Term paper

On

REDUCTION OF DEATHS AND ILLNESS FROM HAZARDOUS

CHEMICALS AND POLLUTION: CHALLENGES

Prepared by
DR. AFSANA TASMIM TISHA
ROLL NO: 11802

118th Special foundation training Course for BCS (Health) Cadre Officer
National Academy for Planning & Development
Nilkhet, Dhaka.
 Table of Contents
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Defining Hazardous Chemical …………………………………………………………… 3

Hazardous Chemical Categories………………………………………………………….. 3
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ………………………………………………… 3
Use of Hazardous Chemicals and Challenges Ahead…………………………………….. 4
National Guideline & Laws related to Hazardous Chemical Safety……………………... 4
Case Study-1: BM Depot incident…….............................................................................. 5
Case Study-2: The Nimtoli Blaze........................................................................................ 7
General Weakness & Challenges handling hazardous chemicals ...................................... 8
Challenges on Fire due to Chemical Hazard: Common Terminologies............................. 8
Pollution............................................................................................................................... 9
Challenges of Air Pollution................................................................................................. 10
Future Air Pollution Abatement Difficulties....................................................................... 11
The Consequences of Water Pollution................................................................................ 11
Regulatory Measures to Combat Water Pollution ………………………………………. 12
Challenges and Future Prospects: Water pollution............................................................. 13
Recommendations to reduce water pollution...................................................................... 13
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………... 14
Reference………………………………………………………………………………… 14

2|Page
Introduction
The menace of hazardous chemical as a threat to our existence is nothing new in Bangladesh
perspective. The rampant use of toxic chemicals at almost every workplace particularly in ship-
breaking, tannery and chemical industries is putting the huge number of the country's workforce
at high health risk. Pollution is another threat to human health and well-being in Bangladesh.
Pollution can take many forms and has the ability to impact water, air, and food systems, among
other areas critical to human life. Air and water pollution can lead directly to deadly diseases also
impact the crops and livestock that humans need to survive.

Defining Hazardous Chemical

A hazardous chemical is any chemical that has the potential to cause injury, adverse health effects,
or damage to the environment. Chemical hazards take a variety of forms, including dusts, vapors,
fumes, solvents, acids, and petroleum.

Hazardous Chemical Categories

 Flammable or explosive (e.g.
petroleum, TNT, plastic explosives)
 Irritating or corrosive to skin, lungs,
and eyes (e.g. acids, alkali, paints,
fumes)
 Toxic chemicals (e.g. carbon
monoxide, hydrogen sulfide,
cyanide)

Figure: Types of chemical hazards

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

By 2030, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3.9 calls for substantial reductions in the number
of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and SDG 6.3 seeks to improve water quality by
reducing pollution.

3|Page
Use of Hazardous Chemicals and Challenges Ahead
The country's industrial footprints are continuously expanding beyond the conventional light
industries to medium and heavy industries.

Expanding chemical industry: Businesses imported chemicals (pesticides, textiles, leather,

pharmaceuticals, paints, fertilizers, foot wares etc.) worth Tk 175.48 billion in 2017-18 which was
only Tk 61.03 billion in 2007-08. Lack of regulations, standard operational practices, rigorous
monitoring and adaptation of safety protocols and technologies, may lead to catastrophic disasters
at any time.

Lack of proper chemical management: There have been numerous incidents due to hazardous
chemical. These painstaking learnings, should compel the industries and other stakeholders to
make stringent safety protocols, standard operating procedures and even laws to ensure the safety
of people, property and the environment. But here the regulatory bodies themselves lack necessary
knowledge and resources to provide the right guidelines.

Indifference of the owners: Not everywhere in Bangladesh, safety regulations are proactively
implemented by the industries at the initial phase. Implementing those practices has an impact on
the production cost. Hence, across all industries, business leaders remain indifferent to
implementing those despite knowing the safety benefits.

Lack of coordination in Accident Investigations: Immediately after any catastrophic accident,

different regulatory agencies, ministries and organizations forms probe committees. These
committees usually make a visit to the site and produce a report within very short period. Many
of this committees do not publish their report. In many cases, their findings and opinions
contradict with each other. It creates confusion to the public.

National Guideline & Laws related to Hazardous Chemical Safety

* Bangladesh labor law 2006

* OSH policy 2013
* The Environment Conservation Rules, 1997
* Explosive Rule 2004
* The Dangerous Cargoes Act, 1953
* The LPG Rules 2004

4|Page
* The Petroleum Rules 2018
* The Ammonium Nitrate Rules 2018
* The CNG Rules 2005
* Bangladesh National Building Codes (BNBC 2020)
* The Chemical Weapon (Prohibition) Act 2006
* LPG Storage, Bottling, Transportation and Dispensing Codes and Standards, 2016
* Solid Waste Management Rules 2021
* Air Pollution (Control) Rules 2022

Case Study-1: BM Depot incident

4 June,2022 at BM Depot, Sitakunda -
a deadly explosion and fire which left
51 people dead and 250 injured, export
goods worth Tk213 crore were
destroyed. major deviations from the
safety standards were found. Hydrogen
peroxide was not stored within the
secured and segregated perimeter. Figure: BM container depot accident

Shortcomings & challenges

Miscommunication: The fire service tried heart and soul to control the spread of the fire. They
were failing, because there was a miscommunication between the firemen and the informers. On
the basis of the information coming from the authorities of the depots, the firemen threw just water
instead of foam.

Wrong fire extinguishing procedure: Hydrogen peroxide, as we know, is an extremely

flammable chemical compound which reacts more with water. To stop the spread caused by this
chemical, foam is to be used in abundance. Water, on the contrary, causes more damages

Absence of manufacturers document/tag: All chemical containers must have the materials
specification description along with a material safety data sheet (MSDS).

5|Page
No secondary chemical storage/back up: There was no secondary containment facility that
would have restricted the chemicals from directly going to the surrounding environment if any
incident occurs.

Faulty vessel structure: The breathing or venting ports used to store chemicals which have an
oxidizing nature and are critical components of preventing an explosion were not assessed.

Excessive concentration of hazardous chemical: The concentration of the hydrogen peroxide

was relatively higher (60 per cent) in the case of the BM Depot incident and berating or venting
ports had to be designed in line with that.

No emergency response plan& firefighting management: At any chemical storage yard or

warehouse, areas such as explosion zone and hot zone must be created, carrying proper signs to
help ensure the evacuation of people and assist the emergency response team. Unfortunately, there
was no such thing in practice. Even they did not have any emergency response procedure in place.

Recommendations:

Strict guidelines & implementation: Thoroughly assessing established guidelines, implementing

those guidelines at the ground level and continuously validating them can bring effective safety
outcomes.

Audit with regular intervals/schedules: A third-party verification in the form of regular audits
must be in place to monitor and validate the ground.

Accident analysis plans & safety teamwork: Risk management plan, emergency response plan,
hazardous material handling procedure, HAZOP (Hazard and operability analysis) process safety
considerations are the major initiatives that had to be addressed within the framework.

6|Page
Case Study-2 The Nimtoli Blaze

Nimtoli fire started at about 8:45 pm on June

3rd, 2010, and spread to a chemical warehouse.
The blaze started in a five-storey building,
where a long exposure to intense heat from
stoves, chemicals stored in adjacent room
caught fire. The flammable chemicals acted like
shooting lava, and spread the fire to
surrounding buildings. There was no escape, as
the flames, prevented people from leaving their
buildings. Nearly 50-52 tons of chemicals
stored in a five-storey building had swelled the
flames. The mishap killed 124 people, leaving
one hundred more at hospitals. Figure: Nimtoli Accident

Shortcomings & challenges

Relocation of chemicals to industrial zone: Storage of highly flammable chemicals in residential

building was the key contributing factor of this accident. Release of small amount of these
chemicals may have formed explosive mixture with air in a confined area and could have caused
explosion.

Valid License for chemicals: Many of these chemical businesses and establishments do not have
valid license. This is much more concerning as they are not compliant as per national regulations.
In many cases, the business has been identified illegal after the accident occurs.

7|Page
General Weakness & Challenges handling hazardous chemicals

* Absence of standardized rules, regulations, or procedures regarding chemical management

* Lack of widescale national or governmental coordination or integration of chemical safety
* Lack of financial resources or allocation in research for safer chemical management
* No centralized database for the identification, storage, and management of chemicals
* Unskilled, untrained, and unauthorized personnel handling hazardous chemicals
* Improper waste management
* Lack of chemical incident reporting means no immediate emergency response
* Lack of coordination in investigating chemical accidents
* Absence of a chemical safety culture
* Lack of awareness on risk of handling and transportation of hazardous chemicals

Challenges on Fire due to Chemical Hazard: Common Terminologies

Deaths can be minimized if we take these following steps into consideration.

Fire Hazard Management: Remove or reduce hazard

* Remove unused combustible materials.
* Remove unnecessary heat sources
* Check the safety and maintenance status of electric and mechanical equipment.
* Do not use open flames (gas, lighters, cigarettes, etc) in risk areas.
* Try to extinguish the fire with nearest extinguisher& switch electrical devices off.
* Sound the general alarm, contact fire department and ambulance.
* Leave the building through the nearest exit.
* Persons with disabilities should be assisted.
* Go to designated evacuation area.
* Check the missing workers.

8|Page
Establishing Fire Fighting Measures
* Reduce distance to exits,
* Provide alternative emergency exit,
* Keep the exit way clear,
* Limit to crowing,
* Provide an adequate number of the fire extinguisher.
* Provide a fire alarm system.
Establishing Fire Fighting & Evacuation Procedure
* Immediately alert the floor supervisor and other workers.
* Don’t panic! Remain clam.
* Cleared & unlocked Escape routes.
* Periodically checked evacuation plan.
* Scheduled mock drill.
* Fire extinguisher.
* Alarm & rescue teams (ambulance, fire department)
* Adequate training.
Pollution
Air Pollution

In the broad sense, air pollution is defined as the introduction of poisonous or otherwise harmful
substances into the air. These substances can range from toxic chemicals to biological
compounds, but they all pose a risk to human health and the environment in one way or another.

Major Sources of Outdoor Air Pollution: Brick Kilns, Brick Kilns, Power Plants, Trans-
boundary air pollution (from neighboring countries)
Major Sources of Household Air Pollution: Biomass fuel (wood (41%), leaves, bamboo, cow
dung, straw, paddy husk, jute sticks, bagasse, and sawdust), Diesel Generator (concentrations of
PM2.5 and PM10 increased by 50-100%)
Health Impact of Air Pollution in Bangladesh: Mortality, Lower Respiratory Tract Infection
(LRTI), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD), Lung Cancer, Ischemic Heart
Disease (IHD), and stroke

9|Page
Challenges of Air Pollution

Even if organizations like the EPA are working to reduce pollution, we need to identify all major
sources of contamination in order to identify an effective solution.

Achieving High Health Standards for Common Air Pollutants: The areas that still suffer
from excessive contamination need to be prioritized in order to achieve high health standards
relating to common air contaminants.

Limiting the Effect on Global Climate: The constant burning of fossil fuels and the relentless
emission of multiple pollutants has caused a higher number of extreme weather events as well as
increased the planet’s overall temperature.

Reducing Risks Associated with Air Pollutants: High levels of air pollution can cause a huge
array of health complications. Furthermore, new pollutants are discovered regularly, so
developing effective abatement systems that can be enhanced.

Protecting the Ozone Layer: The ozone layer protects us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet
rays, so it’s our duty to protect the ozone layer. Unfortunately, some air pollutants actually
destroy the ozone faster than it can regenerate through its natural process.

Figure:Air pollution in Chattogram port area Figure:Water pollution in outskirts of Dhaka

10 | P a g e
Future Air Pollution Abatement Difficulties

Future air pollution abatement challenges include:

Increasing Number of Industrial Facilities: Humans are multiplying at an alarming rate, which
also means more industrial facilities. Authorities have to find better regulation techniques.

Little to No Mitigation Systems: The biggest issue with air pollution is that it shows no signs of
slowing down. At the same time, it’s estimated that only a small percentage of industrial
facilities in Bangladesh have a proper pollution abatement system.

Accountability: Many companies fail to comply with environmentally-friendly practices

because they know they can get away with it. Governing bodies need to step in & organizations
must be held accountable for their actions.

Water Pollution
Causes of Water Pollution in Bangladesh

*Industrial Pollution:
*Agricultural Runoff
*Municipal Wastewater
*Shipbreaking Industry:
*Tanneries

The Consequences of Water Pollution

The consequences of water pollution in Bangladesh are far-reaching, affecting both the
environment and public health.

Health Risks: Prolonged exposure to pollutants can lead to chronic health problems, cholera,
dysentery, and typhoid.

Environmental Degradation: Aquatic ecosystems suffer when pollutants disrupt the balance of
natural habitats. Fish populations decline, and the overall biodiversity of rivers and water bodies
is threatened.

Economic Impact: Water pollution has economic repercussions, affecting sectors such as
fisheries, agriculture, and tourism. Reduced fish stocks and polluted agricultural land can lead to
food insecurity and loss of livelihoods.

Drinking Water Crisis: As contamination spreads, clean drinking water becomes scarce, and
the population is forced to rely on unsafe water sources, exacerbating health issues.

11 | P a g e
Regulatory Measures to Combat Water Pollution
Bangladesh has recognized the urgency of addressing water pollution and has put in place various
regulatory measures to tackle the issue:

Environmental Conservation Rules (ECR), 1997: These rules provide a comprehensive

framework for controlling industrial pollution.

National Environmental Policy (NEP), 1992: The NEP emphasizes sustainable development and
aims to integrate environmental concerns into all sectors of the economy.

The Department of Environment (DoE): DoE is the primary government agency responsible for
enforcing environmental regulations in Bangladesh.

Safe Drinking Water Act, 1985: This act regulates the quality of drinking water and sets standards
for safe drinking water sources.

Ship breaking and Recycling Act, 2018: This act seeks to regulate the shipbreaking industry and
ensure responsible dismantling practices to prevent pollution of coastal waters.

Tannery Park Relocation: The government has relocated tanneries from Hazaribagh to a
designated Leather Industrial Park in Savar, equipped with modern wastewater treatment facilities
to mitigate pollution.

Waste Management Initiatives: Bangladesh has initiated solid waste management programs to
reduce the dumping of waste into rivers and canals, which can contaminate water.

The Water Pollution Control Ordinance: Bangladesh has enacted legislation to regulate water
pollution. The Water Pollution Control Ordinance of 1973 provides guidelines for the prevention,
control, and abatement of water pollution.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): The EIA ensures that potential environmental
impacts, including water pollution, are identified and mitigated.

Zero Liquid Discharge Policy: Under this policy, industries are required to treat and recycle
their wastewater to ensure zero discharge into water bodies.

Strengthening Enforcement: The government has been working towards strengthening the
enforcement of environmental regulations. Increased monitoring, inspections, and penalties for
non-compliance are being implemented to deter polluters and ensure accountability.

12 | P a g e
Challenges and Future Prospects: Water pollution
While Bangladesh has made strides in addressing water pollution, numerous challenges persist:

Enforcement Gaps: Regulatory measures are only effective when enforced rigorously. Weak
enforcement and a lack of resources hinder the effectiveness of these regulations.

Resource Constraints: Bangladesh faces resource constraints in implementing comprehensive

wastewater treatment facilities and ensuring safe drinking water for all citizens.

Lack of Public Awareness: Many people are unaware of the consequences of water pollution and
their role in preventing it. Public awareness campaigns are essential to change behavior.

Climate Change: Rising sea levels and increased salinity in coastal areas due to climate change
exacerbate water pollution problems.

Transboundary Pollution: Pollution from upstream sources in neighboring countries can also
impact water quality in Bangladesh, requiring international cooperation to address.

Recommendations to reduce water pollution:

*Enforcement mechanisms to ensure that industries adhere to environmental regulations.

*Invest in infrastructure for wastewater treatment and sewage management

*Promote cleaner production technologies and sustainable agricultural practices.

*Enhance public awareness about the importance of preserving water quality.

*Collaborate with neighboring countries to address transboundary pollution.

13 | P a g e
Conclusion
Hazardous Chemical & pollution is a critical issue in Bangladesh, with severe consequences for
public health, the environment, and the economy. The country has taken important steps by
implementing regulatory measures and policies aimed at mitigating pollution. However,
addressing environment pollution requires sustained efforts, increased public awareness, and
international cooperation. By working together and embracing sustainable practices, Bangladesh
can safeguard its air,soil & water resources for future generations and ensure a healthier and more
prosperous future. To ensure sustainable development and protect the country’s valuable
resources, it is crucial for all stakeholders to work together towards effective solutions. Clean
environment is essential for life, and it is our collective responsibility to preserve this precious
resource for future generations.

References
1. Trading economics: Bangladesh Annual Growth Rate. [accessed on 09 Sep 2022]
https://tradingeconomics.com/bangladesh/gdp-growth-annual
2. https://www.safeopedia.com
3. https://wacphila.org
4. Easir A Khan, “Safety and Security Concern in Chemical Plant in Bangladesh” Int J
Petrochem Sci Eng 1(1): 03, 2016
5. Easir A Khan, “What can be done to Prevent Accidental Toxic Release, Fire & Explosion in
Chemical Process Industry.” Recent Adv Petrochem Sci. 1(1); 2017
6. Syeda, Sultana R., “Framework for Sound Management of Chemicals: Toward a Sustainable
Chemicals Industry in Bangladesh”, ACS Chem. Health & Safety. 2020, 27 (5) 288–298.

14 | P a g e