(ANN/THE KOREA HERALD) – Monday’s fire at a lithium battery plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, has once again highlighted the dangers associated with chemical processing facilities.
The dense presence of flammable or combustible materials within confined spaces poses significant risks, often leading to substantial casualties in the event of a fire.
This incident brings to mind past tragedies involving chemical factory fires in South Korea. One of the worst occurred in 1989 at the Lucky Chemical plant in an industrial complex in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.
A massive explosion triggered the blaze, resulting in 16 fatalities and 17 injuries.
In more recent years, similar incidents have continued to occur. In 2011, a steam explosion at Hyundai EP’s factory in Ulsan claimed the lives of three workers and injured five others.
Later that same year, an explosion of the chemical substance hexane at TK Chemical in Gongju, North Gyeongsang Province, resulted in seven fatalities.
In 2022, an explosion of a large drum containing dioxin at an LG Chemical plant in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, killed eight people and injured about 10 others.
Another tragic incident in 2013 at Daelim Industries’ factory in Yeosu, caused by an explosion in a silo storing raw materials for polyethylene, claimed six lives and left 11 others seriously injured.
More recently, in 2021, a fire at Eil Industrials’ petrochemical product manufacturing plant in Yeosu resulted in the deaths of three workers.
The fire, starting with an explosion from a tank containing liquid chemicals, highlighted the ongoing risks faced by workers in these facilities.
On September 30, 2022, a blast at the Yeochun NCC factory in Yeosu claimed the lives of four people and injured four others, further emphasizing the need for improved safety measures in chemical processing facilities.
