Gujarat Govt. directs chemical, hazardous units to take adequate safety measures

In the wake of the gas leak incident in a chemical plant in Andhra Pradesh last week, the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) has directed chemical and other hazardous industries in the state to take adequate safety measures at the time of restarting operations post-lockdown as well as permitted factory during lockdown.

“At the time of restarting the factory, the initial process should be done under the supervision of a senior technical engineer who is properly trained with the control and safety systems. Moreover, all workers should ensure use of proper and approved Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at the time of restarting the factory and throughout their work hours,” a circular by the DISH said.

The circular directs factories to prepare a safe operating process and work accordingly.

Vipul Mittra, ACS, Labour and Employment department, said that the state government is committed to the safety of workers, and hence they have issued the circular asking factories to conduct prior safety checks and to strictly comply with safety guidelines to avoid industrial mishaps.

“We have asked factories to thoroughly inspect the storage tanks for poisonous gas and pressure in view of the hot weather conditions. We have also directed them to check safety systems such as pressure gauges and pressure relieving devices, and to calibrate them if needed before resuming work at the factories,” he said.

Mittra said that they have asked factories to inspect systems installed to detect poisonous gases and flammable gases, and to ensure that the critical safety systems are not by-passed at any cost.

“We have asked factories to regularly conduct a check of the emergency system and to ensure that it is operational. They have also been directed to maintain an adequate quantity of neutralizing media and antidotes in the premises,” he said further.

Among other measures, the circular directed factories to ensure that first aid, firefighting equipment, breathing apparatus, and other emergency equipment are in an operational condition, to limit hazardous inventory, and to ensure that there is no chemical process variance in the factory.