VIJAYAWADA: Chief secretary Dr. K.S. Jawahar Reddy has directed that a third-party safety audit be conducted at all hazardous industries across the state at regular intervals.
Participating in a meeting of the State Crisis Group in Vijayawada on prevention of chemical accidents in industries, the CS said such audits must be part of the safety protocol to prevent accidents in industries dealing with chemicals.
Jawahar Reddy ordered industries and factories authorities to set up labs that test different solvents, so that their severity could be tested beforehand. There must be mock drill every year on prevention of accidents in potentially dangerous industries.
The chief secretary wanted state, district and local-level crisis groups to meet frequently and review guidelines, safety measures and protocols being followed for prevention of industrial accidents.
The CS recalled that in the last two years, 11 accidents have taken place in chemical industries. Strict measures must be implemented to prevent such accidents from recurring. Officials must check that there are adequate trained staff in these industries to take care of any emergency.
AP State Factories director D. Chandrasekhar Verma made a PowerPoint presentation. He pointed out that in accordance with Factories Act, 1948, and Chemical Accidents Act, 1986, crisis groups have been formed at national, state, district and local levels. These groups meet frequently to review safety. There are 1,129 factories in the state that come under the hazardous category.
Chandrasekhar recalled that in the last six months, 600 mock drills have been organised in coordination with various departments. 637 factories have installed sensors to sense threats and prevent accidents. 243 industries have been shortlisted for third-party safety audit. Such audit has already been completed in 216 industries, he added.
