National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) at Panipat, India

I.

Background Information

It was a routine to replace the defective safety valve of the spare of ammonia feed pump at the15-year-old urea plant of the National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) at Panipat. Around 11:00 am on August 26, eight employees climbed the steps to the open-air ramp, which had been declared a "safe area" by the plant safety department, and began to replace the valve. The bush of the suction valve that stops the gas flow from the mainline, gave way. Liquid ammonia burst out at the high pressure of 23 kg per sq cm, vaporizing within seconds to form suffocating clouds of deadly gas.

II.

Problem Statement

This hit and choked to death eleven persons and injured ten even as their colleagues sprung into action to diffuse the gas with water sprays. The initial splash of the liquid ammonia hit Lal Singh, assistant shift engineer. The plant, which produces 1,550 tons of urea daily, has won many awards, as recorded in the glossy brochure dished out to journalists by the company. S Narayanan, technical director, said this was the first major incident in any of the NFL plants. This incident was said to be a freak accident. Is it really the fault of the workers themselves that lead to their death?

III.

Analysis of the Study

National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) is a major Indian producer of inorganic and organic fertilizers and industrial chemicals and was established in 1974. The plant had a routine to replace the safety valve of spare of ammonia feed up pump. Around 11:00 am on August 26, eight employees climbed the steps to the open air ramp, which had been declared as a safe area by the plant safety department and began to replace the valve. An unlikely thing just happened, liquid ammonia burst out at the high pressure, vaporizing within seconds to form suffocating clouds of

deadly gas. This hit and choked to death eleven persons and injured ten even as their colleagues sprung into action to diffuse the gas water sprays. The officials said that they have been following all safety precautions and the leak was a freak accident. However, from all accounts, there seems to have been some laxity on personal protective precautions that workers are expected to take when working on the ammonia pipelines. The use of gas masks could have prevented the extreme exposure to the highly-concentrated ammonia. Raj Kumar admitted that for maintenance jobs, the usually dont wear protective gear. Narayanan said that the area had been declared safe and passes had been issued to permit work in the area. These passes were not enough to assure the safety of the plant. For the plant like the National Fertilizers Limited it is dangerous to work without safety gears.

IV.

Discussions of Solution To prevent the same incident, the following alternative solutions were drawn: Take precautionary measures when ever inside or outside the plant The head operator must be responsible for his workers. He must check all the safety gear to be wear by his workers A single detail for the safety must not be taken for granted

V.

Recommendation

The following recommendations were made: Always take extra precautions to ensure that workers other than those doing the hazardous task Always wear protective gears while working in the plant The safety on the plant not only lies in the plant itself but most especially to its workers References: http://www.downtoearth.org.in http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in http://www.indianexpress.com