The State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) criticized "grim" chemical transportation safety conditions on Friday and asked local authorities to draw lessons from a series of sulfuric acid accidents in Yunnan.

SAWS, in a notice on its website, said that the safety situation in chemical transportation remained grim, and it blamed the management of cargo carriers, who frequently allowed overloading and fatigued drivers.

Three sulfuric acid spills occurred within 15 days in the southwestern province of Yunnan, two involving the same company in less than a day.

A fuel tank car carrying sulfuric acid plunged into a river in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture on 1:47 a.m. on Feb 11, leaving 30 tons of the toxic chemical leaking into the river and slightly injuring two people, the administration said in the notice.

Within just five hours, another fuel tank car elsewhere in Dali Bai had overturned, injuring two people and sending 24 tons of sulfuric acid spilling into the nearby Xingsu River, the notice said.

Both incidents involved the Dali Zhongyun Transportation Trading Co.

On Jan. 28, a fuel tank car was involved in a pile-up 51 kilometers from the Yunnan capital of Kunming, resulting in a 17-ton sulfuric acid leak. The smog that resulted after white lime was added to dilute the spill led to a five-car pile-up on the expressway.

Preliminary investigations by SAWS indicated that the tanker had been seriously overloaded and the driver was tired after long hours on slippery roads.

Direct contact with sulfuric acid can burn human tissue and inhaling the vapor can cause severe lung damage. Even a small amount can contaminate a large body of water.

SAWS urged local agencies to draw profound lessons from the accidents, which had caused massive pollution and disrupted people's lives. Local authorities were asked to investigate the causes of accidents in detail and clear up any pollutants.

The safety administration urged additional safety measures, such as the use of global positioning systems in chemical transportation and tighter oversight of transport loads, speeding and driver fatigue.

Carriers could face suspensions of their licenses, it warned.

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2008)