Question

Over 170,000 people were treated at hospitals and temporary shelters. More than 2,000 died and were buried. The cause was attributed to materials and gases in the cloud that were denser than the surrounding air and it stayed close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community. The early effects of exposure were coughing, vomiting, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation. Children and older people who were vertically challenged or shorter in height suffered mostly from the effects of the materials and gas.

Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factory’s employees and their conditions There was only one manual back-up system, compared to a four-stage standard of the USSS. The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months before the disaster. The gas scrubber therefore was unable to treat escaping gases with sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), which might have brought the concentration down to a safe level.

You are required to read the following case carefully and

a. Identity the type of disaster and explain the causes of the disaster for the case.

b. Describe a complete thought out plan for the organization to deal with disasters

c. Since this leakage may cause an explosion in the organization, advise management on the various ways of preventing the fire in the organisation.

Answer 1

a) The companies often fave calamities within the premises. The disaster in the current scenario is the gas explosion. The harmful gases affect the employees of the enterprise negatively. The primary reason for this type of calamity is poor execution of processes. The managers often fail to manage the waste that the company emits. The second reason is the noncompliance with the pollution control regulations. The company should take steps to prevent such mishaps. The first step is to conform to the pollution control measures. The related authorities of the environment have set up regulations to prevent excessive emissions in the company. The second important step is the sustainable development measures. Sustainable measures help the company to reduce such emissions of harmful gases.

b) The company should adopt measures to prevent the emissions on the premises. The first step is to use sustainable means. As already stated, the sustainable measures help the companies to grow and develop. It reduces the costs of production and increases the productivity. The second measure is to prevent the possession of harmful substances. The companies should avoid owning the toxic substance because it may impose strict liability on the managers. It will also avoid the emission of harmful gases like carbon-di-oxide and nitric oxide.

c) The explosion can lead to instances like fire and short circuits. The company should have exits on every end, and floor. It will help the employees to escape in case of such circumstances. The managers should also own appliances like fire extinguishers to prevent such incidents. The company should also have a proactive disaster management team to avoid such instances in the premises. Hence, the managers should adopt such provisions in the enterprise.