To Prevent Secondary Battery Fires... Calls to Strengthen Punishments for Worker Safety Training

Government-wide Battery Factory Fire Prevention TF Meeting
On-site Opinion: "Support Fire Extinguishing Equipment for Small Businesses"

A fire broke out at a battery factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, prompting the government to form a task force (TF) for prevention. At the site, voices called for strengthening penalties and incentives related to worker safety training.

On the 22nd, Lee Hangyeong, Director of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, chaired the second meeting of the government-wide "Battery Factory Fire Recurrence Prevention TF." The TF focused on discussing issues identified through the investigation of the Hwaseong battery factory fire and suggestions from the field.

At the meeting, Gyeonggi Province presented opinions collected from public officials of 31 cities and counties responsible for battery-related work and battery companies. Officials and companies emphasized the need to strengthen penalties and incentives for worker safety training and to support fire extinguishing equipment considering the poor management conditions of small and medium-sized manufacturing companies. Gyeonggi Province is home to 36% (146 companies) of the primary and secondary battery companies subject to special inspections.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The results of the fire safety investigation conducted from June 25 to July 9 were also discussed. The National Fire Agency conducted joint inspections with related ministries on 413 primary and secondary battery-related companies, uncovering 119 violations such as negligence in hazardous material handling, leading to prosecutions and fines. They also shared areas needing improvement, including regulations on handling batteries with explosion risks and standards for emergency exits in workplaces.

Tasks proposed by each ministry included ▲improvements to building and facility standards for primary and secondary battery manufacturers that do not consider battery explosion fire characteristics ▲development of technology to detect environmental changes such as temperature and humidity in real time to preemptively block ignition conditions ▲improvements to hazardous factors in workers' environments and strengthening safety training.

Director Lee stated, "We will prepare measures by reviewing overall safety management, including laws, systems, education, and technology development, to ensure that similar accidents never happen again."