At about 21:30 on July 28, 2024
Chongqing Yubei District Farmhouse Food Co., Ltd
There was a major poisoning and suffocation accident
Killed 3 people
1. Basic information of the accident unit
Farmhouse Food Co., Ltd. was established in 1999 with a registered capital of 500,000 yuan, covers an area of 2,600 square meters, and has 22 employees, mainly pickled bamboo shoots and semi-finished products, supplying downstream enterprises. The main process of pickling bamboo shoots is: cleaning→ cutting→ salting → pickling.
The sewage tank in the workshop is 8.1m long, 3m wide and 3m deep, and the top of the sewage tank is covered with concrete prefabricated slabs and laid with a layer of artificial turf. The pool is partitioned with brick masonry, separated into 3 pools of 1#, 2# and 3#, which are connected to each other through the holes and precipitated step by step, and the accident occurred in the 1# pool. It is understood that the sewage in the sewage pool reaches a certain height and is pumped to the sewage treatment equipment for purification and discharged, and the company organizes the cleaning of the sewage pool every quarter.
2. How the accident occurred
◆ At 20:30 on July 28, Zhou Moubing, a legal person of the enterprise, organized Wang Mouzheng, Yang Mouheng and Chen Mouguo to pump water in the 1# pool, and prepared to clean up the residue at the bottom of the pool after draining.
◆ At 21:30, when the water level in the 1# pool was pumped to about 30cm from the bottom of the pool, Zhou Moubing arranged for Wang Mouzheng to enter the 1# pool, move the pump to a low-lying place and continue to pump water. Wang Mouzheng entered the pool through a wooden ladder and fainted more than 1 minute later.
◆ At 21:35, Zhou Moubing and Yang Mouheng entered the pool one after another to rescue and fainted in the pool. Seeing this, Chen Mouguo immediately called out to Zhou's wife, Li Moufang, for help.
◆ At 21:37, Chen Mouguo went to the warehouse to find an electric fan to ventilate the pool.
◆ At 21:48, Li Moufang and Chen Mouguo went to the nearby villagers to help rescue them and dialed 120.
◆ At 22:08, Zhou Moubing, Wang Mouzheng, and Yang Mouxiang were rescued one after another.
◆ At 22:20, 120 arrived at the scene to give first aid to 3 people, and 3 people were declared dead after rescue failed.
3. Analysis of the direct cause of the accident
At about 3 o'clock in the morning on July 29, the relevant departments of Yubei District, Chongqing Municipality organized experts to conduct on-site testing, and the hydrogen sulfide content was still 42ppm (6 times higher than the standard) and the oxygen content was 20.4% at 2.3m from the ground in the 1# pool, and no carbon monoxide was detected.
After on-site investigation, inquiry, and expert discussion, it was preliminarily determined that the direct cause of the accident was: the recent hot weather, the long-term closure of the sewage pool, and the decomposition of organic matter in the wastewater by biological bacteria, generating a large number of toxic and harmful gases such as hydrogen sulfide. Before the sewage tank cleaning operation, no ventilation and testing were carried out, and the operators did not wear protective equipment, and after one person fainted, the other two people did not take any safety protection measures to enter the pool for rescue, resulting in the expansion of casualties. The exact cause of the accident is under further investigation.
4. The main problems exposed by the accident
Lack of safety management in confined space operations
The accident enterprise failed to implement the "Safety Regulations on Limited Space Operations of Industry and Trade Enterprises" (Order No. 13 of the Ministry of Emergency Management), did not have special guardians, did not conduct special safety training for operators, and did not have safety warning signs or risk notice boards around the sewage pool.
Limited security and lack of rescue equipment
The gas detector and replaceable gas mask configured by the accident enterprise have failed, and it is not equipped with emergency rescue equipment such as positive pressure air respirators and tripods, and has not formulated on-site disposal plans and carried out drills as required.
Long-term illegal and risky operations, blind rescue
From the person in charge of the enterprise to the operating staff, the awareness of the risk of poisoning in the sewage pool is seriously insufficient, and the sewage pool cleaning operation is not carried out in accordance with the requirements of "ventilation first, then testing, and then operation". After the occurrence of an abnormal situation, no safety measures were taken to blindly go into the pool to rescue.
The summer is hot and humid and rainy during the flood season
All kinds of toxic and harmful gases are easy to evaporate and accumulate
Poisoning and suffocation accidents are frequent
Confined space safety cannot be ignored
How to ensure the safety of confined space operations?
Keep in mind the "three-word formula"!
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Source: Ministry of Emergency Management of the People's Republic of China