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For some job `security'

Safety Manual

By A.K. Pratap Singh

Publishers: EDEL Engineering Consultancy Pvt. Ltd., Chennai.

Price: Rs 930

IT was the Bhopal gas tragedy -- which occurred not in some small, ill-equipped factory but at a multinational corporation with multi-million dollar turnover and profits -- that exposed the dismal standards of industrial safety and the ir potential to wreck human life and property.

In India, accidents rank first among leading causes of death in persons aged between 1 and 34 years, and second for those in the 35-44 age group -- an enormous cost to the country's industrial resources as many of the victims are in the younger productiv e age group.

Industrial accidents are often attributed to human error. The solution, many people believe, lies in complete mechanisation of industrial processes. However, a large percentage of employees continue to work with some equipment or machinery.

Some industrial operations may be classified as skilled, but the majority are semi-skilled or unskilled. Employees work with a range of machinery -- from steel mills and chemical plant equipment to construction machinery, electricity networks, and road a nd pipeline-laying machinery. Often, workers are exposed to high levels of noise and vibrations, marked variations in temperature and humidity or to harmful dusts, fumes and gases. There is scope for human error in many of these situations; certain envir onmental conditions or operating practices can trigger accidents.

Apart from the usual safety-education programmes and safety equipment, a relatively new discipline called human engineering is being evolved to reduce accidents by relating the mechanical design of equipments to the biological and psychological character istics of the operator.

With greater application of human engineering, perhaps the number of accidents would decline, training costs cut and extensive redesign of equipment avoided.

Although social and environmental activists can help increase awareness on industrial safety and eco-balance, ultimately, action at the micro-level alone can avert Bhopal-like tragedies.

The manual under review is a noteworthy attempt to scientifically collate the salient aspects of industrial safety. Divided into 24 chapters, the introductory part deals with the relationship between humans and safety. The many tables, glossary of terms used, appendices on related data and the alphabetical index enhance the manual's utility.

Making an interesting reference on air pollution, the manual traces the history of the first smoke abatement law passed by Edward I in England in 1273. People feared that air pollution from burning coals could cause sickness and even death. In 1306, a ro yal proclamation prohibiting coal burning in London was passed and an industrialist beheaded for violating the order.

The author cites some of the major disasters of the 20th century which occurred in Meuse Valley (Belgium) on December 5, 1930, Donara (Pennsylvania) in October 1940 and London in 1952.

Closer home, the methyl isocyanate leak at the Bhopal unit of Union Carbide on December 2, 1984, killed 2,500 people instantly and disabled many others in the surrounding areas. By end-1999, about 16,000 people had died and over 2 lakh injured in the aft ermath of the gas leak, which is perhaps the worst industrial accident in the history of humankind. The tragedy has heightened awareness of the dangers of air pollution all over the world.

Industries must incorporate air-pollution control mechanisms in the initial project cost estimates and not wait until the locals and workmen demand for it.

The manual also deals with water pollution, which has been defined as any adulteration in chemical, physical or biological properties beyond the established unit of tolerance either for human, domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural or other uses. The author discusses in detail the various methods for treatment of water, including waste water, and monitoring water pollution.

The dangers of contagious diseases and chronic epidemics have been explained to highlight the importance of sanitation. The manual discusses measures to step up industrial sanitation to acceptable norms. Acknowledging that many industrial units are too s mall to employ a full-time sanitary engineer, the author suggests the creation of a separate industry catering to this need. In any case, State and local Health Department officials are expected to co-operate with industries and offer services such as re view of plans and general consultation on environmental health problems.

The manual is written not by an armchair theorist but a professional engineer with over 30 years of shop-floor experience. The author and his team have worked hard for four years in producing the manual. Their task will be rewarded even if a few manageme nts begin to re-evaluate safety systems in their organisations. The recent $-145 billion compensation awarded by a US jury for smokers in Florida should be an eye-opener. As they say, `Prevention is better than cure'.

Dr. V.K. Vijayan, Director, Patel Chest Institute, New Delhi, has put it pithily in his foreword: ``the publication will be useful to administrators, medical personnel and engineers in the years to come. Really a useful and inexpensive handbook to everyo ne concerned with industrial safety in one way or the other.''

K.S.V. Menon