Claudine Housen, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
MANDATORY WEEKLY inspections will now form the basis of the safety procedures recommended by the Government for the Long Pond Sugar Factory in Trelawny, following a recent explosion that claimed the life of one man and injured two others.
"They will need to implement a safety programme that would include a mechanism for accident investigation and weekly inspection (as well as) a servicing, maintenance and replacement system," said senior industrial safety inspector at the Ministry of Labour, Andrew Dale, in an interview with The Gleaneryesterday.
These recommendations are two of seven made by the ministry in a preliminary report on the recent explosion, which claimed the life of 23-year-old Kajel Insang at the Long Pond factory recently. According to the report the factory did not follow certain safety measures.
"What happened is that the steam turbines were taken from the Hampden Estate (in Trelawny) and brought to Long Pond and were put in place as a whole without anything done to ensure that it was safe. Based on our investigation, the gearbox was not inspected before being put in place," said Mr. Dale. He added that at this stage of the investigation, the cause of the explosion is believed to be as a result of vibrations from the turbine.
"What is clear is that there were excessive vibrations before the explosion," he said.
In the investigation of the death of Appleton Estate employee, Lloyd Campbell, who was covered by sugar while attempting to clean a clogged sugar bin, the ministry has also found areas in which safety procedures were not followed.
"We found a 40 per cent safe operating procedure," Mr. Dale reported. "They were carrying out a clearing and they did not have any safety harness attached to them. If he (Campbell) had a safety harness, he would not have been submerged under the sugar."
According to Mr. Dale, the way in which the procedure was being carried out was in breach of the Factories Act which states that: " Where any work has to be done inside any chamber or other confined space no person should enter that space until ... steps are taken to ensure that no gases or fumes are present and in cases where this is not done, the person should wear a belt to which is securely attached a rope, the free end of which is held by a person outside the confined space."
When the reports have been finalised, following receipt of autopsy reports, letters will be sent to both factories outlining the ministry's list of recommendations.
