as a shift dormitory for employees. "Absolutely not! Once the device explodes, the employees in the building will become living targets." Wang Haoshui pointed out the problem unceremoniously, "Either the device is stopped, or the building is renovated. Only one of the two can be left."

Low-level errors also exist in other companies. At Shenxian Huaxiang Petrochemical Co., Ltd., the safety production responsibility system of the workshop director and deputy director is exactly the same. The general manager, who is a master's degree student in chemical engineering, was very calm when asked: "I don't know, I don't know about safety matters." I don’t understand.” At Hebei Jiheng Lantian (Sairui) Chemical Co., Ltd., multiple safety training papers had similar handwriting, the same questions, and the same answers. Some papers were deducted, while others received full marks. At Puyang Maiqi Technology Co., Ltd., flammable methylamine and flammable butanediol are placed in the same tank area, close to the factory gate and city roads, while oxygen bottles and oxygen bottles that should be 10 meters apart during hot operations The acetylene bottles were actually close together. In Huaxiang Salinization, the "No lifting for 10 days" system hanging on the wall clearly states "No lifting if the molten ladle is too full." However, this company cannot have ladles at all.

“The biggest hidden danger is to be with hidden dangers but turn a blind eye, to be in danger but not know where the danger is.” The scenes during the inspection deeply worried experts such as Xi Xueqiang.

In view of the seriousness of the problem, the undercover investigation team issued on-the-spot orders to suspend production for rectification and delay the start of operations for Aukete Chemical, Huaxiang Salt Chemical, R&F Chemical and Hongye Biochemical, and requested the local government and safety supervision department Follow up and implement.

Working tirelessly just to prevent the tragedy from happening again

On this journey, inspection locations were decided on a whim, and tablet computers, mobile phones, and vehicle-mounted GPS became the "compass" of the undercover investigation team. Sometimes, in order to find the specific location of the company, the undercover team members turn on all navigation equipment and give the driver directions together.

The days when the chemical undercover team conducted the inspection coincided with the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Although they could not enjoy the holiday like most people, although they traveled thousands of kilometers non-stop, although their meals were almost not on time, and although they were early in the morning We went out and were still inspecting late at night, but no one complained about being tired. As soon as we arrived at the scene, everyone was like clockwork, climbing up and down among various dangerous chemical equipment.

In the first two days of the inspection, it rained heavily and the temperature dropped sharply. Everyone had one foot in the water and one foot in the mud. Their clothes were wet and then dry. But in the next two days, the rain passed and the sky was sunny. The scorching sun was in the sky, and everyone had no time to drink water or wipe the sweat. The clothes were still wet and dry.

At 21:00 on the 10th, the undercover investigation team members who had just arrived in Puyang gathered again and drove to investigate at night. Puyang City is extremely quiet at night, with almost no pedestrians visible. Only the moonlight accompanies the undercover team members all the way. But what makes everyone quite happy is that the company that was randomly inspected, Henan Coal Chemical Zhongyuan Dahua Company, performed well in terms of night duty, equipment inspection, automated monitoring, and on-site management. "This company had many accidents a few years ago, so I have always been worried, but this night inspection made me change my view of them." At 23:00, the undercover investigation team returned to the station. Although they were exhausted, the Central Plains University Wang Haoshui was very happy with Hua's performance.

All along the way, the inspection locations were decided at short notice, and tablet computers, mobile phones, and vehicle-mounted GPS became the "compass" of the undercover investigation team. Sometimes, in order to find the specific location of the company, the undercover team members turn on all navigation equipment and give the driver directions together. However, in remote areas, the collective failure of advanced equipment also caused the undercover investigation team to encounter the embarrassment of getting lost.

At about 18:00 on the 11th, the undercover investigation team rushed to Zhao County, Hebei. On February 28 last year, an explosion occurred in the guanidine nitrate workshop of Kerr Chemical Co., Ltd. in Zhao County, killing 29 people and injuring 46 others. Kerr Chemical was immediately shut down by law. Wang Haoshui, Sun Guangyu, and Ban Hongsheng all participated in the accident investigation, but they were "a little worried" about whether the company was shut down properly and whether it would produce secretly.

After entering Zhao County, the car accidentally drove into a narrow village road. For a while, all navigation devices were unable to find the location of the vehicle. The muddy village road was bumpy and bumpy, and obstacles appeared on the road from time to time. The driver had to make a difficult U-turn and find a way out again. After more than half an hour of shifting, ups and downs, the car finally returned to the road.

Searching through electronic maps and searching from memory, the undercover investigation team found the former Kerr Chemical after many twists and turns. Except for the two security guards guarding the door, no one else could be found in the factory. The severely damaged factory building was in a dilapidated state, and used equipment was piled messily in the open space. The scene still maintained the appearance after the accident.

Before the accident, this company, which mainly produces pesticides and pharmaceutical intermediates, had annual profits of hundreds of millions of yuan and was a key project in Hebei Province. Precisely because of the staggering profits, the investigation team was worried that the company was shutting down and opening up covertly. "This is an accident under the supervision of the State Council Safety Committee. We are not at ease if we don't go to the scene to see it." said a person who had participated in the investigation of the accident.

In addition to Kerr Chemical, the undercover investigation team also went through great troubles to find another company that had had an accident. On January 14 this year, an explosion occurred in the choline chloride aqueous agent workshop of Okte Chemical. Although no one was killed, many workers were injured and surrounding houses were damaged. An on-site inspection found that the choline chloride device where the accident occurred has been discontinued, but the undercover investigation team did not dare to take it lightly and inspected it very carefully. "I checked the accident pictures of this company online last night and compared them with the scene conditions we saw to prevent them from hiding any secrets." Wang Haoshui said while dialing the number of a choline chloride expert. , consult related production processes.

On the way back to Beijing, the members of the undercover investigation team still did not come out of the tense working state and continued to discuss the problems discovered during the inspection.

"Next step, we will list and supervise the discovered hidden dangers, urge the local government to follow up and make corrections, ensure that the hidden dangers are completely eliminated, and we will never tolerate any hidden dangers to continue to exist." This conversation between Wang Haoshui and Sun Guangyu was quietly recorded by reporters down.

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