□ Due to recent outbreaks of fire accidents caused by sparks that occur during welding operations in industrial sites, the Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency (KOSHA, President: Lee Young-Soon) produced and distributed videos for preventing fire accidents during welding operations.

□ Welding or fusing operations are very dangerous due to high temperature and sparks that occur when melting metal.

○ The sparks that occur during welding or fusing operations are small, with diameters of merely about 0.3 to 3mm, but their temperatures can reach up to 3,000℃. Not only that, the higher the welding workplace from the ground, the greater the risk of fire since the scattering of welding or fusing sparks gets wider.

○ Especially, sometimes when the sparks contact inflammable materials near an operating site, thermal heat build-up occurs, which can lead to fire even after some time.

□ The video that KOSHA recently produced is a 6-minute video which helps workers easily understand the fire risks that may occur during welding or fusing operations.

○ The video also features experiments on drifting distance of welding sparks, and also smoke combustion experiments for sparks that contact sandwich panels to cause fire even after a certain period of time.

○ It also presents specific safety regulations that must be followed at the site in order to prevent fire during welding or fusing operations.

□ This video for preventing fire during welding or fusing operations is posted on the website of KOSHA (www.kosha.or.kr) and also on 'Wigitalchul Anjeonbogeon'(Escaping Crisis and Safety & Health) application, so that it could be used for educational purpose.

□ Director Kim Do-Won of Training and Media Bureau of KOSHA said "in order to prevent repetition of major accidents, it is important to create an atmosphere where we can practice safety". He also added "KOSHA will continue to analyze statistics of accidents, labor environments and trends to develop materials that can be of practical help to the site workers."