Abstract
Objectives: Business operators handling hazardous chemicals regulated under the Chemical Substances Control Act (CSCA) must receive permits to operate their business from the Ministry of Environment. This study analyzed the status of recent legal violation in chemical handling workplaces in Ulsan where a large volume of chemicals is handled for industrial use. Methods: A total of 557 corporations have been granted legal status as business operators in Ulsan. For all business operators, legal violations in regard to the CSCA that were discovered by the environmental office in the last five years (2018~2022) were thoroughly analyzed. Results: A total of 225 violations of the CSCA have been discovered at 165 corporations, with the violation rate accounting for approximately 27% of all business operators. In particular, 22% of the 165 violators (36 corporations) were discovered to have violated twice or more, and some business operators (6%) even violated in consecutive years. Non-compliance of facility inspection was the most frequent violation (45 cases, 20.1%), followed by non-reporting of important changes in the permitted matters (23 cases, 10.3%), non-completion of legal safety education (19 cases, 8.5%), failure to secure permission for modification in the permitted matters (18 cases, 8.0%), and failure to submit chemical transport plans (16 cases, 7.1%). Conclusions: Most of the violations could have been prevented if the field personnel had paid sufficient attention. Thus, it is fundamentally necessary to create an environment for spontaneous safety management for themselves and to strengthen individual capabilities.
