Qinghe Special Steel Corporation disaster
Encyclopedia
The Qinghe Special Steel Corporation disaster was an industrial
disaster
that occurred on April 18, 2007, in Tieling
, Liaoning Province, China. Thirty-two people were killed and six were injured when a ladle
used to transport molten steel separated from an overhead rail in the Qinghe Special Steel Corporation facility.
A subsequent investigation by the Chinese authorities found that safety was extremely lacking at the plant, with the direct cause being inappropriate use of substandard equipment. The investigation also concluded that the various other safety failings at the facility were contributing factors. The report went on to criticise safety across the Chinese steel industry.
Sun Huashan, deputy head of the State Administration of Work Safety
, said that it was "the most serious accident to hit China's steel industry since 1949."
, established in 1987, had originally been a state-owned enterprise, and had been restructured into a private business. According to the State Administration of Work Safety, the plant had about 300 employees at the time of the accident, although Xinhua gave the employment figure as 650. In 2006, the factory produced 70,000 tonne
s of steel and had hoped to increase production to 120,000 tonnes in 2007.
The building where the disaster occurred was used by the Qinghe Special Steel Corporation as a steel
processing plant. The ladle which failed carried molten steel from a blast furnace
to other processes, and had a diameter of two metres and a capacity of 30 ton
s (25 tonne
s) of liquid
steel. It ran on a rail at a height of three metres above the factory floor.
(2,730 F), were spilt. This liquid steel then burst through the windows and door of an adjoining room five meters (fifteen feet) away where workers had gathered during a change of shifts, engulfing the room entirely.
When the emergency services arrived, they were initially unable to provide assistance as they were forced back by the high temperatures, and had to first wait for the area to cool. When they were eventually able to access the area, they discovered thirty-two workers had been killed by the steel. Six others in the room survived and were rushed to the hospital with severe burns. According to doctor
s, five were initially listed as being in a stable condition, with the other listed as critical. They were said to be of risk of contracting infection
s through their burns. However, an earlier statement on the website of the State Administration of Work Safety published conflicting information, saying that the thirty-two deceased represented everyone in the room at the time, and that only two people were injured - the operators of the ladle. The official Xinhua press agency also released a report stating that the ladle fell on workers below, but this was unclear as in to whether the workers were in fact crushed or whether this, too, conflicted with the other reports.
After rescuing the six survivors, rescuers then recovered the bodies of the thirty-two deceased.
The survivors were interviewed for the media and by investigators about their experience. One gave the following account of the tragedy: "I was bending down to get some tools when I heard screaming. The ladle was falling... "[The liquid] fell on to the ground and then spilled onto my body and burnt [my] clothes. I just ran,". Another gave this description of being burned by the steel: "When the steel hit, it felt like being beaten by iron bars -- my brain went blank. I would be dead if I had turned my head".
One survivor, Jiao Zhengyan, 38 and head of the company's ingot casting section, explained why the steel had been spilled instead of remaining in an upright ladle: "As the ladle was falling, it hit a flatbed and tilted. The molten steel immediately flowed into the nearby conference room."
The investigation concluded that the direct cause of the disaster was Qinghe using a standard hoist instead of one specifically designed for dangerous smelting work. Other contributing factors identified were lax safety measures and "chaotic" management. The official report also stated that "Equipment and materials inside the workshop were messy, the work space was narrow, and safety passages did not meet requirements."
The report goes on to say that the accident highlights poor working conditions and safety measures in the Chinese steel industry, "Some firms cannot adapt to the demands of rapid expansion and ignore safety... Safety inspection is not in place, leading to multiple accidents." and concluding "Work safety conditions in the metallurgy sector are extremely grim,".
ed the plant's owner and three employees who were in charge of work safety issues, and had promised the families of the victims a minimum of 200,000 yuan
(US$
26,000) each in compensation. According to Xinhua, the positions of those arrested were the manager of the mill, an operator, a technician and a workshop supervisor. The same statement from the work safety administration as had issued the conflicting injury count stated that those responsible were "under control" but did not elaborate further.
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
disaster
Disaster
A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment...
that occurred on April 18, 2007, in Tieling
Tieling
Tieling is a prefecture-level city in Liaoning province of the People's Republic of China.The population is 3 million at the 2nd of 2004. Tieling is a city where coal mining is an important industry.The mayor of Tieling is Li Wenke...
, Liaoning Province, China. Thirty-two people were killed and six were injured when a ladle
Ladle (metallurgy)
In a foundry, a ladle is a vessel used to transport and pour out molten metals. Ladles range in size from small hand carried vessels that resemble a kitchen ladle and hold or to large steelmill ladles that hold up to...
used to transport molten steel separated from an overhead rail in the Qinghe Special Steel Corporation facility.
A subsequent investigation by the Chinese authorities found that safety was extremely lacking at the plant, with the direct cause being inappropriate use of substandard equipment. The investigation also concluded that the various other safety failings at the facility were contributing factors. The report went on to criticise safety across the Chinese steel industry.
Sun Huashan, deputy head of the State Administration of Work Safety
State Administration of Work Safety
The State Administration of Work Safety , reporting to the State Council, is the non-ministerial agency of the Government of the People's Republic of China responsible for the regulation of risks to occupational safety and health in China....
, said that it was "the most serious accident to hit China's steel industry since 1949."
Background
The Qinghe Special Steel Corporation ltdPrivate company limited by shares
A private company limited by shares, usually called a private limited company , is a type of company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Scotland, that of certain Commonwealth countries and the Republic of Ireland...
, established in 1987, had originally been a state-owned enterprise, and had been restructured into a private business. According to the State Administration of Work Safety, the plant had about 300 employees at the time of the accident, although Xinhua gave the employment figure as 650. In 2006, the factory produced 70,000 tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s of steel and had hoped to increase production to 120,000 tonnes in 2007.
The building where the disaster occurred was used by the Qinghe Special Steel Corporation as a steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
processing plant. The ladle which failed carried molten steel from a blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
to other processes, and had a diameter of two metres and a capacity of 30 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s (25 tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s) of liquid
Liquid
Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...
steel. It ran on a rail at a height of three metres above the factory floor.
Event
At 7:45 AM local time, the ladle in question separated from the overhead iron rail that connected it to the blast furnace while it was being positioned over a worktable in preparation to pour out its contents. All 30 tons of liquid steel, which were at a temperature of approximatively 1,500 degrees CelsiusCelsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
(2,730 F), were spilt. This liquid steel then burst through the windows and door of an adjoining room five meters (fifteen feet) away where workers had gathered during a change of shifts, engulfing the room entirely.
When the emergency services arrived, they were initially unable to provide assistance as they were forced back by the high temperatures, and had to first wait for the area to cool. When they were eventually able to access the area, they discovered thirty-two workers had been killed by the steel. Six others in the room survived and were rushed to the hospital with severe burns. According to doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s, five were initially listed as being in a stable condition, with the other listed as critical. They were said to be of risk of contracting infection
Infection
An infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
s through their burns. However, an earlier statement on the website of the State Administration of Work Safety published conflicting information, saying that the thirty-two deceased represented everyone in the room at the time, and that only two people were injured - the operators of the ladle. The official Xinhua press agency also released a report stating that the ladle fell on workers below, but this was unclear as in to whether the workers were in fact crushed or whether this, too, conflicted with the other reports.
After rescuing the six survivors, rescuers then recovered the bodies of the thirty-two deceased.
Reactions and survivor accounts
Sun Huashan, deputy head of the State Administration of Work Safety, held a press conference shortly after the disaster in which he stated "It is the most serious accident to hit China's steel industry since 1949". There was a public outcry across China as news of the spill became known.The survivors were interviewed for the media and by investigators about their experience. One gave the following account of the tragedy: "I was bending down to get some tools when I heard screaming. The ladle was falling... "[The liquid] fell on to the ground and then spilled onto my body and burnt [my] clothes. I just ran,". Another gave this description of being burned by the steel: "When the steel hit, it felt like being beaten by iron bars -- my brain went blank. I would be dead if I had turned my head".
One survivor, Jiao Zhengyan, 38 and head of the company's ingot casting section, explained why the steel had been spilled instead of remaining in an upright ladle: "As the ladle was falling, it hit a flatbed and tilted. The molten steel immediately flowed into the nearby conference room."
Investigation
The Chinese authorities immediately launched a full investigation into the disaster, which concluded a week later on April 23. The factory itself was sealed off for the course of the investigation, a common practice in China, but work continued in the site office.The investigation concluded that the direct cause of the disaster was Qinghe using a standard hoist instead of one specifically designed for dangerous smelting work. Other contributing factors identified were lax safety measures and "chaotic" management. The official report also stated that "Equipment and materials inside the workshop were messy, the work space was narrow, and safety passages did not meet requirements."
The report goes on to say that the accident highlights poor working conditions and safety measures in the Chinese steel industry, "Some firms cannot adapt to the demands of rapid expansion and ignore safety... Safety inspection is not in place, leading to multiple accidents." and concluding "Work safety conditions in the metallurgy sector are extremely grim,".
Aftermath
The bodies of the deceased were too badly burned to be recognisable, so DNA testing was used for identification. Within 24 hours of the disaster, officials had arrestArrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed the plant's owner and three employees who were in charge of work safety issues, and had promised the families of the victims a minimum of 200,000 yuan
Renminbi
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...
(US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
26,000) each in compensation. According to Xinhua, the positions of those arrested were the manager of the mill, an operator, a technician and a workshop supervisor. The same statement from the work safety administration as had issued the conflicting injury count stated that those responsible were "under control" but did not elaborate further.