Punishment for felling trees

A property owner was booked with case under AP WALTA (Andhra Pradesh Water, Land and Tree Act 2002) for felling three trees (gulmohar, fountain and rubber trees) in the municipal area adjacent to his property. The officials on the way to their work found this and booked a case under WALTA. They also want to book a case for damaging government property. 

As per the Act, unless it endangers life or property, one can not cut trees or its branches. For this also, permission is to be obtained from District Forest Officer. 

The penalties for first offence range from 2-5 times the value of the tree and repeat offence will attract double  penalty. 

Though I heard about this Act long time ago through one of my colleagues, this is the first time to my knowledge that somebody is slapped with case for tree cutting.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Owner-lands-in-trouble-for-felling-old-trees-on-property/articleshow/15968255.cms

http://www.apard.gov.in/walta-act.pdf

http://www.krdrillers.com/ap_waltaact.pdf

SafetySmart Compliance » Blog Archive The James Beals Tragedy: The Price of Neglecting Confined Spaces Safety

SafetySmart Compliance » Blog Archive The James Beals Tragedy: The Price of Neglecting Confined Spaces Safety

The above link is about confined space tragedy in which a person died due to asphyxiation. Oxygen levels should be measured at the actual place of work before entry and every time before entry so that safe work atmosphere can be checked and ensured. Confined space hazard evaluation should be carried out however short the work is and do not believe by words but verify safe work atmosphere with measurements before entering the confined space.

Fire safety in theatres

Andhra Pradesh Government asked movie theatre owners to ensure fire safety. As per the fire department, all the theatres should ensure availability of atleast 10000 lit water in a tank, an earmarked area for fire engine, battery backup, emergency lights, fire alarms, public address system, etc. Government did not agree that most of the single screen theatres were setup long ago. Such arguments appear to the common man that theatre managements are compromising their safety. Strict punishments awarded few years ago to the owners and concerned government authorities for the tragedy in Uphar theatre in Delhi should be remembered by all. As per the news reports, theatre managements also realized for ensuring fire safety in their theatres.

Few years ago, traffic police department released a small video for screening in theatres in which the person purchasing the ticket enquires ticket counter person fire safety of the theatre.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Plea-for-theatre-ticket-hike-meets-fire-wall/articleshow/15576790.cms

Scaffolding with stairs

Recently, in a construction site for a metro rail project, I saw scaffolding with stairs within it to reach the work place at height. Further full barricading sheets all along the work place, warning lamps for night riders, radiating tapes, illumination,  latest concrete transfer machines with minimum space occupied on the road and persons to direct the traffic are provided to reduce inconvenience to  commuters. It is heartening to see such safety measures by the contractor for the workers.  Generally, it is rare to see such access provisions at construction sites and they try to make money not using safety wear. Every construction site should follow good practices as above so that workers, public and authorities will be satisfied with the work.

Lab safety

http://www.chemicalplantsafety.net/lab-safety/most-noticeable-lab-safety-equipment/

About fire extinguishers

http://www.chemicalplantsafety.net/fire-extinguishers/9-important-facts-about-fire-extinguisher-you-should-know/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ChemicalPlantSafety+%28Chemical+Plant+Safety+Resources%29

Who is responsible for regulating the factories?

After a fire incident in an ink factory and godown (see previous post) where fire services fought for 22 hours to control the fire, it is not clear which government department is responsible for looking after safety. Pollution control board feels the factory/godown does not come under them as it is not polluting. Industries department, a single window, says it is only for facilitation. Factories department too is not responsible as the factory in question employs less than 10 employees. The role of municipality which gave water connection and that of electricity department that provided electrical connection is not known.
From the above, it is really surprising how safety of the employees, public and environment can be ensured and this can be the reason for existence of illegal units in industrial areas.
This calls for changes in the Acts such that however small and whatever be the nature of operation, permissions should be obtained from departments of factories, pollution control, explosives, electricity, municipality, fire, health, police, etc and then only the local revenue or some identified department permits setting up of the plant.
It is mandatory even for shops to register with local municipality and pay taxes as required. Hence, the ambiguity in safety during industrial activity must be removed by proper legislation.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Factory-fire-Govt-departments-pass-the-buck/articleshow/15523227.cms

Conveyor belt fire in a thermal plant - 4 killed

In a fire incident yesterday in the afternoon hours, on the moving conveyor belt of a thermal plant where through which coal is transferred to crusher before using for heating, four persons died due to severe burns and six others received burn injuries. The employees working in the area spotted fire on the moving belt and rushed to extinguish. When the fire grew big uncontrollably, they tried to escape and jumped 25 m down on coal heaps.
It is not clear whether the conveyor belt was halted by pull-chord / emergency switch when it caught fire and whether there is regular cleaning of the conveyor belt and rollers system to clean the dust collected.
4 killed in thermal plant fire

LINK

Fire in a chemical godown

A fire occurred yesterday (15.08.2012) at about 1000 hr in a chemical godown that stored solvent drums. It is reported that nobody was injured. However, 150 tins of solvents and thinners stored in ground and first first floor were gutted. The compound wall and first floor got collapsed in the fire incident and it took more than 8 hr to control the fire by using water and foam. The people in nearby areas suffered breathing problems due to chemical pollutants in the atmosphere due to fire. 

As it is claimed nobody was present during that time, the reason for fire is not known. I am unable to guess the reason for fire. It could be due to accumulation of solvent vapors and insufficient ventilation and the ignition source can be some glowing lamp. 

It is reported that there are many chemical godowns in the area that does not have permission from PCB authorities. There should be a single window system for clearing industrial activities wherein all concerned departments like factory department, pollution control board, water authority, electricity authority, police department, revenue department, health department, etc scrutinize the applications and then only authorize for setting up the facility and permit connections for electricity, water, etc.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/article3778402.ece

http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20120815/2044726.html

Chevron's safety record hit by accidents

A spate of accidents in Chevron Corporation reveals a lot is to be done by oil industry as even the best organization with commitment to safety suffers from accidents. The statistics are wonderful with an incident rate of 0.2 per million man-hours worked. Though there are organizations where zero accident rate is reported for many years, the approach and methodology varies from industry to industry.
There are many organizations where safety is only a stage talk and give least importance in practice. Unless everybody from top to bottom assume responsibility for safety, no organization however best it is, will fail and therefore needs continuous vigil on its operations so that accidents do not occur.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Chevron-s-safety-record-hit-by-accidents-3791793.php#page-1

Act on near misses instead of cleaning after accidents

In an article,  http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/st_essay_close_calls/, it is stated that there is an 80% drop in serious accidents at Dow Chemical after the company implemented close call reporting. Though, it looks cumbersome and time consuming initially to act upon the near misses, it is an opportunity to purge the system of unsafe conditions and will be prove beneficial in the long run to the organisation. Managers should encourage their employees to report all near misses and appreciate them instead of chiding them and be grateful to the workers for reporting near misses.

Contract workers - no concern for their safety?

Safety of contract workers is given less importance compared to regular employees. In industrial areas, we can find this difference glaringly. Even the contractor who provides manpower also is not concerned though he may be charging the organization for use of safety appliances by his personnel. These daily wage earners are treated like no entity and the contractors who earn money by using these people are nothing short of leeches. Factory managements and factory inspectors should penalize heavily such contractors so that they feel it is better to provide safety appliances rather than paying the penalty. Ordering the closure of factory also will do good as managements can ensure safety for contract workers also by whatever means it is appropriate. Sometime back I listened to a talk wherein the speaker said that the contractor will be penalized Rs. 5,000/- for every violation and this money is credited into safety awareness fund. After three violations, the contractor will be blacklisted. I feel such measures will help in creating awareness by force among all and ensure safety for all.