Chinese steel mills told to step up safety checks after 17 killed by gas leaks
Firms also asked to provide emergency rescue training to workers, strengthen management and shut down outdated equipment
China’s safety bureau on Tuesday urged steel mills to step up supervision and safety checks after 17 people were killed over the past week in two separate incidents related to gas leaks.
Companies and local authorities should particularly improve supervision during maintenance, and gas storage and transport, the State Administration of Work Safety said in a statement on its website.
“Many unfavourable factors including increasing maintenance and extreme weather can easily cause production safety accidents,” it said.
Steel mills were also requested to provide emergency rescue training to workers, strengthen on-site management and shut down outdated equipment.
Company officials would be held responsible and production suspended if mills failed to strengthen safety measures, the bureau said.
Nine people died and two were injured on January 31 after a gas leak at a boiler at Shuicheng Steel, a unit of state-owned Shougang Group, in southern China’s Guizhou province.
