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

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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.

Static electricity experience

Yesterday, I was talking to my colleague sitting in a plastic chair. When he got up to go out, his fingers touched my shoulder and I felt needle like pricking. He also felt sudden shock and could hear some sound. We thought this may be due to static charge on the body as he was sitting on a plastic chair and during movement, and may be because of synthetic dress, some charge accumulated on the body discharged in the form of sparkling sound.
Few times, I feel pain at the edges of the fingers when I touch clothes in the spinner of the washing machine. Reason may be same, due to charge accumulated during the spinning action.

Apple probes blast at Chinese plant linked to iPad | Deccan Chronicle

There is a blast in a plant that makes ipad2 for Apple company, during which 2 persons died and another 16 were injured. What I appreciate is the statement by the company about halting the production till the investigation is completed. How many companies stop production like this. Stopping the production because of regulator is different to stopping production voluntarily by the management. Demonstration of commitment to safety will be reflected by such acts and employees will get moral boost that company management cares for them and this lead to increased productivity. The details are available in the following link.

Apple probes blast at Chinese plant linked to iPad Deccan Chronicle
An analysis of the attitude of MNCs towards of safety of employees in their outsourced site jobs appeared in Mint magazine on 04.06.2011.

Disaster - after checks before reuse

There is a good article on what should be done before using a facility after disaster occurs.The article quotes about list of safety tips from the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) that should be considered following a disaster:
One should be more cautious and check twice all systems in place for using a facility involved in a disaster than a new facility as one does not know about the extent of damage and condition of building, services, equipment, piping, safety systems, etc. Outwardly, building may appear in good condition, but not actually. It is like entering a devil's cave. We have to do tests like hammer test, ultrasonic tests, etc to know about invisible cracks and disintegration inside the columns and beams.

Gas leak and explosion at a refinery in Iran

A gas leak and subsequent explosion and fire at a refinery in Iran killed 4 people and injured 25 persons. It is reported that the incident occurred when the facility was made ready overnight for inauguration. If the facility is to be inaugurated for some reason, may be it can done without starting the facility, if systems are not in place. It is appropriate for authorities to enquire about status of the facility, obtaining of statutory clearances, systems in place, etc., before accepting invitation for inauguration as any incident like this can damage their reputation. I saw a CEO enquiring with the safety department head before inauguration about the safety readiness of the facility and whether they issued clearance for starting operations or not. There are instances of not accepting the invitation when safety clearances were not obtained. Though it looks strange for others, but it demonstrates concern about safety of the employees and public from the facility operations.

Penalty for delayed reporting of incident

As per reports, a gas production facility will be penalized upto  $ 50,000 for alerting the authorities 2 hrs late about bursting of gas and salt water from one of its wells. This appears to be of very high standards, as generally many incidents including gas leak go without reporting.  In another facility of the same facility, spilled diesel was contained and contaminated soil was removed. Again, this is also great as nobody cares about spillages even outside facilities and replacing the soil within the facility is a good move. Australian authorities appear to be strict in respect of rules and regulations and is better for safety of the people, if it is implemented in toto everywhere.

Air receiver blast

There was a blast during the cleaning of gas turbine in a polymers factory that makes cans, jars, etc. It is reported that the the valve of the gas turbine suddenly blew up that caused ripping of roof and fragments caused injury to a woman nearby. As per the news in a local news paper, due to malfunctioning of safety valve on the air receiver, the air receiver exploded. As Monday was holiday for the factory, it is reported that no injuries took place in the factory. It is luck that the person involved in the work is safe though the roof sheets blew off but did not fall on him. It is not known what precautions were taken before taking up the cleaning job, like, i) emptying the vessel and purging with inert gas and then purging with air, ii) positive isolation of all lines leading to and from the tank, iii) checking for presence of flammable concentrations in the tank, iv) checking for oxygen level, v) job hazard analysis, vi) supervision and so on.

As the work was taken up on factory holiday and incident happened, one should be careful when planning such maintenance jobs on holidays it should be ensured that safety work permit is obtained and supervision is provided.