The second quarter of this year is witnessing a turn for the better regarding workplace safety thanks to a nationwide overhaul by the workplace-safety authorities and corrective and preventive measures taken by all sectors, Wang Xianzheng, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, told a nationwide videoconference Wednesday.

"At the same time, the workplace-safety situation in some areas and sectors remains severe," Wang warned.

Between the start of the year and Tuesday of this week, Wang's administration received reports of 375,370 workplace accidents that claimed the lives of 43,286 people. The number of accidents was down 35,189 on the figure for the same period of last year, while 1,622 fewer people were killed.

Of all the accidents, 56 were classified as "extraordinarily serious," involving more than 10 fatalities each. Those 56 accidents killed 998 people overall, mainly in road accidents and incidents relating to water transportation, dangerous chemicals and coal mining, Wang said.

Nationwide safety inspections arranged by the State Council were launched in early April and they have been effective, Wang said.

The State Council will also dispatch inspection teams to carry out on-the-spot checks in different sectors, provinces and regions.

Taking the coal-mining sector as an example, the director analyzed the causes of a fatal gas explosion at a coal mine in East China's Anhui Province on May 13. He said preliminary investigations have shown that a poor ventilation system and operational loopholes led to the tragedy, which killed 86 miners.

In another development, rescuers in North China's Shanxi Province have been working round the clock to search for 15 missing miners after two accidents caused by a gas explosion and a water leak early this week. Ten people were confirmed dead and another 40 were saved, according to Wang's administration. "The greatest threat to a miner's safety in China's coal mines is gas explosions," Wang said.

Another concern is the resurgence of illegal small coal mines ordered to shut down by the government, the official added.

"The organizations running these illegal mines should be dismantled," he said.

Wang said governments and workplace-safety departments at different levels and enterprises should study the Law on Workplace Safety, which took effect on November 1 last year, to ensure that workplace safety becomes a reality.

(China Daily May 22, 2003)