Factory work suspended for safety checks

East China's Jiangsu province, where a workshop explosion claimed the lives of 75 people and injured more than 180, has suspended production at all companies that polish aluminum and magnesium, according to the provincial work safety department.

The department said that the companies will not be allowed to resume production until safety equipment is scrutinized to eliminate potential risks.

The explosion, which happened at the wheel-polishing workshop of Kunshan Zhongrong Metal Products on Saturday, was triggered when a flame was lit in a room full of metal dust.

Yang Dongliang, director of the State Administration of Work Safety and head of the investigation team looking into the explosion, said that Zhongrong seriously violated China's safety regulations, including not providing fire-retardant overalls, equipment to remove dust and employee safety training.

"The workshop, in an area of less than 2,000 square meters, had 29 production lines, each with 16 workers," said Yang. "Under safety regulations, such a metal-polishing workshop must be in lightweight, one-story buildings, but Zhongrong's workshop had a two-story structure."

The investigation team also said that the local government should take responsibility for neglecting supervision.

The safety supervision department of Kunshan's economic development bureau only has four workers to monitor nearly 3,000 companies under its jurisdiction.

On Monday, the State Council Work Safety Commission ordered a special nationwide safety campaign targeting factories with potential ignition sources and explosive materials, including aluminum, magnesium and wood.

Wenzhou, in neighboring Zhejiang province, with more than 700 companies that create metal dust during production, has launched a one-month action to scrutinize safety equipment at factories. People who report potential risks in those factories will be awarded 10,000 yuan ($1,620).

Shen Yuming, an expert in the burn ward of Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, said that although most of Saturday's injured have come out of the coma that usually follows such heavy burns, they still need to get through the infection period.

"If the patients don't do well in the coma, which generally ends within 48 hours, their organs will stop functioning and they will have more chance of becoming infected," Shen said.

"The mortality rate will be around 50 percent if people get more than 50 percent of their skin burned, But most of the injured in the Kunshan explosion have lost more than 80 percent of their skin."

Of the 184 injured who are receiving treatment, only four have minor injuries, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Fourteen are seriously burned, and 166 others have life-threatening wounds.

The commission also said the future is uncertain because the injured need to go through the anti-infection period, which will last two to three months, followed by a recovery period.

cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn