Inspection of idle systems to reduce the risk of accidents in Kerala

It is revealed that the inspection of industrial facilities under Major Accident Hazard (MAHI) category, including LPG and ammonia storage facilities, by a specialized team of chemical engineers and others with expertise in relevant areas is at a standstill in the state.

“There have been no so-called priority inspections in the current year,” sources said on Monday, pointing out that inspections should be carried out at least once a year considering priority to ensure safety.

The matter assumes significance in view of a boiler explosion in Edayar Industrial Area on Saturday night. The accident at an animal fat extraction factory left one person from Odisha dead and three others injured.

Sources said around 36 such plants in the state fell under the MAHI category. They were to be inspected by a team comprising a senior chemical engineer acting as a technical officer, a chemical engineer from the Industrial Hygiene Laboratory in Kollam and the regional joint directors of the factories and boilers department, sources added.

The controls are complex and extensive. The team of experts meets union representatives as well as delegations of officials and safety committees at the industrial plants. The meeting with these stakeholders is intended to obtain their views on the security situation.

According to sources, such strict norms were introduced after the massive gas leak that led to numerous deaths and maiming of people in Bhopal in 1984. The inspections were initiated in the state in 1989 in accordance with central government norms.