The standards governing Korean hazardous chemical treatments plants are set for a major overhaul according to a statement released by Korea’s Minister for the Environment Yoon Seong-Kyu on March 19th. The government will initially conduct a major audit of all facilities to assess and analyze weaknesses and areas that require improvement.Starting on March 19th the study will last 74 days and finish on May 31st encompassing 4,296 of 6,874 facilities. The initiative aims to drastically improve the safety of facilities, decrease the incidence of accidents and minimize the environmental impact of these treatment facilities.
The inspection team is comprised of over 190 experts from a diverse range of relevant governmental offices including the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy in conjunction with numerous leading industry experts.Prior to the inspections a specialized training program was implemented to fully verse the inspection team on the assessment criteria and the level of scrutiny required .To reinforce the necessity for consistent application of standards the Ministry of Environment will oversee the entire process.
The audit will focus primarily on analysis of potential hazards and assess whether the critical control measures in place are adequate to deal with every foreseeable eventuality. It will also evaluate the adequacy of current infrastructural elements of treatments plants and outline where improvements are necessary. Safety administration is also up for assessment and is due for change with clearly defined division of labor and designated safety management roles to be set as compulsory requirements for all facilities.
