Disaster Management Community Poverty _____________________________ Work and Employment Community Solution Exchange for the Disaster Management Community Solution Exchange for the Work and Employment Community Consolidated Reply Query: Ensuring Safety of Workers during Fireworks Production, Transportation and Storage - Examples; Experiences Compiled by G Padmanabhan, Resource Person and Nupur Arora and Warisha Yunus, Research Associates Issue Date: 19 May 2011

From Suresh Mariaselvam, Phoenix Resource Centre, Chennai Posted 7 March 2011 Dear Members, In the last three years, there have been series of fire accidents in and around Sivakasi, the country's fireworks hub, claiming more than 40 lives. This has brought to fore issues of inadequate safety arrangements, lack of training to labourers and the growth of unregistered units. A brief report on Sivakasi Fireworks Industries published by 'Cauveri Development Office' can be referred for more information at this link: http://www.dbrd.org/fileadmin/dateien/projekte/asien/indien/Sivakasi_Feuerwerksproduktion/Feu erwerksproduktion_in_Sikavasi.pdf (PDF, Size: 1.39 MB) There are various factors contributing to the increase in such accidents. According to a worker of a cracker manufacturing unit, the accidents had increased only after introduction of Chinese

pyrotechnics which required specialized training for mixing the chemicals and packing them in different combinations. With demand for fireworks increasing, the number of hours required for packing chemicals in crackers has also gone up. Though there is a rule that chemical packing should be done only for three hours, it is done for more than 12 hours, resulting in fatigue and carelessness in handling the work. A worker based at Tiruthangal near Sivakasi, who had received training for pyrotechnics in China, says unrecognised units use "spurious and substandard chemicals" for manufacturing crackers. They could affect not only the workers, but even the people who used the fireworks. Every year new combinations and varieties were introduced by big units to meet competitions, but the workers were not properly trained to handle them. Apart from this, some of unregistered units operate in the night hours in violation of rules as electric sparks could trigger accidents. Some urgent steps need to be taken in this regard and I would like members of Disaster Management and Work and Employment Community to: • Share examples of standard operating procedure (SOPs) and guidelines for fireworks production, transportation and storage. • Share experiences regarding training of workers in manufacturing units on safety issues and/or implementing SOPs and safety-check norms. • Provide suggestions on how to ensure safety of workers of firework units and communities living surrounding areas. Your inputs on these will help us create awareness on this issue and suggest measures to work towards a safer fireworks industry.

Responses were received, with thanks, from 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Ravi Nitesh, Mission Bhartiyam, Lucknow Jince Michael Mathew, A4e India Limited, New Delhi K. M. Parivelan, EGSS and Earth Smiles, Chennai* Suresh Mariaselvam, Phoenix Resource Centre, Chennai Pinaki Dasgupta, C. P. Consultants Private Limited, New Delhi Binu K Puram, GoI-UNDP DRR Programme, Palakkad, Kerala Brig BK Khanna, National Disaster Managment Authority, Government of India, New Delhi

*Offline Contribution Further contributions are welcome!

Summary of Responses Comparative Experiences Related Resources Responses in Full Summary of Responses Members shared various experiences on the query ‘Ensuring Safety of during Fireworks Production, Transportation and Storage.’ They however, also noted that the geographical area of

the fireworks industry is less than 2000 sq. mt. and the impact of the accidents are confined within this region only. On Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) and guidelines for fireworks production, transportation and storage, members shared that the SoPs of other industries cannot be applied in the fireworks industry as the risks involved are of a different nature. They stressed on developing specialized set of SOPs for this industry to ensure risk reduction in different stages of fireworks production and marketing. Members suggested the following guidelines that may be considered: • • • • • • • • • •

Establish the fireworks industries/units away from residential areas. Ensure that the factory operates on a valid license. Construct a good metallic road to the factory sites. Build well designed units as per the norms of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC). Use trained and certified people to work in the fireworks units. Restrict entry only to authorized personals. Have a well marked emergency exit (escape route) and acquaint the members with it. Enumerate all the chemicals used and stored in the unit. Ensure availability of emergency power. Conduct periodic safety checks and safety vigil along with Government officials as well as corporates working in the sector and taking strong action against the violators.

On the experiences regarding training of workers in manufacturing units on safety issues and/or implementing SOPs and safety-check norms, members shared that mock drills conducted with the workers have brought forth a number of gaps in the safety norms and the arrangements followed by the industries. In addition, members stressed on the need to develop courses that train and certify candidates on safety measures to be followed during different stages of fireworks production. They also emphasized on the need to link these courses with placements through Government’s flagship programmes through Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) scheme or Skill Development Initiative Scheme (SDIS)/Modular Employable Skills (MES) scheme. The Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Industry associations could collaborate for this purpose, members noted. Respondents also emphasized on the need to develop an off site preparedness and response plan with the neighbouring community as done in Rajasthan taking into account both industry specific and natural hazards as well as other possible scenarios as done in Uttar Pradesh. The SOP for each hazard could be used to develop Joint Operations Procedures (JoPs) to deal with multiple hazards in a comprehensive manner, noted the members. On the suggestions on how to ensure safety of workers of firework units and communities living in surrounding areas, members shared the following: • • • • •

Employ only trained and certified staff. Define maximum number of work hours. Use audio-visual tools like video presentations, films and video games on safety issues for generating awareness amongst the workers and the neighboring areas on the risks involved in working or living around these factories and the safety measures that can be taken. Conduct tests with the workers to assess their understanding of the safety norms. Organize mock drills to handle the emergency situation.

• • •

Provide personal protective equipments to all workers. Institute rewards and recognition for the workers as well as the factories/units for following proper safety norms. Prepare a Chemical Emergency and Disaster Management Plan based on a comprehensive risk assessment and acquaint the workers with it

Overall, they stressed on the need to work with the industries to sensitize them on the need to fill in the gaps that exist in their disaster management planning. They also underscored the need to have a policy framework in place for promoting on site and off site disaster management planning for all industries and chemical handling units.

Comparative Experiences Rajasthan Comprehensive Disaster Preparedness Plan (DPP) for Cairn India (from K. M. Parivelan,

DM Consultant, EGSS and Earth Smiles, Chennai)

After the Indian Oil depot fire in Jaipur in 2009, Government of Rajasthan and Cairn Energy developed a comprehensive Disaster Preparedness Plan (DPP) for Cairn India in Barmer district of Rajasthan. In addition to the onsite preparedness and response plan a comprehensive off site plan is developed with neighbourhood community participation. A continuous process of engaging the community has been included Uttar Pradesh Including Chemical Agents and Deliberate Human Acts in DM Plan, various districts

(from Amit Tuteja, SEEDS India, New Delhi)

In Badaun District (U.P.) DM Plan covered all probable scenarios, including chemical accidents, deliberate human acts (sabotage) with the role of Chief Emergency Controller (District Magistrate), Incident Commander (Plant Head) and other nodal officers. Similarly in Surat, Gujarat offsite emergencies were included in district plan. This has helped in enhancing preparedness to human induced hazards such as accidents due to chemicals etc.

Related Resources Recommended Documentation Summary of Disaster Management Plan for Cairn India (from K. M. Parivelan, DM

Consultant, EGSS and Earth Smiles, Chennai)

Summary of DMP; by Environmental and Geo Spatial Solutions (EGSS); Cairn India Limited; Available at ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/drm/cr/res25021101.pdf (PDF 65 KB)

The DMP includes an off site and on site comprehensive preparedness and response plan with the participation of the neighborhood community. National Disaster Management Guidelines Chemical Disasters (from Brig BK Khanna,

National Disaster Managment Authority, Government of India, New Delhi)

Guidelines; by National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India; New Delhi; April 2007; Available at http://ndma.gov.in/ndma/guidelines/Chemical-Disaster.pdf (PDF 2.1 MB)

The Guidelines provide directions to ministries, departments and state authorities for the preparation of their DMPs for management of chemical disasters.

Recommended Organizations and Programmes National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Delhi (from Brig (Dr.) B. K. Khanna) NDMA Bhawan, A-1, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110029; Tel: 91-11-26701700; [email protected]; http://ndma.gov.in/ndma/aboutus.htm ; Contact Brigadier (Dr). B. K. Khanna; [email protected]; 9911297972

Works to empower stakeholders for improving the effectiveness of disaster management in the country by conducting mock exercises on all types of disasters, inter alia.

Responses in Full Ravi Nitesh, Mission Bhartiyam, Lucknow In all type of works, it is compulsory to save life by reducing the risks involved. Involvement in fireworks industry is really a risky job and the risk increases if the person involved, is, by any chance, also careless. We so often read in newspapers about explosions and deaths as a result of accidents in these industries and thus the query becomes important. I experienced that most individuals/organizations compromise on safety and face disasters just because of carelessness, lack of knowledge and improper working culture. Following are my suggestions to ensure safety. The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of any other industry can't be copied for this industry because of difference in the kind of risks involved; instead there should be a specialized set of SOPs for these kinds of industries. Some guidelines which may be included are: • • • • • • • • • • • •

Such type of establishment should be away from populated areas. Should have proper ventilation and not be confined. Only trained manpower must be used. Workers should be trained for this work and a card may be issued to each worker after a successful training which will help him to be recognized as a certified and trained worker. Entry should be restricted for all other than authorized personals. Building material should be made of flammable materials. Emergency exit and emergency plan should be prepared and well disseminated with the workers. Maximum work hours should be defined for workers. Child labor should be strictly banned and there should be a practice to define maximum age to work in these hazardous industries because they (children and older people) are more vulnerable. Safety checks should be followed and in case of violation of these checks, action should be taken against violator. Safety vigil should be launched with a panel of Government officials and corporate who are working in this sector. Reward and recognition may be instituted for the workers and industries for following proper safety norms. Mock drills should be organized to handle the emergency situation. These drills keep the body and mind of every worker active. These drills develop understanding, decision making skills and co-ordination among workers.

• •

After regular intervals, there should be a test regarding understanding of safety norms; these test scores may be used at the time of promotion and rewards. Video presentations, films and video games on safety issues may be used to make workers as well as the communities living around these industries aware of the risks involved and safety measures that can be taken.

Thanks and Regards,

Jince Michael Mathew, A4e India Limited, New Delhi I would like to share the following points: •

Notwithstanding the fact that fire work industry is of considerable size, the lion’s share is unorganized sector. Like any other unorganized sector-related issues in India, this sector also needs state intervention at policy levels and in ensuring compliance with regulations. No Civil Society Organizations (NGOs, Trade Unions, etc) can not play a Police role in this issue. They can play the role of a whistle blower only.

•

Professionalizing the sector is another challenge. Despite the considerable size of the industry in the geographical cluster, it is strange that no one has thought about developing a course (as a trade in vocational education system), which would train and certify the existing employees and new entrants on production efficiency as well as safety measures. Need for developing a course curriculum and offering placement linked trainings [may be through Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) scheme or through the Skill Development Initiative Scheme (SDIS)/Modular Employable Skills (MES) scheme] would be a call the CSOs in the region can take. They can mobilize the support of the industries associations in the area as well.

•

Traditional methods and best practices of ensuring safety may be explored and documented along with the global best practices.

Let the discussions be instrumental in bringing life-enriching changes in thousands of lives

K. M. Parivelan, EGSS and Earth Smiles, Chennai* At the outset my sincere appreciation to Kerala State Disaster Management Authority for taking up the Human induced Disasters issue particularly focussing on Industrial & Chemical Disasters. It is pertinent to have a policy framework to promote on site plan and off site plan for all industries and chemical handling units as mandatory. Whether it is hazardous chemicals, oil or gas transportation in and around habitations are going to be risky so proper preparedness and response plan is must for all industries concerned. I would like to share the experience of developing a comprehensive Disaster Preparedness Plan (DMP) for Cairn India, which is engaged in oil and gas exploration in Barmer district of Rajasthan. As a follow up to Indian Oil depot fire in Jaipur in 2009, Government of Rajasthan and Cairn Energy took this initiative to develop a comprehensive DMP. The highlights of this study is that apart from onsite preparedness and response plan a comprehensive off site preparedness and response plan is developed with neighbourhood community participation. Here it has to be continuous process of engaging the preparing the community not only from escalation of industry specific hazard but also taking in to account natural hazards. So mutli-hazard approach can be part of off site plan. Taking the Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) for each hazard we have suggested a Joint Operations procedures (JoP) between the industry concerned and district administration.

The DMP covers (i) a brief introduction to Cairn Project in Rajasthan Upstream facility, note on social, economic, demographic and geographical profile of Barmer district; (ii) Vulnerability assessment and risk analysis pertaining to different types of disasters covering on-site risks in cairn facilities and its off-site impact and external natural hazard impact; (iii) Preventive and mitigation measures to be adopted, (iv) Steps towards mainstreaming disaster management in to all facets of development, (v) Various preparedness measures having a thrust on community based disaster management and multi-stake holder approach involving district administration, Line departments, Medical, Civil Defence, Home Gaurds, etc, and (vi) Response mechanisms consisting of early warning systems, unified command system, response coordination. The detailed DMP was prepared and shared in consultation with Barmer district administration. Kindly see the brief summary of DMP at . ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/drm/cr/res25021101.pdf (Pdf, Size- 65 KB)

Suresh Mariaselvam, Phoenix Resource Centre, Chennai Thank you very much for your response to my query. As I notice, most of the responses to the previous query 'Integrating Human induced disasters in District Disaster Management Plan' posted on the Disaster Management Community have given appropriate solutions. Especially, the response from my colleague Dr. Parivelan has suggested the integration of on-site plan with the off-site plan with the involvement of all stakeholders especially the district administration could be seriously considered. This query has not attracted many responses since the geographical area of this industry that caters the need for matches and fire crackers for the whole country is less than 2000 sq. kms. and the impact of fire accidents do not reach beyond this region. In addition, majority of the members can understand the institutional framework and policy matters but not this industry which has lots of illegal loopholes and the serious threats it poses. Nevertheless, I thank the moderators for posting this query.

Pinaki Dasgupta, C. P. Consultants Private Limited, New Delhi Apologize for sending in a delayed response. However more than online sharing, it would be great if we can also implement ideas and combine our intellectual abilities in disseminating proper awareness among all stakeholders in a systematic manner. It will be good, if we can do a project on the same in the next few months. I don't know what is the feasibility, but it will be very useful. The firecracker industry involves many hazardous chemicals in predominantly powder form and also some recently used high tech one using slurry as well. The key to minimize disasters in such units is to have a well defined safety process involving the following points as a checklist in yes or no: • • • • • •

Best Manufacturing practice followed Inventorization of chemicals done Chemicals storage enumeration (type/quantity/construction material) Study of hazards: Toxic, fire, explosion, reactive (this is important as any chemicals with little requirement of ignition energy can explode) Fire Fighting facility design as per NFPA and TAC. Whether sprinklers and hydrants are installed Facility design as per factories rules and explosive rules

• • • • • • • • • •

Adequate ventilation Escape routes identified Proper training of managing fires and explosions Emergency power available Personal protective equipments Awareness of meteorological conditions Training to near by villages and education Chemical Emergency and Disaster Management Plan A comprehensive risk assessment and proving that individual as well societal risk is acceptable Awareness among Government employees for strictly monitoring industries for adhering to various laws and regulations

I think if we can start with the above 16 rules, the process will identify the gaps and bottlenecks in the manufacturers so that a tangible improvement is achieved in a short time. The cracker manufacturing should be reviewed by a panel of experts before providing clearances. I hope the same is of some use to the community

Binu K Puram, GoI-UNDP DRR Programme, Palakkad, Kerala Recently we have witnessed an explosion in a cracker manufacturing factory and the same has killed 14 persons .The owner of the factory is severely injured and still he is fighting for his life. The disaster spot is in the banks of a River and also situated 50 m away from a rail line. A person traveling in a passenger train was seriously injured and fell down from the train and lost his leg in the incident. After 4 days he was dead. A tree branch had hit him down from the passing train at the time of the explosion. It is reported that he was traveling by standing near the door. It is said that 22 persons were working in the factory and some of them were gone out just before the incident after their work to take bath in the nearby river. Around 4.45 pm the factory exploded due to unknown reasons and became a blaze. Those who left the factory and others were rushed into the burning factory and completed the evacuation. Officials and public were rushing into the spot. The 3 km narrow road from main road to disaster spot was overcrowded by people and vehicles. Two wheeler passengers kept their vehicles in the road side and walked into the spot. This has lead to heavy blockage in the road and the emergency vehicles such as Ambulances and fire Engines were forced to stop in half way. Ministers, People’s representatives and Government officials were forced to walk kilometers to reach the spot. Fortunately there was no more causality in the spot; if so there will be more cases of death. By referring this incident I would like to mention some important steps to avoid these kinds of menaces: • Public will be taken some steps to inform the authorities about the presence of such factories in their visibility. • The factory was working without a proper licensee; so it is important to have a valid license • There were no fire& safety equipments in the factory and even it is not properly constructed. It was actually made by Palm leaves, tarpaulin sheets and wooden pillars understandably these can create fire. So ensuring safety of the building is important. • The explosive were kept in small plastic bags and there were no protection methods to maintain the low temperature. It is important to keep the temperature very low. • They used some banned explosives and those who are selling these banned items must be punished.

• • •

Proper road to the factory sites must be constructed or assured. During disasters the Police would close the roads and make arrangements to ensure the mobility of the causalities. It will be good to avoid visiting the spot immediately after the disaster by any person.

Brig BK Khanna, National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India, New Delhi I have read with interest the various inputs on the safety of workers in Fire Crackers Industry, > 90% of which is based in Sivakasi, Tamilnadu. On behalf of the NDMA and in coordination n with the Tamilnadu Government and the district administration of Virudhnagar, I had conducted mock exercise in three major industrial units in Sivakasi on 28th Jan 2011. We had conducted the Coordination Conference and the Table Top Exercise prior to the Mock Exercise in November 2010. Any number of gaps came to light after the Mock Exercise, which were shared with the District Collector, Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, Joint Director of Explosives and the MDs and the workers of the Industries. All other stake-holders like police, fire services, civil defence, municipal board, electricity, water and communication departments, public relations, NGOs, local media also attended the Debriefing after the mock exercise. As per the Deputy Inspector of Factories, every year, 15 to 20 persons die in Sivakasi due to the accidents. As per the district Police, whenever there is an accident, the Supervisor along with the active member/s of the Management of the concerned industry, just vanish from the scene and remain missing for 7 to 10 days. They return only after the things have subsided. As the local community is also the employees of these very industries producing the fire crackers and match boxes, the things get settled amicably. It was also seen that the industries do adhere to safety norms, but their preparedness for disaster management is wanting. The immediate response to any disaster is no where near the minimum required. Most industries do not have any DM Plans, other who are these plans are sketchy. The DM resources with the industries are very minimal, with most dependence on the Govt. response. Besides there are any number of rail crossings, which hamper the response of the first responders. There is an urgent need to sensitize the management of the industries on the mandatory requirement to look into the disaster management facet for their respective industries. The industries have been advised accordingly in the 'after action report', with most actions to be taken by the district administration and the CIF. For further details the members and those interested from the industries themselves can contact me at 09911297972.

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