KOCHI: The Indian Oil Corporation Ltd launched a state-of-the-art Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) to be positioned at its Kochi LPG bottling plant during the regional safety council meeting at Kumarakom. IOC executive director (health, safety and environment) B S Giridhar flagged off the ERV in the presence of P S Mony, state head and chief general manager, Indian Oil Kerala.
Over the past few years, Kerala has witnessed many LPG bullet accidents as well as petrol/diesel tank truck accidents, with the state being more accident prone than other states due to population density and geography, which is predominantly hilly, narrow roads and heavy monsoons most of the year.
One of the major problems faced by oil companies during such crisis is the time lag in bringing ERVs from different places. The oil industry in Kerala has three ERVs for common use. IOC has only one such vehicle of its own at Kozhikode BP, capable of handling LPG and POL. HPC has an ERV at Kochi and BPCL has one at Kazhakkuttom. IOC has now voluntarily decided to place one ERV each in all three of its LPG bottling plants (BP) at Kozhikode, Kochi and Kollam.
The new ERVs, purchased at a cost of almost Rs 2 crore each, have several facilities. They are capable of handling both LPG and POL tank truck accidents. DG set, 1 kl stainless steel tank with water to take care of any ice formation by the leaking LPG, state-of-the-art lifting and pulling equipment, telecast lighting, smart hoses that close on either side in case of any hose burst, GPS to track the ERV, exclusive cabin crew arrangement in addition to the front cabin to accommodate five people from the rescue team, non-sparking tools, fire proximity and low temperature (minus 40 degree C) suit, water jet blanket and air-breathing apparatus.
Another problem faced by oil companies and state authorities during an LPG accident is the inability to communicate from the site. Ordinary mobile phones cannot be used since it can induce fire. The new ERV has an intrinsically safe mobile phone for use at the site during accidents. IOC will also replace the existing ERV at Chelari BP with the new ERV by Nov 18. Kollam and Kochi BPs have already been provided with the new ERVs.