Sizing up a world of 7 billion people

Offbeat math: Sizing up a world of 7 billion people - Technology & Science - CBC News

LINK

No emergency doors - 2 die in a pharma fire

In a fire in a pharma factory two persons were charred to death. One of the died persons is a partner in the company. The incident occurred on a sunday evening. The fire resulting from a reactor explosion spread to neighboring areas. The fire was brought under control after five hours of struggle by fire services. It is said that the absence of emergency escape doors led to the deaths of the two persons. The deaths were identified only when the two did not return home and the police went to the factory and saw the skeletons. As usual, the reason stated for explosion is electrical short circuit.

As per Factory Rules, there should be atleast an emergency exit for every 22.5 m (75 feet) distance and the exit doors should open outward. There should not be any stairs immediately outside the emergency doors. These doors should not be locked and the escape routes should be free from any obstruction. The exit routes should be clearly identified and marked. The routes should be illuminated sufficiently.

Generally, we see the fire hydrants, fire extinguishers, emergency escape routes locked or blocked or covered thus making it a life and death question in times of emergency.


http://www.andhrawishesh.com/movies/Hyderabad/22542:two-killed-in-fire-at-rantus-pharma-factory.html

Fire in under-construction hotel

In a fire incident during the early hours in an hotel under construction, two construction workers became unconscious. It is suspected that a cigarette butt thrown by some worker or short circuit aided with presence of lot of decorative material and construction wood, etc led to this incident. Little care is taken generally during construction phase as such incidents occur regularly in various parts of the world. Electrical connections used for portable tools are generally without any plug and socket arrangement, no proper earthing, damaged/twisted cables, etc and it is accepted as a practice in the construction industry. People also store paint and thinner tins, wood, etc in a congested room and this can lead to fire incidents.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/11/20/stories/2010112064960700.htm (with photo)
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-29/hyderabad/30454315_1_fire-safety-major-fire-short-circuit
http://expressbuzz.com/topic/fire-mishap-in-fivestar-hotel/338176.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P64aZ1i6y1I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait (a fire incident involving construction wood)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bally's_Las_Vegas (85 deaths in the fire incident that caused improvements in hotel fire safety worldwide)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Salle_Hotel (61 deaths in the fire leading to development of new codes for hotels in Chicago)

Blast during cleaning of dryer unit in a bulk drugs company

In an incident at about 0615 hr, a chemist and two helpers received 85% burns during the cleaning of a dryer unit in a pharma firm that makes bulk drugs. A worker of the factory said that such incident never took place in the dryers of the pharma units in the industrial area.
A fire resulting after the explosion spread quickly due to chemicals and solvents in the area. The reason could for the incident could not be ascertained.
As it happened during dryer cleaning, the reason could be the static electricity and dust explosion. As solvents in the area caught fire, it is presumed that the workers might have used some solvent to clean the dryer. It is likely that the static electricity produced during cleaning might have discharged in the form of a spark. The dryer unit might have lot of loose particles in the form of dust and any disturbance during cleaning might have caused the dust airborne and to catch fire from the discharge of static electricity leading to dust explosion. Or, if they used large quanity of solvent inside the dryer, the vapors also might have caught fire leading to explosion in the confined space.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIqbwSmd_LY
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-11-28/news/30450554_1_blast-three-persons-facility

A report on explosion in West Pharmaceutical Services can be read here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Pharmaceutical_Services_explosion

Man electrocuted while hooked to laptop

A person was found dead in his house, with headphones to his ears and laptop connected to the charger. The front portion of the body was found with some burn injuries, the laptop was partially burnt and the power chord is charred. Short circuit is suspected as the reason for the incident.
There are similar such incidents earlier also, like modem explosion, laptop fire, etc causing injuries/deaths. If we do not use substandard products, similar incidents are likely to occur again and again. Recently, when I read a book on electrical safety, I came to know that, loose contact is a major cause for many electrical incidents. If there is no proper electrical protection in the system, it can lead to sparking and arcing, causing serious injuries. Further, it is stated that the electrical cables are to be replaced atleast once in 15 years to avoid electrical fires.

Do business unless proven harmful?

Recently, there was a proposal for foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail sector and for various reasons, it did not happen.
Some opined in support of this proposal that, one should not be prevented without a good reason in setting up a business unless it is proven that it causes more harm than good for economy.
This not an acceptable opinion. Though competition is good for the economy, brings the best out, worldwide, there are various forms of protection provided to local businesses and direct/indirect subsidies to help them. May be in some countries, FDI in retail proved beneficial to the farmers and direct producers by eliminating the intermediaries. But, it varies from region to region.
If FDI in retail is allowed and caused harm to the economy, can we remove FDI and reverse it. At that time, same people may opine that it is a retrograde step and reversal of reforms. By the time we realized the harm, many retail shops and small players would have closed due to losses leading to creation of monopoly or formation of syndicates.
Generally, to gain market share, new entrants offer their services at much lesser prices, sometimes even below the cost of the product. At the same time, the cost of the same product offered by the same company in some other city may be higher. When small business houses unable to bear the onslaught of big houses close the shop, these big companies increase the prices of their products and people will be left with little or no choise but to pay the price.
What happened in telecom, airline and other sectors is known to everybody. Though, public got benefited due to tariff wars between the companies in the industry, the industry as a whole is bleeding and the lenders are terming the loans and investment in these companies as non-performing asset. In an extreme situation, those who took loan will file bankruptcy. Again, recently few companies in telecom sector increased their tariff to reduce losses. But, finally, it is the the common man, who has to bear the loss in the form of lost investment for their betterment. There is no difference between such companies and conmen. One cheats in the name of business and the other cheats the individuals directly.

As safety professionals, all of us are against any activity till the hazards are identified and eliminated/ controlled. If we wait for harm to happen, I am sure there will be many Bhopal like accidents in any business. Though the harmful effects of Bhopal accident is limited to town, Chernobyl accident is limited to few villages, atomic bomb explosion is limited to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, playing with economy can lead to kneeling down of entire nation.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/What-s-FDI-in-retail/Article1-775543.aspx
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-29/india/30453728_1_retail-sector-small-retailers-global-retail-giants
http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-fdi-in-retail-kiranas-unfazed-ask-what-the-fuss-is-all-about/20111206.htm

Online frauds: got e-mail/SMS about winning a prize?

Last few years, all of us would have received a number of e-mails and sometimes an SMS also from big names in the world that we are lucky winners of a lottery which we never purchased, or our e-mail was selected for a prize amount, or some big hearted agency decided to remind us about an amount in a bank which we forgot to draw, or somebody donated only to us, or somebody wants to share the amount which was not claimed, and so on. I started getting such mails for more than 7 years. I also started reading how innocent (or greedy?) persons lost huge money sent for legal costs or some other reasons, to get the big prize.
These mails/SMS ask for our name, address and bank account number to send the money. How believe that the sender of the e-mail/SMS is able to send without knowing our name or contact ID/number.
Though the people present innocence to investigating agencies and blame police, after they lost large amounts, one should not show any sympathy to them because these are all greedy persons.
As a part of awareness campaign, Reserve Bank of India in their circular dated 05.12.2011, listed 34 nodal agencies in various states of India for registering complaints with regards to such fictitious lottery wins, cheap money, communication from bank about updating password, etc. Individuals have to register their complaints with these nodal agencies to enable them for necessary action.
We should remember that nothing comes free in this world unless it is inherited through natural process. Now a days, even rich families leave only a fraction to their children and use the remaining for philonthropy/charity.
http://www.livemint.com/2011/12/11202751/Won-an-online-lottery-Inform.html?atype=tp

Chemical explosion in university lab

In an explosion in a university laboratory, a student working with sodium azide received injuries on his face, arms and body. The fire responder too received burns on his face and eyes and this was suspected due to travelling of chemicals with sweat downwards. The student was wearing goggles and the responder,a face mask at the time of the incident.
It is reported that in the same lab earlier in October, an explosion took place when a student was scrapping the azide residue on the flask. The shattered glass pieces caused injury to face and was without any personal protective equipment.
In another explosion few months before, another student suffered serious cut injury on the arm, while mixing water with hydrochloric acid and titanium tetra chloride in a jar.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120111/ARTICLES/120119873?tc=obinsite
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120112/ARTICLES/120119832/1109/sports?p=1&tc=pg page-1
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120112/ARTICLES/120119832/1109/sports?p=2&tc=pg page-2
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20120112/ARTICLES/120119832/1109/sports?p=3&tc=pg page-3

It is assumed generally that nothing will happen in lab. But, because of research with little information available, the hazards are more in lab work. Further, students do not have much knowledge/awareness about safe practices and their concentration is only about carrying out experiment/studies.

The above incidents call for safety programme implementation in educational institutions also, like in any industrial set up and appointment of a full pledged safety officer to ensure implementation of safety programme.

Toxic gas (CO?) leak - deaths due to suffocation

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/01/4-die-in-gas-leak/: 4 people die and one become unconscious in the generator room in which they slept after forgetting to switchoff the generator before sleep. Though, it is stated as suffocation, the fact that they died in the sleep indicates deadly carbon monoxide release in the room and that the exhaust of the generator is within the room instead of letting out of the room. Carbon monoxide, an odorless gas can lead to asphyxiation and the exposed do not realize that they are inhaling this toxic gas. This clearly indicates wrong design of exhaust system. Otherwise, the exhaust system must have been developed leaks inside the room. 
Had it been suffocation, they would have got up from the sleep and tried to come out of the room. Being winter, they would have felt comfortable in the warm room before sleep and subsequently died in the sleep.

In another similar incident, http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/01/toxic-gas-suffocates-family-kills-three-children/, three children die and another three children become unconscious, when they slept in the room that was kept warm by coal burning in a pot. This is also because of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Incidents like the above happen regularly at different parts of the world. Few years ago, following incidents were reported, which are all due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

• Inmates of a car died when switched on air conditioner and slept. Carbon monoxide buildup inside the car due to recirculation of air was stated as the reason.
• Car inmates died due to carbon monoxide buildup, after they closed all windows and stayed inside because of heavy rain outside and flood waters caused traffic jam.
• A person died in his closed garage, when he was trying to repair his vehicle with engine in running condition.
• A person working outside at terrace level became unconscious and died as the exhaust from wood fired room heater was nearby.

The above incidents indicate the need for educating the people about carbon monoxide poisoning and care to be taken.

The Ten Most Important Safety Lessons-SafetyXChange

The Ten Most Important Safety Lessons I Know SafetyXChange

LINK

Some messages behind the bikes - what it means?

For more than a year, while going to my office, I noted following messages displayed above the number plate of the bikes, that appeared to be funny, entertaining and thought provoking.

1. All girls are my sisters except U
2. Don't worry girls, I will be back
3. Romeo should die
4. Ask ur sister who I am
5. Who's next (to ride on pillion?)
6. Don't look at me, I am not your girl friend
7. I am with your mother, I warn you
8. Love is strong. If it has broken, it is painful
9. Love is like a war, easy to start, hard to end, impossible to forget, so never love any time
10. No girls, no tensions
11. Don't believe girl's smile
12. Don't believe smiling girls
13. GIRL - Ghost In Real Life
14. Love is Trash, Girls Need Cash
15. Girls R like medicine, they come with an expiry date
16. Trust dogs, not girls
17. No fear
18. My bike rages the road
19. Everybody wants to go hell, But nobody wants die
20. Don't touch me
21. Don't follow me, my way is Dangerous
22. Keep distance for your safety
23. You r responsible for ur safety
24. I am bad with my new rule
25. I am not as innocent as I look
26. Hell is full. So, I am back
27. Mom's gift, Father's petrol, My enjoyment
28. Legends live longer. I am a living example
29. Legacy never dies
30. Past is a lesson. Today is yours. So work on it
31. Small things bring big changes

The number of bikes with above displays are very less. Apart from the above, there are regular messages on a large number of bikes, like, Mom's gift / Dad's gift.

A study of these messages reveals that many bike riders are grateful to their parents for gifting them a bike. But,  other messages reveal, hatredness towards girls, love failures, fear, their road rage behavior, road safety concern, philosophers, want to show girls about their machoism, warn others about themselves, their funny side, and so on. 

Some messages, at first instance, even enrage the readers and appear vulgar. 

May be, one can judge the person, depending upon the type of message behind the vehicle and take suitable precaution while dealing with them.

Insurance

Everybody tells us to take life insurance. Elders advise insurance even as a saving measure for future. Insurance agents showcase benefits of insurance to dependents after our death. And eventually, all those having regular income will take life cover for huge amounts and end up paying premiums.
But, we ignore insurance cover for our property. We try to avoid insurance for vehicles.
The loss from property damage can cause huge setback and often will be difficult to earn and build again. If we take loan for purchase of property, we take insurance to the extent of loan amount for loan period. But, as we repay, loan amount will reduce but our exposure to risk will increase. Unless we take insurance for entire property value, we will be taking risk with our hard earned money put in the property.
Similarly, we should take vehicle insurance both for the value of the vehicle and compensation to be paid to the persons in case of any accident. If we look at the amount saved by not taking insurance cover, in times of any accident, we may end up paying all our savings, may also incur loans and receive punishment.

Which accidents are acceptable?

Now a days, people are opposing setting up of every factory.  The reasons cited are accidents, pollution, etc. Projects are delayed and costs run high. Opposition is expressed going to the extent of damaging public property. At the same time, governments are blamed for unemployment, inability to provided public amenities, and so on. Where from funds will come for governments to spend. Only when overall development happens, taxes are paid honestly and participate in  programmes, governments can do something to its people.

Everybody is concerned about accidents. But, concerns are very high about industrial accidents particularly those related to chemical industry, which are rare. Everyday, many persons die/get injured in road accidents. Many die due to  alcohol/tobacco/drug use, adventure sports, cancer, pollution, different lifestyles, etc. The number of persons affected with these are very high compared to those due to industrial activities.  

This makes us wonder which accidents are acceptable/normal and which are not? Are we accepting regular/routine deaths and illness due to our own making in the course of having our own lifestyle and taking them in our stride as a part of life. And, fear about others.

We enjoy our lifestyle every moment and therefore its ill effects are acceptable? Whereas direct benefits from industries are less visible though indirect benefits are huge and can become apparent only when they are closed.

Every activity will have both positive and negative aspects and we draw a line. But, we magnify the events in industries and ignore those outside. 

We should have realistic approach so that industries can be setup incorporating all measures for safety of people and environment. While issuing clearances, authorities have to ensure that clearances are not issued in violation of rules or by finding loop holes in the law.

Accidents during training

A navy officer drowned, when the commander asked him to jump into sea, as a part of training. Contradicting reports state about divers in the sea waters before start of exercises. It is stated that the navy officer was not wearing any life jacket at the time of the incident.
Such accidents can occur in any where, if proper precautions are not taken. Statistics on industrial accidents reveal that most of those injured are trainees/apprentices/contractor workers or those who were allotted new jobs different from what they were doing earlier. It is likely that to cut costs, companies engage trainees/apprentices/contractor workers for skilled jobs. In the absence of proper training, lack of knowledge on hazards involved in the operations and hesitation by these persons to ask for information lead to accidents endangering their lives and that of others. The accidents that are reported regularly in the media confirm this practice.
To avoid such accidents, irrespective of the nature of the job and position of the person, compulsory training shall be provided to them and necessary safety instructions in the form safe operating procedures, checklists, data sheets, emergency procedures, etc should be taught and documents are issued for ready reference.
Managements will certainly reap the benefits of such training provided in the form of safe work atmosphere and better productivity.

Role of behavior in accident reduction

I read an article in (India) Industrial Safety Review (June 2011) on the role of behavior in accident reduction. One particular statement in the article is true for all organizations. The statement reads as, "showing zero accidents record and international certifications do not really ensure safe organization unless we target zero unsafe behaviors at workplaces".
In many organizations, their address will also contains about ISO/OHSAS certification. With the mushroom growth of certifying agencies, competition to get business and marketing skills, these certificates appear to be only for name sake. It is not possible for certifying agencies also to check thoroughly for compliance with applicable requirements, as their audits are based on random sampling. Instead of relying on these certificates, many organizations are developing their own systems to verify the credentials of the company with which they intend to deal with by site visits, field inspections, data collection, interaction with teams of production, quality, safety and health to assess compliance with standards and their own requirements. Certificates also induce a false sense of security/safety among the employees and lead to bad work culture.

In this context, I liked the above statement. Though every organization targets zero accident status, as the author said correctly, the approach should be, intolerance to unsafe behaviors rather than aiming to prevent major accidents. It is true that, to have such status coupled with rewards linked to accident-free working periods, the accidents are not reported.
To achieve true zero accident status, the author suggested, i) forming teams, ii) observing the work for some time, iii) not to blame the persons for at-risk behaviors, iv) interacting with the persons to find the cause for behavior, v) getting suggestions/feedback, vi) maintaining list of critical behaviors, vii) implementing measures for correct behavior by way of training, awareness, monitoring and feed back.
It is stated in an article that the returns will be 3-6 times for every dollar spent on training. Safety inspections by safety department are nothing but monitoring/policing. Any unsafe act or condition observed by safety department will be corrected at that time and it will repeat again, the moment safety inspector leaves the workspot. Unless the persons actually performing the work are aware of their risky behavior, and correct themselves, accidents can't be brought down to zero level by safety department alone.

Nuclear power: The case for a safe, alternative energy source

Wish you all a happy and safe new year 2012.

An article in The Washington Times briefs about nuclear energy as an alternate safe power. Though, every individual sees nuclear energy in his own way, still, it appears as the future alternative after all fossil fuel resources are exhausted in the coming decades.
As an engineering student twenty five years ago, I read about the limited availability of fossil fuels and that they will last only for about twenty years. But, new finds take us to next forty to fifty years. However, the projected solar and wind power as future energy at that time are still nowhere to meet even a fraction of the energy demand. Further, pollution from fossil fuel usage is affecting all walks of life and there is a wide spread global movement for gradual reduction of emissions.
Finally when a day comes with no fossil fuels, we can't start construction of nuclear reactors at that time and keep our fingers crossed. Like water wars, there can be more energy wars in the next fifty years. Already, countries are in search of whatever energy sources available to acquire and secure their future safe. When no other alternate energy sources are availabe to meet growing demands, we have to go for nuclear energy.
Worldwide, thousands of persons work in nuclear power plants and there is not much evidence/data to say that these workers are affected. The risk levels in nuclear industry are far less than that in other industries. It appears that we accept the injuries and deaths in other industries as they occur regularly and fear about the rare events in nuclear industry.

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/21st-century-pacifist/2011/dec/28/case-safe-alternative-energy-source-nuclear-power/
Nuclear power: The case for a safe, alternative energy source

LINK