Industrial safety checklist recommended to avert mishaps

June 15, 2020 6:05 pm

In the age of COVID-19 where everyone is concerned about health and safety, including at offices and factories, came another day that blighted the history of industrial safety. On 7th May 2020, there was a gas leakage reported early morning at LG Polymers’ factory in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, because of which around 11 people died and over 1,000 were affected due to the spread of styrene monomer gas. The factory had resumed operation after almost 40 days with 33 percent workers. Post the incident, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy announced `1 crore as compensation to the victims’ families.

On the same day in the afternoon, news arrived from Shakti Paper Mill in Tetla village, Raigarh, Chattisgarh about a gas leakage. Around seven workers who were cleaning an open tank fell sick after inhaling the toxic gas and were hospitalised. The mill, which had remained closed since the COVID-19 lockdown was announced, had begun cleaning work to resume operations soon. The mishap came to light only after hospital authorities alerted the police.

As people grappled to come to terms with these two leakages that occurred within a few hours apart of each other, news came again from Tamil Nadu in the evening, when eight workers sustained burn injuries in a boiler blast at NLC India Limited’s thermal power station (TPS) II in Neyveli. The company suspects that overheat and high pressure might have caused the explosion of the outlet unit of the boile.

However, the exact cause of all these accidents has not yet been revealed. In an era when newer and better standards of industrial safety are being implemented across industries, it is truly unfortunate that these plants caused some heavy losses of human life and property, leading to the deaths and injuries of not only the workers of the factories, but also those living near these outlets. It is hoped that factories and offices resuming operations amidst and after the lockdown take more steps to safeguard their workers and employees not just against the coronavirus, but also against such untoward mishaps.