Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon establishment, where a recent explosion killed five people, was found to have received the lowest grade in the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL)'s process safety management (PSM) evaluation. The establishment also had an explosion at the time and was placed under a special inspection.
PSM is a system that checks the level of safety management at business sites where there is a risk of fire, explosion, or release of toxic substances. Establishments that produce explosives and pyrotechnic products must submit a safety report for all processes and obtain approval from the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL).
According to the special inspection result report by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on the 2nd, the government conducted a special inspection after an explosion at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon establishment in Feb. 2019 killed three workers. The inspection found 82 legal violations and 208 improvement recommendations. Safety accounted for the most at 39, followed by 24 in health and 19 in management.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) found safety management problems such as leaving facilities with fall and tipping hazards unattended, failing to conduct safety inspections of pressure vessels, and not complying with the process safety report. It also found cases where work environment measurements and special health examinations were omitted, and pointed out inadequate management of confined spaces and chemicals and poor safety and health education. As a result, authorities took administrative measures including 53 criminal cases, 28 fines, and 75 corrective orders.
Earlier, the establishment was also found to have large-scale legal violations in a special inspection conducted after an explosion in 2018. That inspection uncovered a total of 486 violations, of which 266 were related to PSM alone.
In its report at the time, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said, "Given the nature of establishments that produce explosives and pyrotechnic products, there is a high risk of major fire and explosion accidents, yet there are many areas that fall short of the guide, so (overall in the process safety management system) supplementation is needed." In fact, after the 2018 accident the establishment's PSM grade was downgraded from M+ to the lowest, M-, and it maintained the same grade in the 2019 assessment.
At this establishment, an explosion occurred during propellant washing on the 1st, killing five workers and injuring two. Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident and whether safety rules were followed.