At approximately 3:32 a.m. on January 20, 2024, a dust explosion occurred at Shenrong Metal Technology Co., Ltd. in Wujin District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province. The incident resulted in 8 fatalities, 8 minor injuries, and direct economic losses exceeding 14.83 million yuan. Following the accident, the Changzhou Municipal Emergency Management Bureau promptly organized an investigation and recently released the accident investigation report.

The investigation revealed that this incident constituted a major production safety accident. It resulted from the company's deliberate concealment of production activities and illegal equipment operation, which led to the accumulation of aluminum alloy dust. This accumulation triggered a deflagration followed by multiple simultaneous explosions. At the time of the accident, there were 29 employees present in the grinding workshop and sandblasting workshop. Ultimately, seven employees and one on-duty electrician in the dormitory lost their lives, while eight others were injured.

The report indicates that Shenrong Company exhibited serious deficiencies in safety management, including operating wet scrubbers without water, implementing dust cleaning protocols that were merely nominal, and failing to provide employees with effective safety training. Additionally, Tianwu Metal Company, the lessor of the factory premises and equipment, bears significant responsibility for the accident due to its illegal leasing of facilities to Shenrong Company and concealment of the "factory-within-a-factory" operation.

The incident exposed gaps in grassroots oversight and serious deficiencies in managing dust explosion hazards. Regulatory authorities failed to identify risks during multiple inspections, which proved to be mere formalities. Meanwhile, the company's excessive pursuit of economic gains led to neglect of safety production principles, creating conditions for the accident.

Currently, seven responsible individuals from Sunrong Company and Tianwu Metal Company have been placed under compulsory measures on suspicion of committing a major responsibility accident crime, with four of them being formally arrested. The report emphasizes the need to strengthen collaborative safety oversight for "factory-within-a-factory" operations, improve the responsibility system, and prevent similar accidents from recurring.