VIJAYAWADA: Whenever an industrial accident takes place, the term ‘safety audit’ comes to the fore. The fact is only 45 industries in the State come under mandatory safety audit. However, following a government order, other 240-odd industries were included in the safety audit list. As per the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals (MSIHC) under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, those industries/factories dealing with hazardous chemicals will come under mandatory safety audit and the rest, including many chemical factories, will not come under the safety audit, an official said.
Take chlorine industries, for instance, safety audits will be mandatory if the inventory storage is more than 25 tonnes in a particular industry. Similarly, a safety audit is mandatory for those industries storing the chemicals scheduled in the MSIHC more than the prescribed limit.
In Andhra Pradesh, there are 45 industries in the mandatory safety audit, the official explained. Speaking to TNIE, the official, who does not want to be named, explained that following the fire and other accidents in industries in various parts of the State, the government issued an order directing the authorities concerned to take up safety audits in all the accident-prone industries in the State.
“Accordingly, we conducted inspections, particularly in industries of pharma, pesticide, petrochemical industries, which are prone to accidents, and issued notices to 240-odd industries recommending safety audits,’’ the officer said. Stating that the safety audit is actively going on and most of the management of industries submitted the audit report, the official said they are suggesting improvements, wherever necessary.
With regard to the gas leak in the garment manufacturing unit in Atchutapuram SEZ of Anakapalli district, the official said it was in no way connected to the safety audit as the unit has nothing to do with the chemicals in its operations. The garment unit is non-chemical and non-hazardous. Bringing cloth, cutting, stitching and packing are only the operations in the unit. That is nothing, but a tailoring shop with over 4,000 women workers, the official added.