Showing posts with label Bhopal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bhopal. Show all posts
December 27, 2022
December 20, 2022
Why Visakhapatnam gas leak should set off alarm bells May 9, 2020
Why Visakhapatnam gas leak should set off alarm bells
Why Visakhapatnam gas leak should set off alarm bells
December 16, 2022
December 12, 2022
December 8, 2022
December 2, 2022
ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY OF BHOPAL - LET ALL LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST
38 years have gone by and the victims are forgotten! India is waking up to the importance of preventing a Bhopal like incident after the LG Polymer incident in 2020. The root causes of that incident were similar to that of the Bhopal disaster.
Let all your senior leadership and all employees listen to this podcast by the BBC. There were enough warning before the incident happened.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001bs5c
Have a Process Safety Week in your organization and sensitize your leadership your workforce on the lessons of Bhopal.
TTHE LESSONS MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN.
November 20, 2022
December 3, 2020
On the 36th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Disaster
Are we better off in Process Safety Management than what we were when the Bhopal disaster occurred in 1984? I would answer this by saying that those who wanted to improve have certainly done so, with the help of various process safety initiatives by industry. But we continue to hear about many incidents every year that mar the image of the chemical industry. Based on my 41 years of experience (out of which the first 20 years were in operating plants and the next 21 years were in process safety consulting), I think the answer boils down to this basic fact. Some one said " The whole World moves on Vitamin M (Money)". After an incident, there is always a big reaction, but after some time, it becomes business as usual in some companies, and that's when another incident occurs. Can technology prevent incidents? The answer is yes, to a certain degree. But ultimately, it is decisions taken by the humans (and I am not talking about the human sitting in the control room) that cause an incident to occur. In Bhopal gas disaster too, decisions taken far away from the plant had an impact on the plant.
Mahatma Gandhi had once said "The Earth has enough for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed". Your views, please....
December 3, 2019
35 years after Bhopal- lessons still being learnt!
35 years ago, on the night of December 2nd/3rd 1984, the Worlds worst industrial disaster took place.
In India and elsewhere around the World, catastrophic chemical plant incidents continue to occur. Memory is short. In the numerous incidents since Bhopal, many of the reasons are similar to those of the Bhopal disaster:
Even if you have a 40 element PSM system, there is no guarantee that a catastrophic accident will not occur. Is there a solution to this? One of the possible solutions is accountability at the highest level. By this I mean legal requirements that will make the entire board of chemical organizations accountable for a process incident that kills or maims people. The Sword of Damocles should surely work.
We still do not have any PSM rule in India apart from the OISD guidelines for the oil sector. We still do not have an independent incident investigating authority. The status of the chemical safety and security rating system whose draft was published few years ago is not known.
My thoughts are with the victims of Bhopal - dead and surviving...and I pray that another Bhopal does not occur.
Read my earlier posts on Bhopal:
In India and elsewhere around the World, catastrophic chemical plant incidents continue to occur. Memory is short. In the numerous incidents since Bhopal, many of the reasons are similar to those of the Bhopal disaster:
- cost cutting without properly analysing the effects on process safety
- poor competency
- poor asset integrity
- high attrition rate
- inadequate emergency response and planning
- inadequate facility siting
- not paying heed to audit reports and past incidents etc.
Even if you have a 40 element PSM system, there is no guarantee that a catastrophic accident will not occur. Is there a solution to this? One of the possible solutions is accountability at the highest level. By this I mean legal requirements that will make the entire board of chemical organizations accountable for a process incident that kills or maims people. The Sword of Damocles should surely work.
We still do not have any PSM rule in India apart from the OISD guidelines for the oil sector. We still do not have an independent incident investigating authority. The status of the chemical safety and security rating system whose draft was published few years ago is not known.
My thoughts are with the victims of Bhopal - dead and surviving...and I pray that another Bhopal does not occur.
Read my earlier posts on Bhopal:
See a presentation on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy by Vijita S
Aggarwal, Associate Professor, University School of Management Studies,GGS Indraprastha
University,Delhi, India in this link.
Read my older post comparing the Bhopal and the BP incident of 2005 in this
link
Read the then Police Chief’s account of the tragedy in this
link.
December 3, 2018
Another Bhopal Anniversary.....
Time flies, but for the people who died a gruesome death on 2nd/3rd night, 1984, time was irrelevant. Today, we are in the cusp of technological innovations in process safety management, but the moot point is....can technology alone prevent disasters? Its people who make decisions, decisions that may compromise process safety and that could lead to a loss of containment incident. I am always of the view that technology can only be an enabler, if properly used.
There is a welcome change in India. Increasingly, boards of directors of chemical companies are focusing not only on occupational health and safety, but also on process safety. This is a welcome change. Lets pledge not to have another Bhopal again.
There is a welcome change in India. Increasingly, boards of directors of chemical companies are focusing not only on occupational health and safety, but also on process safety. This is a welcome change. Lets pledge not to have another Bhopal again.
December 3, 2017
Bhopal - Lessons only partly learnt
Today is the 33rd anniversary of Bhopal. But we, In India have only partly learnt the lessons from Bhopal.
December 3, 2016
Another Anniversary of Bhopal but have we learnt the lessons?
In my view, the answer to the questions posed in the title of this blogspot is sadly "NO". We are making the same mistakes as Bhopal even today, as shown by the root causes of incidents that occur in current times. Please spend this week in your organisation as "Process Safety Management Week - Lessons from Bhopal" and educate your young workforce.
See all my earlier postings on Bhopal in this link.
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
See all my earlier postings on Bhopal in this link.
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
July 7, 2016
Bhopal Plant Disaster – Situation Summary M.J. Peterson
Bhopal Plant Disaster – Situation Summary M.J. Peterson
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
December 2, 2015
The Ghosts of Bhopal
On the 31st anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Disaster, and with the post Bhopal generation of Chemical Engineers now managing Chemical plants, let us remind ourselves that the Ghosts of Bhopal are still around. We continue to see compromises in process safety management leading to catastrophic accidents.
CSB finds that systemic failures at CAPECO included: (The highlighted failures are the same failures that happened in Bhopal)
I also managed to locate a Dec 31, 1984 article on the Bhopal Gas Disaster written in India Today. Read it in this link.
Read an eyewitness account of a IIT professor who was travelling by train at Bhopal station when the disaster occurred in this link
Remind your employees, including top management that the ghosts of Bhopal are still around by organizing a process safety week from December 2nd every year
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
- For a new generation who have grown up with ISO and PSM systems, remind yourself that systems alone cannot prevent accidents.
- You must not be deaf and blind to what the systems are telling you.
- You must also speak up and not be mute when you observe process safety issues.
- Do not forget the lessons from the past.
- For people at the highest level in the organization, do not get lulled into a false sense of security just because nothing has happened.
- Actively seek out bad news...remember the ghosts of Bhopal are still around, waiting to give you a scare....
CSB finds that systemic failures at CAPECO included: (The highlighted failures are the same failures that happened in Bhopal)
- A history of poorly maintaining terminal operations;
- An inherent financial pressure to fill the tanks within the Planning Department’s stipulated time, which was at odds with safety;
- A failure to learn from previous overfill incidents at the facility;
- A lack of preventative maintenance for the malfunctioning float and tape device, automatic tank gauge transmitters;
- An unreliable computer for calculating tank fill times;
- A lack of overfill prevention safeguards as an independent alarm;
- A lack of formal procedures for tank-filling operations for operators and managers;
- An insufficient mechanical integrity program for safety critical equipment;
- Poor adherence to human factors principles for safety critical equipment.
I also managed to locate a Dec 31, 1984 article on the Bhopal Gas Disaster written in India Today. Read it in this link.
Read an eyewitness account of a IIT professor who was travelling by train at Bhopal station when the disaster occurred in this link
Remind your employees, including top management that the ghosts of Bhopal are still around by organizing a process safety week from December 2nd every year
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
December 3, 2014
30 years after Bhopal - lessons not learnt
30 years ago, on the night of December 2nd/3rd 1984, the Worlds worst industrial disaster took place.
In India and elsewhere around the World, catastrophic chemical plant incidents continue to occur. Memory is short. In the numerous incidents since Bhopal, many of the reasons are similar to those of the Bhopal disaster:
Even if you have a 40 element PSM system, there is no guarantee that a catastrophic accident will not occur. Is there a solution to this? One of the possible solutions is accountability at the highest level. By this I mean legal requirements that will make the entire board of chemical organizations accountable for a process incident that kills or maims people. This includes the Director, Finance and Director, HR too. The Sword of Damocles should surely work.
Our Prime Minister is doing a great job in encouraging "Make in India". I wish the slogan was "Make Safely in India" . We still do not have any PSM rule. We still do not have an independent incident investigating authority. The status of the chemical safety and security rating system whose draft was published last year is not known.
My thoughts are with the victims of Bhopal - dead and surviving...and I pray that another Bhopal does not occur.
Read my earlier posts on Bhopal:
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
In India and elsewhere around the World, catastrophic chemical plant incidents continue to occur. Memory is short. In the numerous incidents since Bhopal, many of the reasons are similar to those of the Bhopal disaster:
- cost cutting without properly analysing the effects on process safety
- poor competency
- poor asset integrity
- high attrition rate
- inadequate emergency response and planning
- inadequate implementation of facility siting
- not paying heed to audit reports and past incidents etc.
Even if you have a 40 element PSM system, there is no guarantee that a catastrophic accident will not occur. Is there a solution to this? One of the possible solutions is accountability at the highest level. By this I mean legal requirements that will make the entire board of chemical organizations accountable for a process incident that kills or maims people. This includes the Director, Finance and Director, HR too. The Sword of Damocles should surely work.
Our Prime Minister is doing a great job in encouraging "Make in India". I wish the slogan was "Make Safely in India" . We still do not have any PSM rule. We still do not have an independent incident investigating authority. The status of the chemical safety and security rating system whose draft was published last year is not known.
My thoughts are with the victims of Bhopal - dead and surviving...and I pray that another Bhopal does not occur.
Read my earlier posts on Bhopal:
See a presentation on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy by Vijita S
Aggarwal, Associate Professor, University School of Management Studies,GGS Indraprastha
University,Delhi, India in this link.
Read my older post comparing the Bhopal and the BP incident of 2005 in this
link
Read the then Police Chief’s account of the tragedy in this
link.
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
November 7, 2014
Hollywood takes on corporate giants over Bhopal gas disaster | Amnesty International
Hollywood takes on corporate giants over Bhopal gas disaster | Amnesty International
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
October 31, 2014
Warren Anderson-CEO of Union Carbide dies
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Warren-Anderson-CEO-of-Union-Carbide-during-the-1984-Bhopal-gas-tragedy-dies/articleshow/44992106.cms
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
September 17, 2014
Interaction with chemical engineering students
Today I gave a presentation on "Bhopal and it's relevance today -what young chemical engineers should know" to a group of 60 smart final year chemical engineering students in a leading university. My learnings from the interaction:
This generation of post bhopal chemical engineers are very curious to know what exactly happened at Bhopal and how they can use the learnings in their career in industry. If we do not pass on the relevance of the Bhopal disaster (and the learnings from Bhopal will remain relevant as long as the human being exists) to the present and future generations, we will continue to have major disasters in the Chemical industry. It would be nice if, during the students summer training in Industries, a topic on process safety is also mandatorily included.
The Management of Process safety should be taught as part of the core curriculum of undergrad chemical engineers. They will be the future decision makers in the industry.
I request Associations like the ICC and other chemical associations to take up the points mentioned above.
Also, every Responsible Care certified company may teach the lessons from Bhopal to chemical engineering students in at least three universities every year.
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
This generation of post bhopal chemical engineers are very curious to know what exactly happened at Bhopal and how they can use the learnings in their career in industry. If we do not pass on the relevance of the Bhopal disaster (and the learnings from Bhopal will remain relevant as long as the human being exists) to the present and future generations, we will continue to have major disasters in the Chemical industry. It would be nice if, during the students summer training in Industries, a topic on process safety is also mandatorily included.
The Management of Process safety should be taught as part of the core curriculum of undergrad chemical engineers. They will be the future decision makers in the industry.
I request Associations like the ICC and other chemical associations to take up the points mentioned above.
Also, every Responsible Care certified company may teach the lessons from Bhopal to chemical engineering students in at least three universities every year.
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
December 3, 2012
National Process Safety Week on anniversary of Bhopal disaster December 3rd
Today is the 28th anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster. We still do not seem to learn from Bhopal. The same mistakes that occurred at Bhopal keep recurring in various incidents around the World. Production pressures along with cost cutting measures take a toll on process safety. Just like the National safety week in march, I moot the idea of having a National Process Safety Week every year on the anniversary of Bhopal for all chemical industries in India. During this week, the root causes of the Bhopal disaster and process incidents in individual organisations can be discussed with all employees including top management. The root causes are again given below: They are still relevant today:
1. Do not cut costs without looking at the effects on process safety
2. Maintain all your layers of defense including asset integrity
3. Continually ensure that competency of personnel operating and maintaining plants are updated and current
4. Be prepared for the worst case scenario.
5. Understand the risks and measures to eliminate / reduce or control them
6. Learn from your past incidents. Those who do not learn are condemned to repeat the incidents.
7. Pay heed to your process safety management system audit reports
I am again attaching the link of some pictures of the victims of Bhopal, lest we forget..........
" Mothers didn't know their children had died, children didn't know their mothers had died, and men didn't know their whole families had died" - Ahmed Khan, Bhopal resident on the Bhopal disaster
Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"
1. Do not cut costs without looking at the effects on process safety
2. Maintain all your layers of defense including asset integrity
3. Continually ensure that competency of personnel operating and maintaining plants are updated and current
4. Be prepared for the worst case scenario.
5. Understand the risks and measures to eliminate / reduce or control them
6. Learn from your past incidents. Those who do not learn are condemned to repeat the incidents.
7. Pay heed to your process safety management system audit reports
I am again attaching the link of some pictures of the victims of Bhopal, lest we forget..........
" Mothers didn't know their children had died, children didn't know their mothers had died, and men didn't know their whole families had died" - Ahmed Khan, Bhopal resident on the Bhopal disaster
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