Preventing major industrial accidents in Asia : A guide

ILO East Asia Multidisciplinary Advisory Team (ILO/EASMAT), ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Bangkok


Causes
Consequences
.
Major industrial accidents: Causes and consequences

During 1980s and 1990s, many Asian countries progressed with industrialization and achieved high economic growth. While several countries are still experiencing economic difficulties since mid-1997, the countries of Asia continue to promote employment generation along with the rapid industrialization and modernization of agriculture. New industries have been set up with new processes, using sophisticated apparatus, creating at the same time new kinds of hazards. If steps are not taken in time, such hazards can develop into major disasters resulting in an enormous number of casualties and extensive damage to property and the surrounding environment.
A data bank on industrial recorded 124 fatal accidents involving hazardous substances in the region. Since more than 65 per cent of them took place in only two countries and none in seven, it appears that many more occurred but went unrecorded. Some of the more severe ones are mentioned in Table 1 (page 3).
Early action should be taken by governments and employers' and workers' organizations to stem the rising number of accidents. In India, the Ministries of Labour and Environment are carrying out an extensive programme and legislation on major hazard control has been introduced. Malaysia has set up a unit for major hazard control within the Ministry of Human Resources. Indonesia and Thailand have taken steps to review the situation and identify major hazard installations. However, efforts have been scattered and unsystematic in most countries. Where a major hazard control system has been initiated, it needs to be improved, expanded, and completed. Major risks are recognized, but preventive laws are generally inadequate to cope with hazards and emergencies. The enforcement efforts of the governmental agencies concerned with the protection of workers, the public, and the environment are not properly coordinated.
Employers, workers, and the public are not fully aware of the damage that hazardous substances can cause. As a result, when a serious accident occurs, those involved are overwhelmed by its immediate effects, unable to grasp the full dimensions of its consequences. After the victims have been attended to and the incident generally brought under control, an assessment has to be made of how to deal with the consequences of the accident and carry on with tasks: repair the damage, restart the plant, prevent a recurrence.
Table 1. Major industrial accidents in Asia
.
more