Nakdonggangcheong, Precise Safety Management of Chemical Substance Handling Sites in Ulsan Area

The Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office announced on the 31st that it will conduct a "Detailed Safety Management for Hazardous Chemical Subcontractors and Contractors" targeting 10 business sites until December to raise safety awareness among workers in industrial complexes in the Ulsan area, where many casualties among subcontractor workers have occurred, and to strengthen safety management of hazardous chemical handling facilities.

The industrial complexes in the Ulsan area are regions where many large-scale chemical plants are located and aging chemical handling facilities are installed and operated, requiring a high level of chemical safety management.

Confirmation scene at the subcontracted site. [Image provided by Nakdonggang Office]

Among the 400 business sites in the Ulsan area that have hazardous chemical handling facilities, 189 sites (47%) operate 380 subcontractor companies for equipment operation and maintenance.

Additionally, among the 17 chemical accidents causing casualties in the Ulsan area over the past three years, 48% (8 cases) involved casualties among subcontractor workers, indicating the need for effective chemical accident prevention measures targeting subcontractors.

Accordingly, on-site inspections will be conducted for subcontractors to check the wearing of personal protective equipment and completion of handler training. With the cooperation of the Korea Environment Corporation, on-site consulting will also be intensively conducted to transfer safety management methods for high-risk chemical handling facilities, encouraging continuous work safety. Furthermore, chemical safety banners will be posted year-round at the relevant business sites to raise workers' safety awareness.

To strengthen the safety management capabilities of contractors and subcontractors and to prevent chemical accidents in advance, a separate meeting with representatives of companies that have reported multiple contracts in the past three years is planned for the second half of the year.

Director Choi Jong-won stated, "More than half of the chemical-related casualties in the Ulsan area occur at companies subcontracted by contractors," and added, "We will actively strengthen chemical accident prevention activities such as on-site worker safety education and enhanced pre-inspections of hazardous chemical handling facilities."