Jinan Tianhe Huishi fire accident： repeated explosions without administrative punishment.
● Tianhe Huishi fire accident was caused by smoke generated by electric welding sparks igniting low-temperature heat transfer medium during the pipeline reconstruction in the basement of freeze-drying workshop. The accident caused 8 of the 10 workers on site to suffocate and die on the spot, the other 2 workers died in the rescue process, and 12 rescuers were choked.
● The Emergency Response Law, the Regulations on the Openness of Government Information, and the emergency plans of various industries and regions all stipulate that emergency and disposal information should be disclosed to the public in a timely manner, including the cause of the accident, the number of casualties, the results of investigation stages, etc.
● Tianhe Huishi Company has problems in site selection, and should not be built in residential areas and areas with schools, because harmful pollutants generated by enterprises in the production process will affect nearby people. In addition, how the EIA report of this enterprise is evaluated and approved is also a problem.
Our reporter Wang Yang
Our trainee reporter Liang Pingni
At about 15: 40 on April 15th, a fire broke out in Qilu Tianhe Huishi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Tianhe Huishi Company) located in Licheng District, Jinan City, Shandong Province, killing 10 people and injuring 12 others.
On the morning after the accident, the main leaders of Shandong Provincial Party Committee came to Jinan Central Hospital to visit the injured people in the accident, emphasizing the need to do their best to treat the wounded and comfort their families, and at the same time asking relevant departments to "release relevant information in time".
An insider told the Legal Daily reporter that the Opinions on Strengthening the Information Disclosure of Production Safety Accidents issued by the the State Council Safety Committee requires all regions and relevant departments to timely and accurately release information on production safety accidents, especially those with great social impact and high concern, so as to eliminate the space for false rumors and suspicions to spread. "According to the State Council’s Regulations on Reporting, Investigation and Handling of Production Safety Accidents, 10 people died in Tianhe Huishi Company’s accidents, which has reached the level of major accidents. Six days later, Tianhe Huishi Company had already resumed work, but the official did not hold a press conference and official website did not release any accident information. The leader of the accident investigation team and the list of members were not announced to the public as required. "
Yitan hospital
The wounded are in intensive care unit.
Tianhe Huishi Company, established in December 2006, is a manufacturer of chemical raw materials, and its major shareholder is Shandong Qilu Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Qilu Pharmaceutical), accounting for 60% of the shares. The other shareholder is Antique Hong Kong International Limited, accounting for 40% of the shares.
The day after the incident, the reporter came to Tianhe Huishi Company and smelled a peculiar smell in the air. I saw that the traffic at the company gate was normal. Except for a police car parked inside, the reporter couldn’t see the trace of an accident where 10 people died just now.
"Tianhe Huishi Company was formerly known as Qilu Pharmaceutical East Factory, and the locals used to call Qilu Pharmaceutical Factory. At the time of the incident, I saw many ambulances and fire engines enter the factory, but I don’t know what happened inside. Later, after watching TV, I realized that Qilu Pharmaceutical Factory had another big event. " A grandfather in Wenxingyuan Community next door said.
The reporter learned that after the accident of Tianhe Huishi Company, the wounded were sent to Jinan Central Hospital, Jigang Hospital and Jinan Third People’s Hospital for treatment.
In Jinan Central Hospital, a doctor told the reporter: "The wounded sent by Qilu Pharmaceutical Factory should live in the intensive care unit (ICU)". On the fourth floor of the general ward building, the reporter saw that the door of the intensive care unit was closed and could not enter.
Subsequently, the reporter came to Jigang Hospital and found that two wounded people lived in a ward of neurology in the rehabilitation building. When I arrived in the ward, the nurse told the two wounded people that they had left. "I don’t know whether to leave the hospital or transfer to another hospital."
In the Third People’s Hospital of Jinan, a medical staff told the reporter that if you want to find the wounded sent by Qilu Pharmaceutical Factory, you can go to the intensive care unit to ask. In the elevator to the intensive care unit, someone confirmed to reporters that there were indeed several injured people in the intensive care unit.
In front of the intensive care unit, there are two people, a man and a woman. The reporter asked them if they were the families of the wounded in Qilu Pharmaceutical Factory, and they all shook their heads and said no. Later, the woman pointed to a man with glasses not far away and said, "Isn’t that man from Qilu Pharmaceutical Factory?"
At this time, the reporter found that the man with glasses has been following him to the intensive care unit since the reporter entered the hospital hall. The reporter went over and asked if the man wearing glasses was a staff member of Qilu Pharmaceutical Factory. The man repeatedly denied that "my family has a cerebral infarction and lives in the ICU ward".
In front of the intensive care unit, the reporter contacted through the doorbell and wanted to go in to find out if there were any wounded people in Qilu Pharmaceutical Factory. The medical staff inside said, "It’s not visiting time, and no one can come in."
On the afternoon of April 16th, the reporter came to the guard room of Tianhe Huishi Company. After checking the press card, a security guard said, "We have a special person to receive reporters."
In less than two minutes, two men came and drove the reporter to the management Committee of Lingang Economic Development Zone nearby. The reporter met Wang, deputy director of the cadre department of the Propaganda Department of Jinan Municipal Committee.
Deputy Director Wang told reporters that Jinan has set up a special class for Tianhe Huishi Company’s accident, and the final investigation result has not yet come out. At present, first, there is no fire at the scene and the surrounding environment has no impact; Second, 12 wounded were slightly injured and were treated in the hospital; Third, the production order of Tianhe Huishi Company has returned to normal.
Deputy Director Wang also said that the wounded in the intensive care unit are not necessarily seriously injured. "It may be because they are scared and need some time to recover."
The reporter asked if the special class had any plans to hold a press conference or report the accident on the government website. Deputy Director Wang replied, "Not yet".
Ertan Emergency Management Bureau
Repeated explosion accidents without administrative punishment.
The reporter learned that since 2015, Tianhe Huishi Company has experienced many explosions of different sizes. The most influential one happened on October 10, 2016.
According to media reports, at about 20: 50 on the same day, a pressure vessel containing alcohol exploded in the wastewater system of Tianhe Huishi Company, causing the nearby cable bridge to break and some roofs to collapse, and white powder was floating around the incident, with a pungent smell. "No casualties were caused and the direct economic loss was about 200,000 yuan."
The explosion ignited a decade-long feud between Tianhe Huishi Company and neighboring Licheng No.2 Middle School. Previously, Licheng No.2 Middle School had hundreds of complaints every year because of the odor of pharmaceutical factories. Parents of teachers and students have been protesting through letters and visits.
The former Licheng District Safety Supervision Bureau issued a "Enforcement Decision" to Tianhe Huishi Company: "In the case that safety cannot be guaranteed before the hidden dangers of major accidents are eliminated, it is ordered to evacuate the workers from the dangerous area and order your unit to temporarily stop production."
Then, the Jinan Municipal People’s Government approved the establishment of the "10.10" explosion accident investigation team of Tianhe Huishi Company, which is composed of the Municipal Safety Supervision Bureau, the Supervision Bureau, the Public Security Bureau and the Licheng District Government. Finally, the suggestions on the responsibility identification and handling of relevant units and personnel are: it is suggested that the Licheng District Safety Supervision Bureau should "strictly impose administrative penalties on the illegal and illegal acts of the accident enterprises" in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Safety Production Law, the Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals and other laws and regulations.
However, the reporter looked up the data of Tianyan and found that Tianhe Huishi Company, which had many explosion accidents, had no information on administrative punishment.
On the afternoon of April 16th, the reporter came to Licheng District Emergency Management Bureau to interview Tianhe Huishi Company about administrative punishment. In the office on the second floor of Licheng District Emergency Management Bureau, a wang xing staff member telephoned the relevant personnel and said, "I am not a law enforcement officer, and I don’t know the punishment for Tianhe Huishi Company. But there was no punishment last year. " Finally, the staff member said that it is necessary to find law enforcement agencies to understand the relevant situation before replying.
On the morning of April 17th, the reporter went to Licheng District Emergency Management Bureau again and found that the staff of wang xing was not in the office. A female staff member who claimed to be in charge of finance said: "Today, everyone in the unit went out to do things."
The reporter saw that a staff member of the Supervision Section I was in the office and was about to ask. Unexpectedly, the female staff member followed closely and quickly pushed the staff member away.
According to related reports, the Tianhe Huishi accident was caused by smoke generated by electric welding sparks igniting low-temperature heat transfer medium in the process of pipeline reconstruction in the basement of freeze-drying workshop. The accident caused 8 of the 10 workers on site to suffocate and die on the spot, the other 2 workers died in the rescue process, and 12 rescuers were choked.
An insider told the reporter that the on-site construction personnel were not employees of Tianhe Huishi Company, but were working for a third party, and the accident was caused during the welding process.
In order to find out about the pipeline reconstruction project of freeze-dried basement of Tianhe Huishi Company, the reporter came to Licheng District Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau. The staff told the reporter that the Housing and Construction Bureau is mainly responsible for the construction of above-ground objects, pipeline reconstruction projects and the like, and should go to the safety supervision department to ask.
So, the reporter came to the Licheng District Emergency Management Bureau for the third time and met the female staff member he had seen before. The staff member said, "I am in charge of finance, and nothing is clear."
The reporter asked for the bureau leader, and she replied: "All the bureau leaders have gone out, and no one else knows."
The reporter saw someone in the innermost command center and was about to walk over and was stopped by him. "There is a meeting to study, so don’t disturb their normal work."
Santan funeral parlour
Most of the families of the deceased have signed compensation agreements.
The reporter learned that just two months before the accident of Tianhe Huishi Company, Licheng District Committee and District Government held a summary and commendation meeting for the economic and social development of the whole region and a work deployment meeting. At the meeting, Tianhe Huishi Company won the subsidy for high-end talents in key industries supported by Licheng District’s 2018 "Advanced Enterprise for Fiscal and Tax Contribution of Real Economy" and Licheng District’s 2018 "Golden Ten Articles" talent policy, and the enterprise’s talent introduction and education award.
Local residents told reporters that Licheng No.2 Middle School, which is adjacent to Tianhe Huishi, had complained to the relevant departments many times because of the factory odor and other reasons. Later, under the research of public security bureau, safety supervision bureau, environmental protection bureau, education bureau and letters and calls bureau, it was decided to relocate the school site. "The government does not move enterprises to move schools, which should be related to Tianhe Huishi being a big taxpayer. After the accident, the company only stopped production for one day and resumed production. "
An insider told reporters that the controversy caused by the odor of Tianhe Huishi Company has not been reduced with the relocation of Licheng No.2 Middle School. Residents of Wenxingyuan Community, which is separated from Qilu Pharmaceutical by a wall, sometimes smell the peculiar smell floating from the pharmaceutical factory. The employee family building of the former Jinan No.2 Textile Machinery Factory, which is less than 100 meters away from the fifth workshop of Tianhe Huishi Company, has also been plagued by odor. "There are Dongjia Central Kindergarten and Dongjia Central Primary School, which are only a few hundred meters away from Tianhe Huishi Company." The insider said.
Because of dissatisfaction with the pollution of Tianhe Huishi Company, the neighbors strongly urged the company to move out of Dongjia Street. In fact, Qilu Pharmaceutical also has the idea of relocating Tianhe Huishi Company. In 2017, Tianhe Huishi Company invested a total of 7.48 billion yuan to build Qilu Tianhe Huishi Leling Pharmaceutical Industrial Park in Tieying Town, Leling City, Dezhou City.
An insider told reporters that after learning that Qilu Pharmaceutical had the idea of relocation, the local government tried its best to retain it. Shortly before the accident of Tianhe Huishi Company, a major leader in Jinan severely criticized the Licheng District Government and relevant departments for wanting to move.
An official in Jinan, who asked not to be named, told reporters that after the accident, although the public security has intervened, it has not yet been formally filed. "At present, it is still being investigated by the safety supervision department."
The reporter learned that there are two funeral homes in Jinan, one is Jinan funeral home and the other is Lianhuashan funeral home. After some analysis, the reporter took a taxi to Lianhuashan funeral home, which is close to Tianhe Huishi Company.
In the service hall of the funeral home, there are dozens of people in the cremation. On a computer, the staff is printing a white note attached to the elegiac couplet for the deceased "Wang Xtian". The reporter walked over and looked at it. It read "Equipment Department of Qilu Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. and Qilu Tianhe Huishi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.". On the registration form of cremators in the funeral home, the cause of death of "Wang Xtian" was "accident".
A middle-aged woman in a black coat told reporters that she accompanied a friend from the village to the funeral home. Their village is about 7 kilometers away from Tianhe Huishi Company, and their friend’s husband, a worker from Qilu Pharmaceutical Factory, died in the accident.
Next to a security guard post at the intersection of the funeral home, a short-haired lady was sitting on the ground crying, and several people beside her were comforting and wiping their tears. In their intermittent crying, the reporter learned that Ms. Short Hair’s younger brother also died in the accident of Tianhe Huishi Company.
In the funeral home, the reporter learned from the chat of several family members that most of the family members of the deceased have signed compensation agreements with the company. One of them said: "Among the dead, there are only three people in the pharmaceutical factory, most of whom are from the third-party construction unit, and there are eight people."
On the third day of Tianhe Huishi Company’s accident, the reporter came to Lianhuashan funeral home again, hoping to know about the aftermath. A staff member surnamed Zhou in the funeral home office called the curator and replied that "I will be back soon after working outside, so let the reporter wait."
More than two hours later, the reporter did not wait for the director of the funeral home, but waited for Deputy Director Wang and two other government workers.
On the way back to the city, the reporter mentioned that some family members in the funeral parlour claimed that the death toll had exceeded 10. In this regard, Deputy Director Wang denied it. "At present, the death toll is absolutely 10, and the government dare not and there is no need to hide it."
When the reporter asked the name of the third-party company that contracted Tianhe Huishi Company’s freeze-dried basement pipeline reconstruction project, Deputy Director Wang said it was unclear, "Ask the leader before replying".
As of press time, I still have not received any reply.