With the Visakhapatnam gas tragedy claiming 10 lives, industrial units in the State have been asked to check for toxic gas accumulation in their storage systems before resuming operations.
All underground and overhead storage tanks should be checked for accumulated toxic gases, suggested a 16-point circular issued by P. Pramod, Director of Factories and Boilers. There were around 40 major industrial units which were prone to major accident hazards, said Mr. Pramod.
It is estimated that there are around 150 major units that could be classified as hazardous ones. Small units such as ice plants and latex-based industrial units too may resume functioning after the lockdown period.
The factories have been directed to safely flush their process pipelines for clearing toxic fumes. The vapour which might have got accumulated in the line should be neutralised and all pipelines leak-tested before making the units functional. Proper personal protection equipment should be ensured for workers engaged in the initial cleaning and start-up process to address any possible leakage or presence of toxic gases.
All detection systems, including sensors for toxic and inflammable gas and emergency systems, should be made functional and relevant start-up procedures adhered to. Emergency services should be kept on standby or on-site emergency plans activated for meeting unforeseen situations.
The department has instructed that all buildings should be ventilated before admitting any personnel. A designated safety officer should verify that the buildings are properly ventilated.
Meanwhile, environmentalists said the Visakhapatnam incident should serve as an eye-opener for Kerala, as a large number of chemical factories functioned in the Aluva, Edayar, Eloor and Kalamassery belt of Kochi. Some units had become non-functional and hazardous waste, both in the liquid and gas forms, was stored in them, C.R Neelakandan, environmental activist, said.
Purushan Eloor, environmentalist, demanded a safety audit in the industrial units in the Eloor-Edayar belt where such accidents had taken place earlier.
The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) has asked all chemical and other industrial units handling toxic chemicals/materials to resume the operations only after adopting safety and pollution control measures. The units that have been functioning during the lockdown period should maintain their safety and pollution control measures, K.P. Sudheer, PCB chairman, said.