Gyeonggi Fire Headquarters Inspects Hazardous Material Storage at Scrapyards... 126 Violations Found

The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters investigated the storage conditions of hazardous materials at scrapyards and uncovered 126 violations.

The provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters, in cooperation with municipal and county vehicle registration offices, conducted unannounced inspections of scrapyards in the province. This initiative came after an accident in April in Hwaseong, where vapor from a waste oil storage container at a scrapyard caused injuries to one person. The inspections aimed to prevent similar accidents by checking the storage of hazardous materials at scrapyards.

A comprehensive investigation was conducted at 167 scrapyards across the province, and violations were found at 57 locations, accounting for 34% of the total. In total, 126 violations were identified.

A firefighter belonging to the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters is inspecting illegal hazardous materials such as vapor at a scrapyard in the province. Provided by Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters

The main violations included: unauthorized storage and handling of hazardous materials (3 cases); neglecting to repair faulty fire alarm receivers (1 case); installation of illegal temporary structures (7 cases); and defective fire extinguishers (115 cases). Minor violations were immediately corrected and addressed on site. Cases involving illegal temporary structures and similar issues were reported to the relevant authorities.

Kim Jaebyung, head of the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, stated, "Scrapyards are high-risk facilities where flammable materials such as fuel and oil are concentrated. Since a moment's negligence can lead to major accidents, we will do our utmost to ensure the safety of residents through regular inspections and continuous management, even after this investigation."

Meanwhile, the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters plans to share the results of this investigation with all fire stations for educational purposes and to use them as training materials to prevent similar accidents in the future.