The State government is promoting industries with a top priority to safety and environment in the State, Minister for Energy, Environment, Forests and Science and Technology (EFS&T) Balineni Srinivasa Reddy has said.
Mr. Srinivasa Reddy inaugurated the first webinar of the series titled ‘Planning for Enhanced Safety Performance by the Process Industry’ organised by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB), in coordination with the Factories Department and Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad on Tuesday.
Speaking on the occasion, he said the government has appointed a high-power committee to examine and analyse the circumstances leading to industrial accidents during the COVID-pandemic as part of the initiative launched on industrial safety.
Special Chief Secretary (EFS&T) presented the case study of styrene leak from the LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam and requested all the industries to go through the report of the high-power committee on the incident.
“Safety is a culture to be inculcated in the industry sector. The government is preparing an elaborate policy on safety and is formulating protocols to ensure accident-free industrial operations,” the Special Chief Secretary said.
Experts speak
APPCB Chairman B.S.S. Prasad, APPCB member secretary Vivek Yadav also took part in the webinar. National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) professor Anil K. Gupta delivered a lecture on ‘Risk Assessment and Disaster Management Plan’, while safety management specialist T.E.C.Vidyasagar spoke on safe operational practices. ASCI professor G. Balasubramanyam spoke on the role of senior management in the industry. Representatives from more than 300 major hazardous Industries and the officials of APPCB and Factories Department attended the session.
The programme was a part of a series of 12 webinar to be organised in six months—one in every 15 days— on specific topics such as Process Safety Management (PSM), Hazard Identification (HAZID), Hazard and Operability, Unit Operations. The programmes would be addressed by the experts in the respective fields.