This is another case of Petrol Tanker explosion which has claimed the lives of two persons in Wa in the Upper West Region after a tanker containing petrol blew up during a welding activity.
According to the source of the news, which is Myjoyonline, the deceased persons, a 24-year-old Amidu and 20-year-old Issahaku were performing a hot work activity, i.e. welding to seal off leakages on the tanker at the Wa Magazine when the explosion happened. One person passing by when the explosion occurred also sustained burns on his left arm.
According to an eye witness who spoke to Joynews, workers were in their shops when they heard the blast and when they rushed to the scene, they saw one of the victims had passed while the other was stuck in the tanker, alive. However, the workers could not touch the tanker to pull him out because of the heat, he said.
Another eyewitness said, they had to force their way through the hot tanker alongside the fire service persons to rescue the victim who was badly injured. Unfortunately, he passed away when he was sent to the Wa Municipal Hospital, he added.
The victim who only sustained injuries said he has not seen an explosion of this magnitude at the Wa magazine before. The workers appealed to government for fire stations, ambulance services and a clinic to be sited at the magazine. They explained that this will help give emergency services to victims of the numerous accidents that occur at the industrial site.
Source: myjoyonline.com
Incidents like these are just one too many and definitely raise a lot of concerns.
When will safety become the top of the national agenda and be discussed at all forums to rekindle a culture where safety simply becomes part of our DNA and not just talked about only when an incident has occurred?
We need to also get to the point where safety becomes an integral part of the informal sector.
There has been a lot of talk-about robust OHS regulations, adequate system of enforcement, information and advisory services and training of the general public about the importance of safety, yet no progress has been made in the last few decades. We cannot allow another decade to pass us by.
The entire health and safety fraternity in Ghana strongly calls for the government to take action to develop and improve the national system for occupational health and safety in Ghana in order to prevent incidents like these.
In this incident, the controls that may have been missed include but not limited to; failure to risk assess the job for the presence of an explosive atmosphere in the tank, failure to vent the tank for at least 24 hours and failure to gas test the atmosphere after venting to verify the absence of the flammable gas before the welding commenced. These cannot be missed if a safe system of work was in place and being followed.
It is important that people exercise duty of care for themselves and others by making sure they understand the nature of the hazards and risks involved in their work and take the necessary steps to make their jobs safe for themselves and others who may be affected by their work.
What are your opinions, folks?