Which accidents are acceptable?

Now a days, people are opposing setting up of every factory.  The reasons cited are accidents, pollution, etc. Projects are delayed and costs run high. Opposition is expressed going to the extent of damaging public property. At the same time, governments are blamed for unemployment, inability to provided public amenities, and so on. Where from funds will come for governments to spend. Only when overall development happens, taxes are paid honestly and participate in  programmes, governments can do something to its people.

Everybody is concerned about accidents. But, concerns are very high about industrial accidents particularly those related to chemical industry, which are rare. Everyday, many persons die/get injured in road accidents. Many die due to  alcohol/tobacco/drug use, adventure sports, cancer, pollution, different lifestyles, etc. The number of persons affected with these are very high compared to those due to industrial activities.  

This makes us wonder which accidents are acceptable/normal and which are not? Are we accepting regular/routine deaths and illness due to our own making in the course of having our own lifestyle and taking them in our stride as a part of life. And, fear about others.

We enjoy our lifestyle every moment and therefore its ill effects are acceptable? Whereas direct benefits from industries are less visible though indirect benefits are huge and can become apparent only when they are closed.

Every activity will have both positive and negative aspects and we draw a line. But, we magnify the events in industries and ignore those outside. 

We should have realistic approach so that industries can be setup incorporating all measures for safety of people and environment. While issuing clearances, authorities have to ensure that clearances are not issued in violation of rules or by finding loop holes in the law.

Accidents during training

A navy officer drowned, when the commander asked him to jump into sea, as a part of training. Contradicting reports state about divers in the sea waters before start of exercises. It is stated that the navy officer was not wearing any life jacket at the time of the incident.
Such accidents can occur in any where, if proper precautions are not taken. Statistics on industrial accidents reveal that most of those injured are trainees/apprentices/contractor workers or those who were allotted new jobs different from what they were doing earlier. It is likely that to cut costs, companies engage trainees/apprentices/contractor workers for skilled jobs. In the absence of proper training, lack of knowledge on hazards involved in the operations and hesitation by these persons to ask for information lead to accidents endangering their lives and that of others. The accidents that are reported regularly in the media confirm this practice.
To avoid such accidents, irrespective of the nature of the job and position of the person, compulsory training shall be provided to them and necessary safety instructions in the form safe operating procedures, checklists, data sheets, emergency procedures, etc should be taught and documents are issued for ready reference.
Managements will certainly reap the benefits of such training provided in the form of safe work atmosphere and better productivity.

Role of behavior in accident reduction

I read an article in (India) Industrial Safety Review (June 2011) on the role of behavior in accident reduction. One particular statement in the article is true for all organizations. The statement reads as, "showing zero accidents record and international certifications do not really ensure safe organization unless we target zero unsafe behaviors at workplaces".
In many organizations, their address will also contains about ISO/OHSAS certification. With the mushroom growth of certifying agencies, competition to get business and marketing skills, these certificates appear to be only for name sake. It is not possible for certifying agencies also to check thoroughly for compliance with applicable requirements, as their audits are based on random sampling. Instead of relying on these certificates, many organizations are developing their own systems to verify the credentials of the company with which they intend to deal with by site visits, field inspections, data collection, interaction with teams of production, quality, safety and health to assess compliance with standards and their own requirements. Certificates also induce a false sense of security/safety among the employees and lead to bad work culture.

In this context, I liked the above statement. Though every organization targets zero accident status, as the author said correctly, the approach should be, intolerance to unsafe behaviors rather than aiming to prevent major accidents. It is true that, to have such status coupled with rewards linked to accident-free working periods, the accidents are not reported.
To achieve true zero accident status, the author suggested, i) forming teams, ii) observing the work for some time, iii) not to blame the persons for at-risk behaviors, iv) interacting with the persons to find the cause for behavior, v) getting suggestions/feedback, vi) maintaining list of critical behaviors, vii) implementing measures for correct behavior by way of training, awareness, monitoring and feed back.
It is stated in an article that the returns will be 3-6 times for every dollar spent on training. Safety inspections by safety department are nothing but monitoring/policing. Any unsafe act or condition observed by safety department will be corrected at that time and it will repeat again, the moment safety inspector leaves the workspot. Unless the persons actually performing the work are aware of their risky behavior, and correct themselves, accidents can't be brought down to zero level by safety department alone.

Nuclear power: The case for a safe, alternative energy source

Wish you all a happy and safe new year 2012.

An article in The Washington Times briefs about nuclear energy as an alternate safe power. Though, every individual sees nuclear energy in his own way, still, it appears as the future alternative after all fossil fuel resources are exhausted in the coming decades.
As an engineering student twenty five years ago, I read about the limited availability of fossil fuels and that they will last only for about twenty years. But, new finds take us to next forty to fifty years. However, the projected solar and wind power as future energy at that time are still nowhere to meet even a fraction of the energy demand. Further, pollution from fossil fuel usage is affecting all walks of life and there is a wide spread global movement for gradual reduction of emissions.
Finally when a day comes with no fossil fuels, we can't start construction of nuclear reactors at that time and keep our fingers crossed. Like water wars, there can be more energy wars in the next fifty years. Already, countries are in search of whatever energy sources available to acquire and secure their future safe. When no other alternate energy sources are availabe to meet growing demands, we have to go for nuclear energy.
Worldwide, thousands of persons work in nuclear power plants and there is not much evidence/data to say that these workers are affected. The risk levels in nuclear industry are far less than that in other industries. It appears that we accept the injuries and deaths in other industries as they occur regularly and fear about the rare events in nuclear industry.

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/21st-century-pacifist/2011/dec/28/case-safe-alternative-energy-source-nuclear-power/
Nuclear power: The case for a safe, alternative energy source

LINK

Fire in Russian submarine

News reports about Russian nuclear submarine fire state that the fire was extinguished after 24 hr fire fighting. The flames rose 10 m above the submarine. No radiation leak is reported. The reactor was shutdown and onboard weapons were removed before repairs. Nine persons were hospitalized for CO poisoning. It is stated that the fire could have started due to sparks from welding falling on wooden scaffolding and also the rubber coating on the submarine which helps in reducing the noise and prevent detection by enemies.
This incident is a lesson about safety measures to be taken during welding by removing all possible combustibles in the area (atleast 15 m around), cover combustibles which can't be moved with fire resistant cloth, keep atleast minimum number of fire extinguishers ready near the place of work, training to the concerned persons about hazards and safety measures to be followed and proper supervision.

Gas leak smelled 80 miles away

A gas well leak through a quarter inch hole in the valve spread 80 miles down causing throat irritation and rotten egg smell. It is estimated that 135,000 cubic feet gas leaked before it was noticed and arrested. It is reported that the smell is due to high level sulfur compounds in the mercaptans collected in the gas at the well.
The reason for spread of gas so far is stated as "combination of a light south wind and an inversion of cold air trapped below low clouds with warmer atmosphere above the clouds prevented the gas dispersing upward and caused the gas to be closer to the ground, spreading the gas so far north".
Normally, when software models are used for particular weather conditions, we get dispersion distances which appear to be on higher side. "Experts" in the field too question such results stating that they are illogical. But, this incident is warning to users, emergency responders and regulators to be conservative on distance of impact and take protective measures in the area falling under this.

Grayling gas leak smelled 80 miles away

http://www.petoskeynews.com/gaylord/news/ght-n-gasleak-122811,0,693297.story

Fire in a chemical factory

It is reported that in a pharma company, a solvent splashed onto the electrical cables above, due to pressure inside a chemical reactor and this started a fire. Exploding chemical reactors during the fire spread the fire to adjacent factory. Two persons died and four persons were injured in the incident. See the photo here.
http://vebtoday.com/news/andhra-politics/fire-mishap-at-patancheru-pharma-firm.html

NDMA to prepare guidelines for emergencies in hospitals

It is reported that National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will prepare guidelines to handle emergencies in hospitals. This follows the fire incident at AMRI hospital on 09.12.2011 at Kolkata recently that claimed 93 lives. The guidelines include clarity on roles and responsibilities.

Gas cutting - Two workers burnt and four injured during the fire

It is reported that two workers died and four more were injured during gas cutting of an abandoned chemical plant machinery in a resultant fire. The chemical factory not in use for two years was purchased and renovation work was taken up. While cutting the big machinery with gas cutters, the sparks fell on the plastic boxes nearby that contained residual chemicals and quick spread of fire caused the deaths and injuries. The fire was brought under control after four hours of struggle.

To avoid such incidents, ensure:

1. equipment free from chemicals/combustibles inside and outside
2. absence of all combustibles/ inflammable atleast within 15 m radius of proposed hot work to avoid flying sparks falling on these materials
3. sufficient pressure in oxygen and cutting gas cylinders
4. good condition of hoses, torches
5. flashback arrestors in both hose lines
6. use of friction lighter
7. clear means of access/egress
8. availability of minimum numbers of extinguishers
9. sufficient illumination and ventilation
10. training
11. supervision, etc

Welder dies in blast

In an incident on 16.12.2011 Friday at visakhapatnam, a welder died and another person was injured due to gas cylinder explosion in a tinkering painting workshop. Police suspect the blast is due broken knob of a gas cylinder. The deceased suffered a fatal blow to his skull in the blast.
In another report on the same incident, it is stated that explosion occurred when the person was trying to open a carbon machine and the cylinder exploded and hit his head.
From the above two reports, it appears that the person while working on some equipment/machine, an unintentional action led to hitting and breaking of the adjacent gas cylinder knob and flying of the knob (like a rocket?) hit his head causing the death.
Normally welding gas cylinders are kept in the trolley and chained. The broken knob should not have caused explosion unless other wise it is not secured and is acetylene cylinder. As acetylene is not stable and is sensitive to pressure/impact/shock, any fall of unsecured acetylene cylinder can lead to such explosion. May be the broken knob dislodging with great force due to cylinder gas pressure could have hit the skull and led to death.

In a similar incident earlier at another place, it is reported that a broken knob lead to gas release at high pressure and the resultant blast killed a person.