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)