INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS IN INDIAN CHEMICAL AND MINING INDUSTRIES DURING COVID-19

As India has returned back to work after the Covid-19 lockdown, there has been an industrial accident at least every two days killing and maiming workers, polluting the surroundings with long-term health and environmental implications. The toxic gas leak at the LG Polymers plant in Andhra Pradesh on 7 May brought back memories of the Bhopal gas tragedy. The boiler explosion at Yashashvi Raasayan Private Limited at Dahej, Gujarat killed at least eight people and injured about 40. Boiler explosions at Neyveli Lignite Corporation’s thermal power plant in Tamil Nadu on 7 May, and again on 1 July, killed at least 20 workers. The accidents have continued into July in chemical plants, coal mines, steel factories and boiler blasts in power stations. Widespread use of contract workers lack of safety inspections, inadequate penal action against safety violations and not fixing responsibility on the employer are some important factors contributing to the accidents. The series of accidents expose a pattern of systemic failures; industries halted without proper shutdowns, processes with poor planning, failure to ensure adequate maintenance and inspection during lockdown leads to accidents while industrial processes are being restarted. In a letter to the Prime Minister of India, Industrial underlined that this kind of mistake falls within the category of Process Safety Management failures and warned the government of India to immediately address this systemic breakdown in safety controls to avert any further potential catastrophes on the scale of the 1984 Bhopal disaster.