Analysis of Equipment Application and Work Planning Procedures in Residual Chemical Leakage Incidents
With growing attention to serious industrial accidents, safety management has
become a legal and social responsibility of corporations. Despite this...
Analysis of Equipment Application and Work Planning Procedures in Residual Chemical Leakage Incidents
With growing attention to serious industrial accidents, safety management has
become a legal and social responsibility of corporations. Despite this, the number
of chemical process accidents continues to rise, and incidents related to chemical
residues account for 24.8% (101 cases) of all chemical accidents. These accidents
require systematic analysis and management. Chemical substances show variable
reactivity depending on environmental conditions, making control difficult, and
specific operations such as cleaning or maintenance differ from general safety
measures in standard MSDS or guidelines.
Therefore, beyond legal frameworks such as the Chemical Substances Control
Act and the Hazardous Materials Safety Control Act, practical guidelines like the
Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA)’s “Technical Guideline for
Cleaning and Gas Removal of Tanks Containing Flammable Residues” should be
applied in the field. In reality, accident cases have not decreased—from 15 in 2019
to 26 in 2023—and casualties have increased even after the enforcement of the
Serious Accident Punishment Act in 2022.
This study reclassified actual chemical accident cases based on KOSHA’s
guidelines to identify residue-related incidents and analyze their occurrence
frequency. The results revealed that 36% of accidents occurred in pre- and
post-operation stages, not only during work itself.
Therefore, an eight-step framework is proposed, adding pre-task planning and
post-task improvement to the existing six-step procedure. The proposed
framework is expected to enhance residue management, prevent secondary
accidents, and serve as foundational data for future revisions of chemical safety
regulations.
Key words : Residual chemical leakage, Work planning procedures, Safety
equipment application, Tank cleaning and gas removal