Monday, July 26, 2010
Alarm on Gulf oil rig muted
NEW ORLEANS - AN ALARM that should have alerted workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig to a deadly build-up of gas that sank the platform, sparking a huge oil spill, had been muted months before, a former rig worker said on Friday.
The alarm system which uses lights and alarms to warn of fire or high-levels of toxic or explosive gases, had been 'inhibited,' Mike Williams, the chief electronics technician on the rig, told a hearing.
Williams, who survived the April 20 blast on the rig, which claimed the lives of 11 oil workers and turned the platform into a fireball, said the sensor was functioning, but was not set to ring an alarm in emergencies.
'Inhibited,' he said, 'means the sensor is active and sensing and... it will give the information to a computer but the computer will not trigger the alarm.' Senior managers on the rig, which was leased to BP, had asked that the alarms be inhibited because 'they did not want people to be woken up at 3 o'clock in the morning due to false alarms,' Williams said.
He said he had first noticed a year ago that the alarms had been set to not go off.
Williams was testifying at the third in a series of hearings to try to find out what caused the blast on the Deepwater Horizon rig. The hearing on Friday was conducted jointly by the US Coast Guard and Interior Department. -- AFP
Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_557326.html
The alarm system which uses lights and alarms to warn of fire or high-levels of toxic or explosive gases, had been 'inhibited,' Mike Williams, the chief electronics technician on the rig, told a hearing.
Williams, who survived the April 20 blast on the rig, which claimed the lives of 11 oil workers and turned the platform into a fireball, said the sensor was functioning, but was not set to ring an alarm in emergencies.
'Inhibited,' he said, 'means the sensor is active and sensing and... it will give the information to a computer but the computer will not trigger the alarm.' Senior managers on the rig, which was leased to BP, had asked that the alarms be inhibited because 'they did not want people to be woken up at 3 o'clock in the morning due to false alarms,' Williams said.
He said he had first noticed a year ago that the alarms had been set to not go off.
Williams was testifying at the third in a series of hearings to try to find out what caused the blast on the Deepwater Horizon rig. The hearing on Friday was conducted jointly by the US Coast Guard and Interior Department. -- AFP
Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_557326.html
Friday, July 9, 2010
First Restaurant Convicted under the WSH Act for Workplace Safety and Health Lapses
Raffles Marina Ltd was fined $80,000 today for its failure to take reasonably practicable measures to ensure workplace safety and health, thereby contributing to the death of a worker on 29 May 2009. Raffles Marina Ltd is the first restaurant to be convicted under the WSH Act since it was extended to cover restaurants from 1 March 2008.
About the case
The incident happened on 29 May 2009 at Marina Bistro Coffee House located at 10 Tuas West Drive. The worker was a senior steward employed by Raffles Marina Ltd. The worker was likely to have either slipped due to the slippery floor or fallen when he stepped on one of the articles strewn on the kitchen floor of the dish washing area. He was carrying at least one plastic rack containing 25 glass wine goblets. The wine goblets shattered and cut the worker in the neck area. The worker was sent to the hospital where he died from excessive loss of blood as a result of a deep cut on the neck.
Investigations by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed that the employer had failed to take reasonably practicable measures to ensure that the workplace was safe and without risks. The employer failed to conduct risk assessment to identify and manage the hazards for the dishwashing activities. The employer also failed to ensure the kitchen was free from slipping and tripping hazards. Although the employer had issued a pair of safety boots to the worker for his use during the course of his work, it was insufficient to prevent the worker from falling.
Mr Heng Chiang Gnee, Deputy Chairman, Workplace Safety and Health Council said, “The death of a worker in the course of carrying out simple kitchen work shows that we must never take the safety at workplaces lightly. Employers must plan safe work procedures for all types of work, ensure that their workers are well briefed and implement safety measures effectively. Often, near misses during work, such as a slip at work, are not noted and no suitable immediate actions are taken to reduce risks and improve situations . To improve our safety management, there is a need to change mindset to seek out near misses and drive improvements even though near misses may not result in injuries. We should therefore all be mindful of the possible risks that our employees face everyday at work. If there are incidents or near-miss cases, measures must immediately be taken to prevent them from happening again. The Council urges all parties to pay serious attention to near-miss cases, or seemingly minor incidents, so that necessary steps can be taken to improve. With this mindset, we can then aim for safer workplaces for all our employees."
Mr Ho Siong Hin, Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health, MOM added that the conviction of Raffles Marina Ltd serves as a stern warning to all workplaces to make safety and health a priority. He reminded all employers, individuals and stakeholders of the importance of ensuring and adhering to proper safety measures.
Source: WSH Bulletin, dated 9 July 2010
About the case
The incident happened on 29 May 2009 at Marina Bistro Coffee House located at 10 Tuas West Drive. The worker was a senior steward employed by Raffles Marina Ltd. The worker was likely to have either slipped due to the slippery floor or fallen when he stepped on one of the articles strewn on the kitchen floor of the dish washing area. He was carrying at least one plastic rack containing 25 glass wine goblets. The wine goblets shattered and cut the worker in the neck area. The worker was sent to the hospital where he died from excessive loss of blood as a result of a deep cut on the neck.
Investigations by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed that the employer had failed to take reasonably practicable measures to ensure that the workplace was safe and without risks. The employer failed to conduct risk assessment to identify and manage the hazards for the dishwashing activities. The employer also failed to ensure the kitchen was free from slipping and tripping hazards. Although the employer had issued a pair of safety boots to the worker for his use during the course of his work, it was insufficient to prevent the worker from falling.
Mr Heng Chiang Gnee, Deputy Chairman, Workplace Safety and Health Council said, “The death of a worker in the course of carrying out simple kitchen work shows that we must never take the safety at workplaces lightly. Employers must plan safe work procedures for all types of work, ensure that their workers are well briefed and implement safety measures effectively. Often, near misses during work, such as a slip at work, are not noted and no suitable immediate actions are taken to reduce risks and improve situations . To improve our safety management, there is a need to change mindset to seek out near misses and drive improvements even though near misses may not result in injuries. We should therefore all be mindful of the possible risks that our employees face everyday at work. If there are incidents or near-miss cases, measures must immediately be taken to prevent them from happening again. The Council urges all parties to pay serious attention to near-miss cases, or seemingly minor incidents, so that necessary steps can be taken to improve. With this mindset, we can then aim for safer workplaces for all our employees."
Mr Ho Siong Hin, Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health, MOM added that the conviction of Raffles Marina Ltd serves as a stern warning to all workplaces to make safety and health a priority. He reminded all employers, individuals and stakeholders of the importance of ensuring and adhering to proper safety measures.
Source: WSH Bulletin, dated 9 July 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Guilty verdicts 25 years after India's gas disaster
AFP - Tuesday, June 8
Guilty verdicts 25 years after India's gas disaster
BHOPAL, India (AFP) - – An Indian court sentenced the former top managers of the company blamed for the massive Bhopal gas leak 25 years ago to two years in prison on Monday in the first convictions over the catastrophe.
Eight people were found guilty in the local court in Bhopal, capital of central Madhya Pradesh state, over the 1984 incident which poisoned tens of thousands of people in the world's worst industrial accident.
A lethal plume of gas escaped from a storage tank at the US-run Union Carbide pesticide factory in the early hours of December 3, 1984, killing thousands in the surrounding slums and residential area.
Among those found guilty of criminal negligence was the chairman of the Indian unit of US group Union Carbide, Keshub Mahindra, a leading industrialist who is now chairman of car and truck group Mahindra & Mahindra.
The guilty, also including the managing director, the production manager and the plant supervisor, were all sentenced to two years in prison and were ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 rupees (2,100 dollars), lawyers told reporters. All of them are now expected to launch appeals and will not be jailed immediately. One of the eight convicted, R.B. Roychoudhury, has already died.
Warren Anderson, the American then-chairman of the US-based Union Carbide parent group, was among the accused but he was not named in the verdicts after the Bhopal court declared him an "absconder".
The company executives were originally charged with culpable homicide but -- to the outrage of survivors and victims -- the Supreme Court in 1996 reduced the charges to death by negligence with maximum imprisonment of just two years.
"Even with the guilty judgement, what does two years' punishment mean?" Sadhna Karnik, of the Bhopal Gas Victims Struggle group, told AFP. "They will be able to appeal against the judgement in higher courts," he said.
Outside the court on Monday, victims and members of human rights groups anxiously waited. Some shouted that the verdict was an "insult." Others criticised the time it had taken for the convictions. "Justice has been delayed and denied," read one placard.
Government figures put the death toll at 3,500 within the first three days of the leak but independent data by the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) puts the figure at between 8,000 and 10,000 in the same period.
The ICMR has said that until 1994, 25,000 people also died from the consequences of gas exposure, with victim groups saying many were still suffering from the effects to this day.
Survivors remember their eyes grew huge and red after the leak and they began frothing at the mouth and vomiting after inhaling the gas. Many recall hundreds of dead lying in the streets.
Government statistics compiled after 1994 concluded that at least 100,000 people living near the factory were chronically sick, with more than 30,000 residing in areas with contaminated water.
A study last year by the Britain-based Bhopal Medical Appeal said the shanty towns surrounding the site were still laced with lethal chemicals that are polluting groundwater and soil, causing birth defects and a range of illnesses.
Dow Chemical bought Union Carbide in 1999 but says all liabilities related to the accident were cleared in a 470-million-dollar out-of-court settlement with the Indian government in 1989.
A statement released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the disaster said the settlement "resolved all existing and future claims" against the company.
Union Carbide "did all it could to help the victims and their families" until the settlement and said the Indian government should be responsible for providing clean drinking water and health services to residents, it said.
The company said at the time and continues to insist that sabotage was behind the leak, but the victims have long fought for it to provide further compensation and for its senior staff to face justice.
One victims' group member, Satyanath Sarangi, described the maximum two-year sentence as comparable to the punishment for a "traffic accident."
"We will continue our fight," he said. "This is just the beginning."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described Bhopal as a tragedy that "still gnaws at our collective conscience" and has vowed continued efforts to tackle the issues of drinking water and site decontamination.
Guilty verdicts 25 years after India's gas disaster
BHOPAL, India (AFP) - – An Indian court sentenced the former top managers of the company blamed for the massive Bhopal gas leak 25 years ago to two years in prison on Monday in the first convictions over the catastrophe.
Eight people were found guilty in the local court in Bhopal, capital of central Madhya Pradesh state, over the 1984 incident which poisoned tens of thousands of people in the world's worst industrial accident.
A lethal plume of gas escaped from a storage tank at the US-run Union Carbide pesticide factory in the early hours of December 3, 1984, killing thousands in the surrounding slums and residential area.
Among those found guilty of criminal negligence was the chairman of the Indian unit of US group Union Carbide, Keshub Mahindra, a leading industrialist who is now chairman of car and truck group Mahindra & Mahindra.
The guilty, also including the managing director, the production manager and the plant supervisor, were all sentenced to two years in prison and were ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 rupees (2,100 dollars), lawyers told reporters. All of them are now expected to launch appeals and will not be jailed immediately. One of the eight convicted, R.B. Roychoudhury, has already died.
Warren Anderson, the American then-chairman of the US-based Union Carbide parent group, was among the accused but he was not named in the verdicts after the Bhopal court declared him an "absconder".
The company executives were originally charged with culpable homicide but -- to the outrage of survivors and victims -- the Supreme Court in 1996 reduced the charges to death by negligence with maximum imprisonment of just two years.
"Even with the guilty judgement, what does two years' punishment mean?" Sadhna Karnik, of the Bhopal Gas Victims Struggle group, told AFP. "They will be able to appeal against the judgement in higher courts," he said.
Outside the court on Monday, victims and members of human rights groups anxiously waited. Some shouted that the verdict was an "insult." Others criticised the time it had taken for the convictions. "Justice has been delayed and denied," read one placard.
Government figures put the death toll at 3,500 within the first three days of the leak but independent data by the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) puts the figure at between 8,000 and 10,000 in the same period.
The ICMR has said that until 1994, 25,000 people also died from the consequences of gas exposure, with victim groups saying many were still suffering from the effects to this day.
Survivors remember their eyes grew huge and red after the leak and they began frothing at the mouth and vomiting after inhaling the gas. Many recall hundreds of dead lying in the streets.
Government statistics compiled after 1994 concluded that at least 100,000 people living near the factory were chronically sick, with more than 30,000 residing in areas with contaminated water.
A study last year by the Britain-based Bhopal Medical Appeal said the shanty towns surrounding the site were still laced with lethal chemicals that are polluting groundwater and soil, causing birth defects and a range of illnesses.
Dow Chemical bought Union Carbide in 1999 but says all liabilities related to the accident were cleared in a 470-million-dollar out-of-court settlement with the Indian government in 1989.
A statement released to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the disaster said the settlement "resolved all existing and future claims" against the company.
Union Carbide "did all it could to help the victims and their families" until the settlement and said the Indian government should be responsible for providing clean drinking water and health services to residents, it said.
The company said at the time and continues to insist that sabotage was behind the leak, but the victims have long fought for it to provide further compensation and for its senior staff to face justice.
One victims' group member, Satyanath Sarangi, described the maximum two-year sentence as comparable to the punishment for a "traffic accident."
"We will continue our fight," he said. "This is just the beginning."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described Bhopal as a tragedy that "still gnaws at our collective conscience" and has vowed continued efforts to tackle the issues of drinking water and site decontamination.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Training related to Chemical Safety
Chemical spill response training
Fit testing for respirator userFriday, April 30, 2010
Extension of the Workplace Safety and Health Act
The Workplace Safety and Health Council and the Ministry of Manpower announced the National Workplace Health Strategy at the National Workplace Safety and Health (NWSH) Campaign 2010 launch. Guest of Honour Minister for Manpower, Mr Gan Kim Yong, highlighted in his speech the key areas from the Workplace Health Strategy, as detailed below.
Manpower Minister announced the extension of the Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSH Act) to cover all workplaces and another 140,000 establishments in Sept 2011. He also announced, for consultation, a draft Guidebook on Common Hazards and Control Measures, covering key issues such as slips and trips in workplaces as well as injuries arising from improper handling of heavy loads.
Source: WSH Alert dated 29 Apr 2010
Source: WSH Alert dated 29 Apr 2010
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