Ulsan City takes emergency measures due to a series of fires at waste companies... Joint agency special investigation

Ulsan City announced on the 5th that it will promote 'Industrial Facility Emergency Fire Prevention Measures' targeting national industrial complex workplaces, factories, warehouses, and waste disposal companies to prevent fires and explosions during the winter.

This is a measure taken in response to six fires occurring at three waste incineration companies in the region since August, as well as fires occurring at resource recycling facilities and factories in national industrial complexes.

According to the city, there were 4,133 fires that occurred in Ulsan over the past five years, of which industrial facility fires accounted for 346, or 8.3%. The industrial facility fire resulted in casualties, including 2 deaths and 32 injuries, and property damage amounted to approximately 59.8 billion won.

According to this measure, the city will conduct a joint special investigation with related agencies targeting a total of 17 locations, including 16 resource circulation facilities and 1 smelter, by the end of this month.

The fire department headquarters, city/district/county environmental departments, and the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office form a joint investigation team to check the normal operation and maintenance of fire-fighting facilities and whether they comply with the storage and handling standards for hazardous substances. They also check the status of safety management in the environmental field, such as storage and loading standards for flammable and reactive waste and environmental pollution prevention facilities.

In addition, the city will conduct a thorough investigation of 144 businesses that handle small amounts of dangerous substances, including painting and metal processing plants, with a total floor area of ​​500 m2 or more by the end of the year.

We plan to eliminate fire risk factors in advance by focusing on the storage and handling of hazardous materials and the normal operation of ventilation and exhaust facilities in cleaning and painting workshops.

Furthermore, a step-by-step fire safety survey will be conducted on 11,276 factories and warehouses across Ulsan by December of next year. Construction and fire officials and private experts will participate to check whether there are any violations of building laws, the flame retardant performance of sandwich panels, and the status of fire protection facility management.

In addition, the city selects national industrial complex workplaces as a sample and inspects fire and explosion risk factors together with the fire department headquarters, and conducts a full investigation of 28 processes in 13 companies that require explosion-proof management, such as oil refining and petrochemicals.

Jeong Ho-dong, head of Ulsan City's Citizen Safety Office, said, "Fires in industrial facilities can lead not only to loss of life and property, but also to secondary damage such as leakage of hazardous substances and environmental pollution, so prevention is important. We will cooperate with relevant organizations to thoroughly check risk factors and take strict action against violations."