Chemical units had a responsibility to take care of occupational health as it was as important as industrial safety, said C. Gnanasekara Baburao, Director of Industrial Safety and Health, on Saturday.
Inaugurating a seminar on ‘Occupational safety and health in chemical industries,’ organised by the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health and Madurai region sub-committee of the National Safety Council here, Mr. Baburao pointed out that the focus of officials had shifted from law enforcement to industrial safety and occupational health. Chemical industries should create awareness of onsite and off-site emergency preparedness to remove fear of chemical units in the public mind.
He recalled how a small malfunctioning valve resulted in Bhopal tragedy, which affected lakhs of people, and advised chemical units not to employ inexperienced contract workers in core production area. All such units should appoint safety officers, besides opening occupational health centres, in order to ensure safety of workers.
