Identification, Evaluation And Risk-prevention Strategies Of Major Hazard Installations In Shengyang City

With the rapid development of chemical industry all over the world,the chemical products have been commonly used in the daily life of human being,substantially contributing to the material civilization of human society.However,it has to be noted that the scale and frequency of chemical accidents has been increasingly disturbing with the development of chemical industry and its promotion to other industries.Catastrophes from sudden city chemical accidents that shock the international society like Bhopal event in India have occupied certain percentage of global sudden events.Averagely,more than 200 cases of such sudden chemical accidents occur yearly with increasing scale and ascending frequency,which bring about potential threats to human life safety and natural ecological balance.The city chemical accidents with such catastrophic outcomes thus have been aroused heated discussion all over the world.Additionally,it also has to be thought highly of that terrorists,extremists and underworld societies from home or abroad create the chemical terroristic attacks through destructions of chemical installations based on their political or individual intentions.The establishment of preliminary system for chemical accident emergency rescue,therefore,is an important work involving the national security,social stability and people's health , which constitutes an imperative sociological research for modernized city construction.It has been pointed out that the accelerating industrialization is the major cause for the increasingly frequent chemical accidents.During the decade of 1970s,there was a saying of"burning US",followed by the saying of"burning Russia",while China,nowadays,begins O step into the phase of highly frequent chemical accidents with characteristics of frequent,extensive,various,and difficult to rescue.Since the terroristic attack of"9.1 1"to the US and the following hostage event in Russia,the topic of how to scientifically cope sudden accidents to secure the political,economical and social safety and stability of our country has attracted focused concern by both the government and the public.In our country and Liaoning province,there has extensive potential risks of sudden chemical accidents , and their occasional occurrence has caused severely negative outcomes,such as the explosion of Qingshuihe hazard chemicals warehouse,Shenzhen on Aug.5,1993 with the direct economical loss of 250 million Chinese Yuan including 1 5 deaths,more than 800 injuries and the building destruction in size of 39,000 square meters;the poison casting case in Tangshan,Nanjing on Sep.14,2002 with 300 cases of intoxication and 42 deaths during short—term period;the gas well accident in Gaoqiao Town of Kaixian,Chongqing on Dec.23,2003 with 243 deaths and more than 4 1,000 residents within 5 kilometers around the accident spot being evacuated;the chlorine leaking accident in Tianyuan Chemical Plant,Chongqing with 9 deaths and 150,000 persons being evacuated;the explosion accident in Shuangben plant,Jilin Petroleum & chemical Corporation of Sinopec,causing large amount of Benzyl contaminants flowing into the water system of Songhua River,which not only disturbed the daily life of the residents living in its drainage basin,but al so negatively affected the international image of our country.Shenyang city is one of the cities with large amounts of and extensive hazard chemicals.There are many chemical enterprises involving businesses of hazard chemicals,which has been up to thousands of enterprises involving businesses of their manufacture,management,storage,transportation,application and discarding.Only in the year of 2003,300 million tons of hazard chemicals were bought or sold in Shenyang.Therefore,the establishment of a system from top to bottom for chemical accident emergency rescue has been imperative in order to prevent the occurrence of various chemical accidents,decrease casualties and financial losses and meet the demands of anti-terrorism.Since the issue and enforcement of several formal documentations as National Regulations on Public Health Emergency Rescue,Shenyang Preliminary Plan of Public Health Emergency Rescue and Shenyang Preliminary Plan of Chemical Accident Emergency Rescue,Shenyang has gained progresses in terms of legal system construction,socialized administration,development of preventing ability and infrastructure construction for quick prevention of and dealing with the sudden chemical accidents in case of their occurrence,which play an important role in securing the safety of national assets and people life as well as the succeeding of socialistic modernization . However ,clearmindedness is also needed because the prevention and control ability of sudden chemical accidents still lags behind the overall economical construction and social development.The causes of sudden chemical accidents are mainly 1)the increased risk of sudden chemical accidents due to the rapid development of petroleum & chemical industry and chemical engineering industry,2)the inharmonious developments of city planning and petroleum & chemical industry render the minor chemical accidents with severe outcomes because of the mixture of living quarter and factory quarter,3)the increased volume of hazard chemical transportation and the spreading gas stations,4)the large amounts of and extensive major hazard installations with no complete monitoring system,and 5)large amounts of units involving the businesses of hazard chemicals that increase the risk and accident frequency.Based on these facts,a general investigation was conducted in the units and enterprises engaged in the businesses of hazard chemicals to establish a database of hazard chemicals in Shenyang city.The units and enterprises engaging in the major hazard installations were screened and listed.The properties,classification and distribution of these major hazard installations were analyzed and their safety status and accident risk were evaluated based on the specific neatening work on hazard chemicals by Shenyang supervision bureau for safe manufacture and Shenyang police fire fighting bureau , the national standards for identification of major hazard installations(GB 1821 8-2000),Regulations on Safety Supervision of Hazard Chemicals and Regulations on Safe Manufacture Certificate.The strategies for the prevention of sudden chemical accidents as well as the rescue of chemical accidents emergency were proposed with an intention to provide technical basis for the key monitoring of safe manufacture,the accomplishment of precautious and predicting techniques and the establishment of an emergency rescue system.The results of the investigation showed that there were 3872 units or enterprises engaging in the hazard chemical business and the population involving in the business was up to more than 800 thousand,in that 26 1units or enterprises have major hazard installations according to the related standards including 20.7%major hazard installations at the work site and 79.3% major hazard installations at the storage site.The major hazard chemical in Shenyang was toxic substances and poisonous gases including compressed gas and liquefied gas.Besides,there were also quite much flammable liquid,flammable solid,spontaneously combustible,and contact water emit flammable gases,oxidizers,organic peroxide and corrosives.In the major hazard chemicals of toxic substances and poisonous gases,there were 22 hazard installations of Class I,15 hazard installations of Class II,34 hazard installations of C1ass III and 25 hazard installations of Class IV.The toxic substances and poisonous gases of lower hazard classes(Class III and Class IV)which occupied 35.6 percent have the properties of being reactive.There were about 1/3 units or enterprises with major hazard installations being within 500 m from the residential areas with relatively dense population.In each regions and cities subordinate to Shenyang city,there were units or enterprises being possible to directly pollute the water resources of Hunhe.Only 68% units or enterprises with major hazard installations had established the preliminary plan for emergency rescue.There was still 10%major hazard installations of toxic substances with no corresponding preliminary plan for emergency rescue.Meanwhile,the preliminary plan for emergency rescue lacked such pertinency and regular exercises that it was only empty words although there was preliminary plan for emergency rescue for partial major hazard installations.The results indicate that the potential occurrence of city chemical catastrophic accidents is high,and the suburban areas are the susceptible areas to hazard chemical accidents demanding key preventive measures.Once major chemical accidents occur,the affected area is extensive and the negatively affected population is large.which needs to be evacuated.In the case of major hazard chemical accident,individuals may possibly be poisoned and may be at risks of major casualty,meanwhile,the accidents from major hazard installations may also possibly pollute the Hunhe.Additionally,the prevention of leaking accidents from major hazard installation is our major responsibily due to the dominating major hazard installations at the storage site in Shenyang city.According to the results from identification and evaluation of major hazard installations,the preventive strategies are proposed in this paper in terms of government,units or enterprises engaging in hazard chemicals businesses and individuals with an intention to provide feasible scheme for specific decision—making. For the governments1.The governments of all levels and all the related sections should target the realities to formulate the effective administration regulations and to reinforce the supervision of the specifications according to the administrative responsibilities of the respective sections.2.Certain amount of funds should be devoted to establish accident preventing and rescuing institutions with the community and residential population near major hazard installations as one unit to fully exert the activity and initiative of the masses.Additionally,it is necessary for the governments to set up key projects for the scientific researches of the preventive and coping strategies for catastrophic chemical accidents and to enhance the scientific researches on the new orientations and characteristics of catastrophic chemical accidents.3.The detailed facts on the hazard chemicals in Shenyang city should be investigated tO establish the information system for safety administration of the hazard chemicals in Shenyang.4 . The further evaluation and approval of units or enterprises engaging in manufacture,storage and management with major hazard installations should be excellently finished.5.The key areas and key units or enterprises with major hazard installations whose accidents may possibly have extensive social effects,severe casualties and great economical losses should be stressed for prevention.At the same time,the dispersely and frequently happened localized catastrophic accidents should also be attended.6.The city planning should be conducted according to the principle of"maximal distance"to separate the major hazard installations from the residential areas and building groups.7.The functional sections of police,fire fighting,safety supervision,quality inspection.environmental protection and industry & business administration should formulate the corresponding regulations on law enforcement to intensify the inspections on major hazard installations.8.The preparation of the preliminary plan for emergency rescue,the preparation of the equipments and supplies for emergency rescue and the preparation of the professional team for emergency rescue should be reinforced. 9.The education of societies and masses should be intensified to increase the masses knowledge about the prevention of chemical accidents and their emergency rescue to enhance their awareness on the accident prevention and self protection as well as to increase their ability of identification and to improve their skills on self rescue and buddy aid.10.While the scientific and complete preliminary plan for chemical accidents emergency rescue is formulated,the establishment of a system for its emergency rescue should be accelerated to improve the abilities of Shenyang for preventing and coping major chemical accidents.For the units and enterprises engaging in hazard chemical businesses1.The units and enterprises with major hazard installations should establish and complete the regulations on safety administration.The registered safety director and the supervisor for safe manufacture should be imperatively employed to formulate the operational procedures,to reinforce the daily administration and to secure the safe manufacture.2.The/her awareness on responsibilities for the effective exertion of his/her duties on prevention and administration.3.The safe operational procedures and preventive measures should be formulated and completed targeting the facts and characteristics of the units or enterprises with major hazard installations.4.The fulfillment of safety operational procedures and preventive measures should be frequently and regularly inspected and supervised.5.The employees should be regularly educated to increase their knowledge on s afety and health.6.The professionals should be employed for the major hazard installations and the technicians of the units or enterprises should have the priorities for training.For the individuals1.The individuals have responsibilities to cooperate with the governments,enterprises and units to fulfill the safety policies and works.2.The safety operational procedures should be strictly followed.The eyeless individual behaviors should be rejected. 3.The awareness of individual protections should be increased and the knowledge on the prevention and rescue should be continuously replenished.4.The responsibilities and rights should be distinctly differentiated.The wrong and regulation—violated orders should be firmly refused based on the self-discipline.