[비즈한국] An explosion at the Hanwha Aerospace Daejeon plant has left 5 people dead and 2 injured. The incident occurred in the cleaning room of Building 56 at the Hanwha Aerospace Daejeon plant, located in Oesam-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. Fire authorities suspect that an unexplained explosion occurred during an explosive-cleaning process.
According to police and fire authorities, the accident occurred at 10:59 a.m. on the 1st. As the explosion led to a fire, the National Fire Agency issued a Level 1 response at 11:17 a.m. and began firefighting operations. The fire was completely extinguished by 1:07 p.m. It was determined that a total of 7 people were at the scene at the time of the accident. Of these, 5 were found dead inside the workplace, while 2 others evacuated to the outside, were rescued, and transported to a nearby hospital.
One of the 2 injured is in critical condition with full-body burns. The other suffered burns to the neck but is reportedly not in life-threatening condition. The identities of the deceased have not yet been confirmed. Fire authorities explained that it is difficult to identify them at the scene due to the severity of the remains. Police plan to proceed with identification procedures in cooperation with the National Forensic Service.
The workplace where the accident occurred was found to be mostly destroyed as the fire spread after the explosion. Fire authorities stated that, considering the building's debris and structural integrity, they must determine whether to proceed with on-site inspections and debris removal only after a safety assessment. As both an explosion and a fire occurred, it is expected to take time to determine the exact cause of the accident.
National Security Facility Means Procedures are Classified... Investigation Focuses on 'Safety Protocols'
The cause of the accident revealed so far is limited. Fire authorities stated, "It is presumed that an explosion of unknown cause occurred during an explosive-cleaning operation." However, they did not disclose what was being cleaned, what substances were involved in the explosion, or how the work procedures were conducted at the time, as the accident site is a national security facility.
Because of this, the initial investigation is expected to focus on identifying the explosive materials and the work procedures. Since the accident is presumed to have occurred during a cleaning process, the nature of the materials being cleaned, management of residual explosives, pre-work risk assessment, worker placement, and the operational status of explosion-proof and ventilation equipment will be subject to investigation. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the cause at this stage.
The Hanwha Aerospace Daejeon plant is a site with high concentrations of defense-related facilities. Since operations may involve handling dangerous substances like explosives and propellants, accidents there have a high potential for large-scale casualties. In particular, as this accident involved a fire following an explosion rather than a simple fire, an overall inspection of the on-site safety management system appears inevitable.
Past Explosions Recur... Determining Cause and Preventive Measures are Key
Explosion accidents have occurred at the Hanwha Daejeon plant in the past. In 2018, an explosion left 5 dead and 4 injured, and in 2019, another explosion resulted in 3 deaths. Including this latest incident, fatal explosion accidents have repeated at the same workplace.
However, it has not yet been confirmed whether the causes or work processes of previous accidents are the same as this one. Therefore, it is difficult to directly link the accident history to the direct cause of this incident. Nevertheless, it is pointed out that the repetition of explosion accidents at a facility handling high-risk materials is difficult to overlook. The investigation should determine whether the preventive measures established after past accidents were actually implemented, whether management standards for hazardous work were sufficient, and whether worker protection measures were properly carried out.
Moving forward, the police, fire authorities, and relevant agencies plan to determine the exact cause through on-site inspections and questioning of concerned parties. Depending on the investigation results, the application of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act will also be reviewed. Hanwha Aerospace is also expected to provide explanations regarding the aftermath of the accident, work processes, safety management systems, and preventive measures in the near future.
Defense experts collectively state, "Due to the nature of defense facilities, it is difficult to disclose all work details," while adding, "Regardless of security, the cause of the accident that resulted in worker deaths and the responsibility for safety management must be identified."