Shanxi, the largest cokemaking province China, urged safety inspections on coke firms across the province, following two accidents in the month, according to a notice issued by the Shanxi Emergency Management Office on September 16.
The first accident, occurred on September 8, was caused by flue burst at one Linfen-based coke firm, when two people went to the site for check after coke oven flue gas desulfurization fan was found to be shut down.
The second accident happened in Luliang on September 14 when one worker got poisoned after toxic gas leak due to his misoperation at the VOCs station, and five others were also poisoned while trying to rescue the first worker without proper protection, leaving four dead, and one injured.
Both accidents happened at coking plants at main production areas of the province, triggering provincial-wide inspections.
The safety scrutiny started on the day of the notice and will continue until the end of October, and is aimed to identify potential safety loopholes and limit the risk of fatal accidents.
With coke production affected, the inspection is likely to exacerbate supply shortage in the top coke hub, helping the third 50 yuan/t coke price hike to materialize.
Current major steelmakers have yet to accept the price hike due to bleak profit margins, except for a few mills with low coke stocks.
(Writing by Emma Yang Editing by Harry Huo)
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