A national control center for coordinating work safety and
rescue operations throughout China was established yesterday in
Beijing to upgrade the management of affairs after various
accidents and emergencies.
With five functional departments and 80 employees, the center
will operate directly under the leadership of the Work Safety
Committee of the State Council.
One of the center's most significant jobs is to work out
contingency plans following various accidents that may occur in all
sectors and carry out any rescue operations, said Li Yizhong,
minister of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS).
After putting such schemes on file for local governments and
authorities concerned, he urged workers at the center to supervise
drilling by enterprises and local authorities as a way to perfect
rescue measures, systems and material reserves.
Under the plan, managers and heads of local governments were
required to undergo training to familiarize themselves with their
duties during rescue operations.
To improve the self-protective capabilities of ordinary
citizens, Li hopes the center can publicize the proper steps to
take after an accident or hazard.
The center will also issue a set of coordinating rules for the
management of information, personnel, experts and fund guarantee
for contingency rescue operations through legislation, Li said.
More experts from scientific research institutions, colleges,
and associations from different sectors will help with studies
particularly on how to prevent coal-mine gas and the leakage of
dangerous chemicals.
Last year, there were 803,571 reported accidents of various
kinds, causing the death of 136,755 people, SAWS statistics
indicated.
Official sources said that road accidents led all categories
last year. This year, China is striving to lower the growth rate of
deaths from road accidents by 1.5 percentage points.
In the coal mining industry alone, China reported 3,639 fatal
incidents last year, with a death toll of 6,027, making it the
second most dangerous sector.
Many of those mining accidents occurred one after another during
the fourth quarter of last year.
(China Daily February 22, 2006)