Green Chemistry

There is an article in Chemical & Engineering News on 27.06.2011 about green chemistry, the history behind its development, 12 principles of green chemistry, sustainability and its role in accident prevention and environment protection and its use in business.

Home poisons - tips to handle the dangers

There is an article in The Phillippine Star about 10 most common poisons at home that are likely to harm children health and one of the poison in the list is paracetamol, though I do not know how it can cause harm. An article in internet is given here about paracetamol use and hazards. The other items in the list include kerosene, caustic, paint thinner, pesticides and button cell batteries. Tips given for preventing poisoning include reading product labels about hazards, usage and disposal, personal hygiene, proper storage, etc.

Slipping on ice

Last week I was on a personal tour and walked a bit on snow mountains. I saw water flowing down under ice and some of the tourists are sliding from heights on a sledge nearby. There were no barricades to prevent accidental fall into flowing water from ice melting, ending up under ice in-between and resurfacing at distance away. If any anybody looses control during sliding/skating, he/she may not be alive as it is likely that the passage under the ice is not big enough to allow onto the other end and one can not climb back as the water is flowing at great force. This is first time I went to snow mountains and is a lesson for me.

Heavy winds upturn 7 containers and flyoff 2 drivers

There were reports of heavy winds in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India on 10.06.2011. Seven containers on the road were upturned, two drivers on the road flew 20 feet high and fell down receiving injuries and broken bones/joints, many electric poles, houses and trees were uprooted. The wind speed was about 500 kmph. Incidents like this are rare in India.
Now imagine if somebody is working on the building roof (work at height jobs) or trestles. Normally in coastal areas, wind speeds are very high and may reach even 200 kmph. This, if coupled with low pressure and accompanying heavy winds can lead to above incidents. In maintenance jobs of roofs, safety advisor will not allow work on roof during winds and rain because of the apprehension that asbestos/metallic sheet roofs can fly off, persons at the top will not have strong foothold, asbestos sheets can become soft due to rain and lead to fall of persons. But maintenance department views such advise as hindrance to work and pass sarcastic comments. The video link is to be seen by such people so that they can be careful in future.

Dust explosion

There is one more dust explosion at Hoeganaes facility, Tennessee on May 27th in which two persons died and another is seriously injured. Earlier in the explosion on 31st January, two persons died and a person was injured during the flash fire on 29th March. My post on 14th May gives some details of iron dust explosion provided at CSB website. The latest incident appears to be initiated by hydrogen gas leak from 3x7 inch hole on a hydrogen pipe in a trench. The trench also contains nitrogen and water lines. After hearing hissing sound from the trench, nearby annealing furnace operators informed maintenance who unsuccessfully tried to remove the trench cover. Later tried to open with the metal chain hooked to a forklift and during cover opening, a flash and explosion occurred. The statement for news conference on June 3, 2011 by CSB gives status of their investigations and a short video (1:16 min) on iron dust flash fire experiment.
The shortfalls at the plant identified are poor containment of dust, improper dust collection, thick layers of dust, unsuitable electrical fittings and availability of various ignition sources nearby.These types of causes are well reported and NFPA Standard 484 and we fail to take measures to eliminate these types of causes.
Providing dust containment and collection, elimination of ignition sources, flameproof electrical fittings, providing and maintaining obstruction-free aisles, regular wet mopping and incineration of mops at safe distance, testing of electrical continuity between equipment and earth pits, maintaining 50-60% humidity, use of antistatic uniform and PPE are some of the measures that will surely help in avoiding such incidents.

17 year old dies during height increase exercise

A 17 year old boy dies due to entanglement of nylon cloth sari. He used to practice height improvement exercise by hanging from ceiling and at the time of the incident nobody was present in the house. As the local inspector found this during his initial investigation means that others in the house know about this. The boy should have been counselled to desist from such so called exercises. It is unfortunate to have such accidents and we can't call this type of accident as freak. Children, if not corrected at young age, will develop wrong attitudes and their whole life will be at risk.

Protect children from pollution - a cartoon in Deccan Chronicle

A cartoon on pollution in the cities and protecting school going children from pollution.
Counterpoint Deccan Chronicle

LINK

Electrocution of two contract workers

As per news paper report, two persons died while climbing down the electric pole after doing repair jobs on a 11 kv feeder line. As per the reports, after the incident, other contract employees disconnected the power supply. It is a basic rule to deenergize the lines before taking up any maintenance jobs on or near electrical lines, electrical fittings and restore power supply only after ensuring that the planned work is completed and persons landed down safely.
As I mentioned in my earlier posts, one should not opt for shortcuts. There is no urgency in restoring the power supply, when lives of workers on the line are at risk. If the rules are not followed, then incidents like this continue to occur. Rules are repository of experiences so many persons who lost their lives and we need not learn afresh by endangering our own lives. Proper supervision is also required, particularly when we engage contract workers as they live on daily wages and do not have facilities like those regular employees. We should not cut cost at the cost of valuable lives.

Fall and death of a boy in corn machine

As mentioned in a local news paper report, a boy died due to fall in the corn processing machine while adding corn to the machine. The 14 year old boy went to fields with his buffaloes and he was engaged in the machine feeding job. The boy's head and part of the body got crushed in the machine. As per the picture, it appears that there is no proper access and platform for doing the job, and no guard rail/barricade to prevent fall of persons. I am not clear whether Factories Act and Rules can be applied or not, but the spirit of the rules can be followed in all walks of life. As per the rules, children should not be engaged for work on or near moving machinery. Even local government rules prohibit engaging child labour. The news paper report in local language can be read here. 

Case study - compressed air turns man into a balloon

All of us know the hazards of compressed air when targeted on persons. Here is an incident which almost lead to bursting of the person. Though the action is not intended by the victim, still one needs to learn from this incident and should secure pressurised hoses to avoid like in this news item.