Annual Report on High Pressure Gas
Related Accidents(2017 version)

The High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan (KHK)1.

Introduction

This Annual Report is a compilation of statistics on accidents related to the High Pressure Gas Safety Act
that occurred between 1998 and 2017, with a focus on accidents resulting in injury or death, especiallythose occurred at manufacturing plants for high pressure gas.
Note that among high pressure gas-related accidents, this Annual Report excludes those involving general
consumers, which pertain to the Act on the Securing of Safety and the Optimization of Transaction ofLiquefied Petroleum Gas.
About accidents resulting in injury or death“Accidents resulting in injury or death” refer to accidents resulting in death, serious
injury, or minor injury to a total of one or more people.
The definitions of death, serious injury, and minor injury are as follows.
Death: the victim dies within five days of the occurrence of the accident.
Serious injury: the victim requires at least 30 days for treatment of injuries.
Minor injury: the victim requires less than 30 days for treatment of injuries.
2.

Changes in the numbers of accidents resulting in injury or death and of deaths related to theHigh Pressure Gas Safety Act

The changes in the numbers of accidents resulting in injury or death and of deaths related to the High
Pressure Gas Safety Act between 1998 and 2017 are shown in Fig. 1. Between 23 and 57 accidents
resulting in injury or death occur each year, with numbers remaining steady overall. The number of deaths
range between one and six people per year.

Fig. 1: Changes in the numbers of accidents resulting in injury or death and of deaths related to the HighPressure Gas Safety Act (1998 - 2017)

Copyright © The High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan1

3.

Changes in the numbers of accidents resulting in injury or death and of deaths at manufacturing
plants for high pressure gas

The changes in the numbers of accidents resulting in injury or death and of deaths at manufacturing plants
for high pressure gas between 1998 and 2017 are shown in Fig. 2. The total number of accidents resulting
in injury or death fluctuates with a maximum of 17 per year. Looked at by industry, the largest number ofaccidents resulting in injury or death occur in the “Other industrial gas” field. The “Other industrial gas”
field includes filling stations, ironworks, food manufacturing, etc. The second-largest number of accidents
resulting in injury or death occurs in the “General chemicals” field, with the number of accidents resulting
in injury or death occurring in the “Other industrial gas” and “General chemicals” fields together making
up around 90% of all accidents resulting in injury or death.

Fig. 2: Change in the numbers of accidents resulting in injury or death at manufacturing plants for highpressure gas (1998 - 2017)

Copyright © The High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan2

Fig. 3 shows the numbers of deaths in accidents occurring at manufacturing plants for high pressure gas.
There have been 12 deaths over the past 20 years. Looked at by industry, a large number of deaths, those ofeight people, have occurred in the “Other industrial gas” field. The “Other industrial gas” fieldencompasses accidents which take place at filling stations and in refrigerating and air conditioning, and thecauses of accidents resulting in deaths include the bursting of containers, leakage of poisonous gases, etc.
On the other hand, there have been no accidents resulting in deaths in the “Oil refining” field between 1998
and 2017.

Fig. 3: Change in the numbers of deaths at manufacturing plants for high pressure gas (1998 - 2017)

Copyright © The High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan

3

4.

Analysis of accidents resulting in injury or death at manufacturing plants for high pressure gas
by type of phenomenon

4.1. Breakdown of types of phenomenon involved in accidents resulting in injury or death atmanufacturing plants for high pressure gas (2017)
The breakdown of the types of phenomenon involved in the 11 accidents resulting in injury or death which
occurred at manufacturing plants for high pressure gas in 2017 and the numbers of resulting deaths areshown in Table 1. Among the types of phenomenon involved in accidents resulting in injury or death,“Leakages” were the most common, with five incidents, followed in descending order by “Fires,explosions,” “Bursting, ruptures, etc.” and “Other.”
Note that accidents in which leakages led to explosions or fires are classified as “Explosions” or “Fires.”
Table 1: Breakdown of types of phenomenon involved in accidents resulting in injury or death atmanufacturing plants for high pressure gas (2017)
Phenomenon causing the accident
Leakages
Fires, explosions
Leakages → Fires
Fires
Explosions
Bursting, ruptures, etc.
Other (oxygen deficiency within the tank)
Total

Number of cases
52110007

Number of deaths
00000000

4.2 Changes in the numbers of accidents caused by fires and explosions and of resulting deaths at
manufacturing plants for high pressure gas
Of the accidents resulting in injury or death which occurred at manufacturing plants for high pressure gas
between 1998 and 2017, the change in the numbers caused by fires and explosions is shown in Fig. 4.
Looked at by industry, many of the accidents resulting in injury or death caused by fires and explosions
occurred in the “Other industrial gas” field, a similar trend to that seen in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4: Change in the numbers of accidents caused by fires and explosions at manufacturing plants for highpressure gas (1998 - 2017)

Copyright © The High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan4Fig. 5 shows the change in the numbers of deaths at manufacturing plants for high pressure gas related toaccidents caused by fires and explosions. There were three deaths in the 20 years between 1998 and 2017.
By comparison with Fig. 3, we can see that of the accidents resulting in injury or death, which occurred atmanufacturing plants for high pressure gas, nine deaths were caused by accidents other than fires orexplosions.

Fig. 5: Change in the numbers of deaths due to accidents caused by fires and explosions at manufacturing
plants for high pressure gas (1998 - 2017)
4.3 Changes in the numbers of accidents caused by leakages (excluding leakages which led to fires
or explosions) and of resulting deaths at manufacturing plants for high pressure gas
Of the accidents resulting in injury or death, which occurred at manufacturing plants for high pressure gas
between 1998 and 2017, the change in the number caused only by leakages is shown in Fig. 6. Looked atby industry, many of the accidents resulting in injury or death caused by leakage occurred in the “Otherindustrial gas” field, a similar trend to that seen in Fig. 2.

Copyright © The High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan

5Fig. 6: Change in the numbers of accidents caused by leakages at manufacturing plants for high pressuregas (1998 – 2017)
Fig. 7 shows the change in the numbers of deaths at manufacturing plants for high pressure gas related toaccidents caused by leakages. There were five deaths in the 20 years between 1998 and 2017. The maincause of accidents resulting in deaths was leakage of poisonous gases.

Fig. 7: Change in the numbers of deaths due to accidents caused by leakages at manufacturing plants forhigh pressure gas (1998 -– 2017)
From Figs. 3, 5, and 7, we can see that the greatest number of deaths arose from accidents caused byleakages, followed by fires and explosions. Other causes of accidents resulting in deaths include thebursting of containers and oxygen deficiency during the overhaul inspection of storage tanks.

Copyright © The High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan

6

Contact for inquiries related to this document

The High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan (KHK)
Information & International Affairs Department
International Affairs Division4-3-13 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8447
TEL: +81-3-3436-2201 FAX: +81-3-3438-4163
Web: http://www.khk.or.jp/english/index.html
MAIL: oversea@khk.or.jp
Copyright © The High Pressure Gas Safety Institute of Japan