Letters to the EDITOR: Safe storage of chemicals

Safe storage of chemicals

Last Thursday’s Alipur market paint factory and godown blast in Delhi, which claimed eleven lives, is another in a list of fire tragedies in various chemical industries in the not-too-distant past. The gravity of the paint factory fire can be gauged by the fact that workers present in the factory were trapped inside, and the fire spread to fifteen adjacent houses in the residential area. Welding sparks appear to have ignited the paint chemicals. It is known that chemicals like xylene, acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and toluene are dangerously inflammable chemicals used in paints. Were adequate precautions taken to prevent them from igniting a fire? Reportedly, there were as many as 30 drums that stored chemicals. Neighbouring residents’ complaints to authorities about the unsafe practices of the seven-year—old factory obviously fell on deaf ears. 

It is highly doubtful whether permission from the relevant safety clearing authorities was obtained, and no objection certificate (NOC) was in place. The absence of an emergency exit in the establishment could have led to the entrapment of workers. There were few fire safety norms in place and negligible firefighting tools in use.  According to an insider, the owner always left the exit gate locked during working hours for reasons known only to him. Thousands of poor labourers earn their bread in hazardous chemical factories. Erring chemical gas companies have to be closed down while reallocating the employees suitably.  It is also imperative to have a relook at the National Factories Act of 1948 to give it more teeth.

Dr. Ganapathi Bhat

gbhat13@gmail.com