Preliminary investigation emphasize lack of protective equipment
42-yr-old senior chemist M Poli Naidu died in health center on 8 September, after breathing in methanol and another compound which leaked from a chemical centrifuge tank on 5 September at a Deccan Remedies plant near Visakhapatnam in southern India.
The Andhra Pradesh state government’s deputy inspector of factories, K Parmeswara Rao, informed that preliminary investigations show that the centrifuge from which the leak befell contained methanol and 2-amino-5-chloropyridine, whose vapours Naidu had inhaled. Rao confirmed that the chemist was now not wearing any shielding equipment barring a dust masks. The post mortem report has no longer but been acquired and a complete investigation is underway. According to the police, a criminal case has been registered. Rao stated, his branch will also be recommendation a case underneath the Factories Act in due path.
Local trade unionist Ganisetty Satyanarayana – honorary president of the Pharma Workers Union, that is associated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions – blamed the corporation of negligence and not following safety standards even as trying to suppress the incident. He requirement criminal action in opposition to the corporation and its officials. His union has demanded a thorough inquiry by way of the district collector and reimbursement of ₹10 million (£83600) for the deceased’s family.
In a parallel improvement in coastal Visakhaptnam, a big disaster was averted after a 7500m3 methanol storage tank caught fire following a lightning strike at East India Petroleum all through a storm on 7 September. Firefighters used foam to deliver the blaze underneath control before it could spread to four close by diesel storage tanks. Nearly 1000 litres of methanol was destroyed in the fireplace, however there has been no loss of life or injuries.
