Search

• Characterization of hazardous chemical accidents during hot season in China. • High temperature is one of the main causes of hazardous chemical accidents. • Combustibles and explosives caused most of the accidents during hot season. • Most of hazardous chemical accidents were caused by human errors during hot season. • Provision of useful information for improving chemical safety during hot season. Because high temperature is one of the main causes of hazardous chemical accidents, these accidents frequently occur in China during hot season (from June to September). Understanding the historical accidents is important for accident prevention and risk mitigation. However, presently, no statistical analysis on the characteristics of China's hazardous chemical accidents that occurred during hot season is available. Thus, by utilising data from official sources, a statistical investigation on 76 serious hazardous chemical accidents that occurred during hot season in China (1989–2019) was performed in terms of seven aspects: region where the accident occurred, type of accident, types of hazardous chemicals, links of occurrence, size of enterprises, direct cause, and period when the accident occurred. Moreover, according to the statistical results, this paper proposes some potential countermeasures and suggestions to prevent hazardous chemical accidents during hot season in China. This study can provide useful information for preventing hazardous chemical accidents and strengthening preventive measures in chemical plants during hot season in China and in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]