Chemical plants' safety a work in progress

Meanwhile, newer projects tend to have huge, expensive factories with vast amounts of machinery. These facilities pose a different kind of risk.

"If accidents happen at such big projects, the effect will be terrible and the impact huge," he said.

Given these conditions, industry insiders said communication between Chinese companies and their foreign counterparts is significant, because all the major international chemical companies operate in China.

"We promote our members' best practices in China", said Jeremy Burks, chairman of the Association of International Chemical Manufacturers and president of Dow Corning Greater China. "Much chemical expertise and the experience of foreign companies can be applied in China," he said.

Founded in 1988, the association represents more than 50 international chemical enterprises that have major investments in China.

"China's chemical companies are changing their attitudes toward work safety, and they are willing to invest more time and money in it, which is very encouraging," said Burks.

He said the biggest challenge for China's chemical industry safety at present is to build up knowledge and expertise.

"Maybe it's not fashionable to choose the work safety sector in the chemical industry in China, but it is really crucial for the companies," he said.

"Good safety leads to higher reliability and quality, which helps companies achieve cost- effectiveness. Investments in safety will yield a higher return than they realize," he said.