SAFETY HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT LEARNINGS AND SHARING IDEAS
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Compiled By: Arun Joshi, Deputy Manager (F&S)
CHLORINE GAS LEAKAGE INCIDENT
(SAFETY CASE STUDY)
LOCATION: TATA MOTORS, TOWNSHIP WATER FILTER PLANT, JAMSHEDPUR
Jharkhand CM blames Tata Motors for gas leakage
28 May 2008, 1141 hrs IST,PTI
JAMSHEDPUR: Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda on Wednesday alleged that
negligence byTata Motors
had led to the leakage of chlorine gas from its water filter plant in Jamshedpurfollowing which 180 persons were admitted in hospital.
"I was told that
an unused chlorine cylinder had been lying in the plant for the last 10years, and the gas leaked from that cylinder,"
Koda, who visited the hospital inJamshedpur on Wednesday morning to enquire about those, admitted there, said.
"The incident could have been averted had the cylinder been removed from the
place. It is a clear case of negligence,"
Koda, who was accompanied by Deputy ChiefMinister Sudhir Mahto, said.
Alleging that the gas leak was caused due to
"negligence" on the part of Tata Motors, Mahtosaid quoting the official that
the "gas cylinder was left abandoned in the company premisesafter the technology being followed in the plant by the company became obsolete about
15-16 years back."
Tata Motors said the leak started at 4:30 pm and is currently investigating the cause. The
gas leak is at the Jamshedpur township water treatment unit and not at the automobile
unit. All gas leak victims have been moved to the company-run hospital.
After the leakage on Tuesday afternoon, altogether 180 persons with breathing problems were
admitted in hospital.
Later in a statement, Tata Motors said the chlorine leak has been plugged and about 60-70
residents who reported breathing difficulty have been admitted to the Tata Motors hospital in
Jamshedpur.
Two Tata Motors' officials arrested for gas leak
29 May 2008, 1210 hrs IST, PTI
JAMSHEDPUR: Two officials of Tata Motors have been arrested in connection with the chlorine
gas leakage from the water treatment plant of the company, which left about 180 people
hospitalized.
Deputy General Manager of Tata Motors (Safety), Samir Kumar Ghatak and Water Treatment
Plant Chief, B K Sarkar were arrested on charges of negligence on Wednesday night,
Superintendent of Police Navin Kumar Singh on Thursday said.
The FIR was registered under Telco police station against ten officials including Ghatak and
Sarkar under section 308, 338, 337, 278 and 284 IPC.
According to East Singhbhumsuperintendent of police Navin K Singh, the two officials have been booked under Sections
278, 284, 308, 337, 338, 34 of the IPC.
“The sections briefly say the officials were legally bound under the Factories Act to keep
the working environment safe, it was an omission on their part not to have fulfilled their
legal liabilities,” said the SP talking to FE on Thursday, adding that the two officials “had
knowledge that the illegal omission could cause death.”
Although there have been no deaths, several people were fell ill by the gas leakage, leading
us to apply Section 308 instead of Section 304, he said.
Some of the sections pertain to negligence in handling chemicals/gaseous fumes and causing
danger to public safety, with the gravest offence inviting a maximum penalty of imprisonment
ranging from three to six years.
The FIR was lodged against the
Tata Motors plant head, plant occupier, general manager(manufacturing), DGM (civil) AK Patel, AGM Manoj Ram, DGM (safety) Samir K Ghatak, a
supervisor and water treatment plant in-charge BK Sarkar along with Jusco’s head (water
division) GS Basu and Tanmay Bist.
Tata Motors, few months back, had handed over the water treatment plant to Jamshedpur
Utilities & Services Company (Jusco), a Tata Steel subsidiary which provides civic amenities, for
running & maintaining it.
Chlorine gas leak at Tata's Jamshedpur plant
2008-05-27 20:46:07 Source : News Bulletins/CNBC-TV18
There has been a chlorine gas leak at a plant in Tata Township in Jamshedpur, reports CNBCTV18.
About 100 people have been hospitalized due to breathing problems.
Excerpts from an interview:
Q: What’s the latest situation there, how many people have been evacuated?
A: At present, we talked to the authorities concerned; they said that evacuation at present is
not necessary, but as a precautionary measure we have used the public address system and
vehicles to inform people around what has happened and what are the do’s and don’ts they
need to do. Some hundred people were taken to the hospital, they have been treated now and
they all are out of danger.
Q: Has the leak bought completely under control?
A: Out of the
three cylinders that were leaking, two of them have been taken care of, thereis one more which is in the process of being taken care of and the gas left in the cylinder is
also very less
as per the technical experts.Q: So you are saying that there is not too much of danger currently from those leaking
cylinders?
A: We are still saying that the experts should take all possible care so that it doesn’t
repeat. So the TELCO management is on the job.
Post Fall-Arrest Rescue
John has been assigned to make some minor repairs in an elevated work location. Because John’s employer is conscientious about safety, he has been equipped and trained to use a fall-arrest harness with a 6-foot shock-absorbing lanyard and has been told about self-rescue techniques.
After fastening his lanyard to a secure anchorage, John begins his tasks. Suddenly, a pigeon, disturbed by John’s work activities, flies out of a small area and startles John. He steps back suddenly and falls from the platform where he was working. The shock absorber on his lanyard extends to reduce the impact forces on his body, although it is still a hard fall, and John is left dangling in an area where he can’t reach any of the structure to be able to perform self-rescue. All he can do is yell for help and wait while the harness binds painfully around his thighs.
The industrial facility that employs John does not have a trained high angle or confined space rescue team. The management of the facility had previously decided that the cost of equipping, training and maintaining an in-house team was prohibitive and unnecessary since they had a good safety record in the workplace. The plant has a standing contract for a confined space rescue standby team during turnarounds but they are not available for response in the plant except during turnarounds.
Other workers hear John’s cries for help and decide to call 911 for assistance from the local fire department. The fire department has a big, shiny rescue truck but they are only trained and equipped for vehicle crash extrication, not high angle or confined space rescue..
The fire department responds and arrives at the site within 10-minutes of the call to 911. They quickly establish verbal contact with John to assess his condition. John tells the firefighters that he is not hurt but he can’t get back to safety without help. The firefighters determine that John is beyond the reach of the ladders they carry on their truck, he cannot be reached by crane or manlift and that a rope rescue will be necessary. They call for mutual aid from a nearby fire department with high angle rescue capabilities but it will be a 25-minute response before they arrive.
It has been 20-minutes since John has fallen and been saved by his fall-arrest system. Suddenly, John stops communicating with the firefighters and hangs limply in his harness. The mutual aid rescue team is still 20-minutes away.
When the mutual aid rescue team arrives, they quickly set up a raising system to be able to release John’s lanyard from its anchor point and then lower him to the ground. John has no vital signs and CPR is started during the trip to the hospital. Unfortunately, the hospital personnel are unable to restore John’s heartbeat and he is pronounced dead.
What Happened?
29 CFR 1910.66 Powered Platforms for Building Maintenance, Section (e)1, Care and Use says when vertical lifelines are used, each employee shall be provided with a separate lifeline and the employer shall provide for the prompt rescue of employees in the event of a fall or shall assure the self?rescue capability of employees.
John’s employers had equipped John with a fall-arrest system and trained him in self-rescue as required by OSHA. He was uninjured by his fall but he died before he could be rescued.
Motionless or unconscious suspension in strap harnesses for even a very short time, sets up a blood venous pooling effect which becomes dangerous if rescue methods do not address this effect. Oxygen flow into the respiratory tract plus slight elevation of the legs is vitally important for the rescue of fallen workers. Speedy rescue techniques are vital.
Workers in pre-fall training should be told to keep body parts moving frequently in a post-fall wait for rescue; The term "Prompt rescue availability" means "immediate prompt relief of suspension"; Rescuers need special training for understanding suspended worker physiology
Harness Testing
At the request of OSHA, the United States Air Force’s Aeronautical Equipment Laboratory and the Aeromedical Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base conducted a research program aimed at demonstrating the relative effectiveness of various types of fall protection harnesses.2
The objectives of the test program were:
- To determine the post-fall suspension capabilities of three types of harnesses; the body belt, chest harness and full-body harness
- To assess the physiological effects of prolonged motionless suspension. Motionless suspension was selected as the most crucial test to simulate the state of an individual who might be unconscious or injured prior to or as a result of a fall.
The test subject sample consisted of 13 volunteers who passed an extensive medical screening before the tests. The subjects were gently raised off the floor while wearing the test harness until their feet could not touch the floor for support. No corrective movements or strap adjustments were permitted once the subject was suspended. The subjects were suspended until their subjective tolerance was reached or until symptoms of hypotension (low blood pressure) or syncope (fainting) developed, which warranted a medical decision to terminate the test.
The measurements taken included an electrocardiogram, blood pressure, respiratory rate, test duration and subjective comments. Each harness was fitted snugly to the subject in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, but not to the point where the range of extremity motion or torso movement were restricted.
