Chemical incident response drills will help chemical businesses and localities be proactive and flexible in responding when incidents occur.
In Vietnam, along with the rapid development of the industry, the demand for chemicals for production is increasing. Chemicals are widely used in production activities such as: Industrial gas, fertilizer production, plastic granule production, specialized chemicals for the oil and gas industry, etc. From this diverse demand, chemical activities are becoming more popular, and many types of chemical activities appear.
Chemicals contribute many benefits and effects in industrial production activities to create material wealth for human beings. However, chemicals with their physical and chemical characteristics are often flammable, toxic to health and have negative impacts on the environment. If not managed, preserved and used properly, chemicals can cause accidents and incidents with serious consequences for people and property. To minimize the above accidents and incidents, the role of operating a mechanism to coordinate the timely and effective response to chemical incidents by forces is extremely important.
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| Chemical incident response drills will help chemical businesses and localities be proactive and flexible in responding when incidents occur. Photo: LSP |
According to Phung Manh Ngoc, Director of the Department of Chemicals (Ministry of Industry and Trade), with the rapid development of the chemical industry, the potential risks of incidents occurring during chemical operations will also increase. Therefore, ensuring safety in operations, preventing chemical incidents and preparing for chemical incident response need to receive more attention.
The Director of the Department of Chemicals said that in order to effectively prevent and respond to chemical incidents nationwide, localities need to strengthen management, develop plans to prevent chemical incidents, and especially promote the implementation of chemical incident response drills.
“Organizing drills will help us to be well-prepared, to practice and master incident response, to be quick and flexible in responding when chemical incidents occur. From there, it helps us to recognize shortcomings to promptly supplement and learn from experience in incident response, and coordination between forces participating in response. At the same time, it shows the dangers of chemical incidents, especially for businesses to be more aware of strengthening chemical incident prevention work,” said Mr. Ngoc.
In Ba Ria - Vung Tau, in 2024, the provincial authorities coordinated with many enterprises such as Vung Tau Gas Processing Company, Nippon Sanso Joint Stock Company, AGC Chemical Company Limited, ... to organize drills to respond to fire and chemical spill incidents at the facility level to ensure "combat" capacity when incidents at all levels occur.
Recently, at Long Son Petrochemical Complex (Vung Tau City), the functional forces of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province coordinated with Long Son Petrochemical Company Limited (LSP) to successfully organize a chemical spill response, rescue, and community evacuation drill at the provincial level in 2024.
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| Chemical incident response drill at Long Son Petrochemical Company Limited. Photo: LSP |
Mr. Piboon Sirinantanakul – Deputy General Director and Production Director of Long Son Petrochemical Company Limited said that the recent drill was one of the important milestones in improving the safety management capacity of Long Son Petrochemical Complex. It is also a testament to LSP’s readiness in responding to chemical spills.
“The exercise helps to enhance the preparedness, response techniques and tactics, as well as the command and cooperation capabilities between LSP and relevant forces in the province in the event of a chemical spill. This not only ensures the safe operation of the LSP complex but also ensures the safety of all parties involved,” said Piboon Sirinantananakul.
Regarding the unit that developed the scenario for the drill, Mr. Vuong Thanh Chung, Director of the Center for Incident Response and Chemical Safety, Department of Chemicals - Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that the chemical incident response drill will raise awareness and responsibility, and at the same time test the ability to coordinate actions between agencies, functional units with companies, factories, and enterprises in responding to chemical incidents occurring in the locality where they live; always be proactive in any incident situation; comply with state regulations on environmental protection in general and chemical incident response in particular.
According to Mr. Chung, through the organization of the drill, we will gain experience in the work of overcoming, coordinating, and operating the relevant departments, thereby providing effective solutions for organization, overcoming, and prevention.
Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, Nguyen Van Dong, shared that there are currently nearly 70 projects in the chemical sector in the province. In recent times, the work of ensuring safety has been increasingly focused on by localities and businesses.
The recent drill at Long Son Petrochemical Complex has helped improve the capacity to respond to chemical incidents, operate the coordination mechanism in responding to chemical incidents occurring in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province. At the same time, effectively implement the provincial chemical incident prevention and response plan approved by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.
“In the near future, the Department of Industry and Trade will organize a meeting to comprehensively evaluate the advantages and limitations in the coordination of chemical incident response drills at Long Son Petrochemical Company Limited, and at the same time, consult on comprehensive experience in chemical incident prevention and response in the province. Thereby, drawing experiences in the coordination of drills and promptly overcoming shortcomings in incident prevention and response to complete the Chemical Incident Prevention and Response Plan in the province in the coming time”, added the Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province.
Source: https://congthuong.vn/ung-pho-su-co-hoa-chat-bai-hoc-kinh-nghiem-tu-dien-tap-thuc-binh-355061.html
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