After Vizag gas leak, new MHA

guidelines on restarting
manufacturing units insist on
safety
The fresh guidelines come days after 11 people died due to a gas leak
at LG Polymers’ plant near Vizag, Andhra Pradesh.
Moneycontrol News @moneycontrolcom

Representative image

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the National Disaster Management
Authority (NDMA) on May 10 issued fresh guidelines on restarting manufacturing
industries after the lockdown period.
 While the nationwide lockdown will be place till at least May 17, reopening of
industries has been allowed in non-hotspot areas.

“Due to several weeks of lockdown and the closure of industrial units during the
lockdown period, it is possible that some of the operators might not have followed
the established SOP (standard operating procedure). As a result, some of the
manufacturing facilities, pipelines, valves, etc. may have residual chemicals, which
may pose risk. The same is true for the storage facilities with hazardous chemicals
and flammable materials,” MHA said.

This comes days after 11 people died due to a gas leak at LG Polymers’ plant near
Vizag, Andhra Pradesh. Another 1,000 exposed were exposed to the leak.

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Here are the generic guidelines issued by MHA:

> While restarting the unit, consider the first week as the trial or test run period;
ensure all safety protocols; and not try to achieve high production targets.

> To minimize the risk it is important that employees who work on specific
equipment are sensitized and made aware of the need to identify abnormalities like
strange sounds or smell, exposed wires, vibrations, leaks, smoke, abnormal
wobbling, irregular grinding or other potentially hazardous signs which indicate
the need for an immediate maintenance or if required shutdown.

> Especially during the COVID-19 times, ensure all lockout and tag out procedures
are in place on a daily basis (not applicable for units running 24 hours).
> Inspection of all equipment as per the safety protocols during the restart phase.

> In case the industry has any difficulty in managing crucial backward linkages
that may be critical
for their safe functioning, they should approach the local district administrati
on for specific assistance. District Magistrates may be instructed to ensure that in
such instances, the
industrial unit may be facilitated to run their end to end operations, in the
overall interests of industrial security.

The MHA also issued guidelines for specific industrial procedures such as storage
of raw material, manufacturing, storage and guidelines for workers.