Drawing lessons from the Beirut explosion in Lebanon, the Ministry of Emergency Management will conduct a nationwide safety inspection of hazardous chemical storage facilities.

On August 5, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management announced that, in light of the lessons learned from the devastating explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, it would immediately launch a nationwide special inspection and remediation campaign to ensure the safe storage of hazardous chemicals. Additionally, the Department of Hazardous Chemicals Supervision under the Ministry warned that enterprises handling ammonium nitrate must thoroughly draw lessons from the Lebanese blast and conduct comprehensive self-inspections.

Launch an immediate nationwide special inspection and remediation campaign on the safety of hazardous chemical storage.

On August 5, the Office of the State Council Work Safety Committee and the Ministry of Emergency Management convened a national video conference on work safety, noting that China is a major chemical‑producing country, with numerous ports, terminals, warehouses, storage yards, as well as hazardous‑chemical transport vehicles and vessels, all posing mounting safety risks. The devastating explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, has once again sounded an alarm for China. All regions and relevant departments must consistently prioritize life and safety in all their work and throughout the entire process of production safety, effectively prevent and mitigate major safety risks, and firmly safeguard the safety bottom line.

August is typically a month when serious and extremely serious accidents occur with relatively high frequency, and storage facilities for hazardous chemicals—such as ports and terminals—are particularly prone to major explosion incidents. The meeting called for an immediate nationwide special inspection and remediation campaign targeting the safe storage of hazardous chemicals, with a focus on ports, terminals, logistics warehouses, and chemical industrial parks. Emergency management authorities are tasked with ensuring that relevant enterprises implement measures such as cooling, ventilation, and keeping storage areas away from ignition sources; they must strictly prohibit over‑stocking, storing substances beyond approved categories, and mixing incompatible materials, while also verifying that fire‑protection systems and equipment remain in good working order. Transportation departments and customs authorities at all levels are directed to conduct thorough inspections of all ports, storage yards, and terminals handling hazardous chemicals, imposing legal penalties for violations such as inadequate safety conditions, excessive stockpiling, or unauthorized mixed storage. Furthermore, all regions are required to carry out quantitative risk assessments of storage facilities for ammonium nitrate and other explosive‑hazardous materials. The meeting emphasized treating major risks and potential hazards as if they were actual accidents, rigorously identifying significant risks, eliminating major hidden dangers, and preventing large‑scale accidents.

Furthermore, we must compare the corrective measures outlined in the accident investigation report and assess their implementation item by item, ensuring that no issue is dismissed lightly or left unresolved. We need to strengthen accountability and performance‑based oversight: any failure to implement corrective measures, prolonged indecision on critical issues, or persistent neglect of major risks and hazards must be referred to disciplinary inspection and supervision authorities for accountability, thereby driving resolution of long‑standing, intractable problems. At present, the Office of the State Council Safety Commission has issued a notice to launch a nationwide special inspection and remediation campaign on the safe storage of hazardous chemicals. Earlier, the Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched multiple supervisory teams to key regions with high concentrations of hazardous‑chemical enterprises, conducting both open and covert inspections and providing targeted oversight of over 7,600 hazardous‑chemical companies and more than 22,000 major hazard sources.

Warning from the Hazardous Chemicals Supervision Division of the Ministry of Emergency Management

Conduct a thorough and conscientious self-inspection to ensure the safe production and storage of ammonium nitrate and other explosive hazardous chemicals, as well as specially controlled hazardous chemicals.

At approximately 6:10 p.m. local time on August 4, 2020, a massive explosion rocked the port area of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, leaving at least 157 people dead and thousands injured as of August 7. Reports indicate that the blast may have been triggered by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored in a warehouse at the port since 2014. Chemical and hazardous‑materials enterprises involved in the production, storage, or use of ammonium nitrate should take this incident as a warning, draw profound lessons, conduct thorough self‑inspections, and take proactive measures to prevent similar accidents. First, implement cooling and ventilation measures in storage areas; second, ensure that cooling sprinkler systems, monitoring and alarm devices, fire‑fighting equipment, and other related facilities are intact and functioning properly; third, strictly prohibit over‑stocking or storing substances beyond authorized quantities or categories, and absolutely forbid the mixed storage of incompatible materials; fourth, intensify safety risk assessments during the summer and flood season, refine emergency response plans, and strengthen drills. Other enterprises handling explosive‑hazardous chemicals or specially controlled hazardous materials should learn from this incident, adopt targeted measures, and safeguard safe production. Local emergency management authorities at all levels must comprehensively survey and accurately identify all enterprises within their jurisdictions that handle explosive‑hazardous chemicals such as ammonium nitrate, nitroguanidine, and ammonium chlorate, and implement tailored regulatory approaches for each facility. They should prioritize inspections of hazardous‑material storage facilities to detect violations involving excessive quantities, elevated temperatures, storage of unauthorized substances, or long‑term stockpiling, and rigorously investigate and address any identified hazards. In accordance with the Ministry of Emergency Management’s recent directives on safety oversight of hazardous materials during the summer and flood season, they must urge and guide relevant enterprises to fulfill their primary responsibility for workplace safety and resolutely prevent serious and extremely serious accidents.

Source: Division of Hazardous Chemicals Supervision, Ministry of Emergency Management