<Anchor> A man



in his 50s, who was treating wastewater at a chemical plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, lost consciousness and collapsed after drinking hydrogen sulfide, which was nearly 20 times higher than the standard. Police are investigating whether safety regulations are being followed at a site where hazardous chemicals are handled.



Correspondent Kim Min-jung covered the report.



<Reporter>



Yesterday (21st) morning at a chemical plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, a worker in his 50s who was working on wastewater treatment drank hydrogen sulfide and collapsed on the spot.



The concentration of hydrogen sulfide detected inside the manhole at the time of the accident was 293 ppm, which is about 20 times higher than the maximum safety limit of 15 ppm for hydrogen sulfide stipulated as a hazardous chemical.



It is known that Mr. A has not been able to recover consciousness for two days.



As a result of the police investigation, it was revealed that Mr. A had an accident when he opened the manhole cover to check the condition of the tank containing the wastewater used for manufacturing drugs.



At the time of the accident, it was investigated that A was not wearing protective equipment such as a gas mask.



[Police official: (At the company) it is correct to wear all protective equipment such as a gas mask inside, and (the accident manhole) is outside, so there is no such regulation... .]



Police and the Ministry of Environment are investigating the possibility that the company may have violated the Chemicals Control Act, which requires workers to wear protective gear when handling hazardous chemicals.



The Ministry of Environment also launched an investigation into the reason why hydrogen sulfide suddenly occurred in high concentrations.



There is a possibility that the harmful substances accumulated in the wastewater residue came out at once, and the possibility that hydrogen sulfide generated during other processes leaked and flowed into the manhole is being raised.



(Video coverage: Choi Dae-woong, video editing: Park Jin-hoon)