The responsibilities of engineers
In the tear 1998, approximately 85% of water in Sydney was processed through the Prospect water filtration plant. It is among the largest of its kind, with the capacity to process 3000 megalitres of water in a day, located on a Greenfields site in Sydney’s west and has the ability to supply water to over three million people (Stein, 2008, pg 426). The prospect plan draws its water through a long pipeline from the Warragamba catchment located near the Blue Mountains. Water in the prospect is the filtered, disinfected and fluoridated to remove any harmful contaminants. There are different processes involved such as chlorine was used to kill viruses and bacteria while filtration was used to remove chlorine-resistant parasites and other matter presents. The treated water is then passed through sand filters to remove 99% of particles in the cryptosporidium and giardia size-range. The water treatment procedures mainly targeted the parasites. The treated water is then supplied to many different households for use.
On 15 July 1998, Sydney water conducted a routine water sampling and the test results indicated that there was a trace of both Cryptosporidium and Giardia parasites in the water that was taken from the outlet at the Potts hill reservoir and the prospect distribution chamber. At this time the level of these parasites in the water was very little. The level of the parasites in the water increased in July to September 1998 in Sydney, Australia (Clancy, 2000 pg 55). The water in the distribution channel was highly contaminated with cryptosporidium and, giardia. Three boil-water notices were issued to the people in Sydney and an investigation was set to be carried out by the Sydney water inquiry that was formed. After the research, the results obtained confirmed that water was contaminated. The limnological evidence that was obtained from the supply system shows the same information as the results obtained from the cryptosporidium and giardia microbiological analyses. The results imply that the water supplied was contaminated during high rainfall season and the parasites penetrated from the storage reservoir into the treatment plant in a series of pulses which reacted with water.
The main problem occurred in the distribution of contaminated water. The water was contaminated during the high rainfall season in which the parasites in the storage reservoir penetrated into which lead to the contamination of the water. The engineers failed to provide proper barriers that should avoid the risk during the rainy season. They presumed that the barriers issued by the storage reservoir and use of modern filtration plant will help to avoid contamination risk. They were supposed to manage and ensure that treated water is not contaminated under any circumstances.
- A different approach
Why it is important to learn from failures
Regular cleaning of the water pipes and proper barriers or safety measures should be established to ensure that treated water is not contaminated. The treated water in the plant should be well placed and covered to avoid contamination from water containing the parasites during the rainy season.
- Barriers that should have been in place
The Sydney water crisis could have been avoided if there was proper maintenance of the water treatment plant and regular testing of the water.
- Lessons learned
According to Cox et al (2008 p.156) water management is a crucial aspect and should be treated with a lot of care. The lesson learned is that is very important to test all the water before it is distributed to the people for use. It is also important to clean the pipe used to distribute the water and important measures should be taken so as to avoid the contaminated to enter into the treated water in the plant.
- Changes or improvements implemented
According to Davies and Wright (2014 p.456) due to the water crisis, the Sydney catchment authority was formed to take full responsibility on the management of Sydney’s catchments and dams while the responsibility of treating and distributing water was assigned to the Sydney water. Also they had the responsibility of collecting, treating and disposing sewage.
- Inherent risk definition
The risk was the exposure of the population to the drinking water crisis which was contaminated with Cryptosporidium and Giardia. The consumption of the contaminated water could lead to diseases and also the loss of lives.
- Causal chain
The causal chain for the Sydney water crisis is in appendix 1
- Risk assessment
A risk assessment was conducted to verify the magnitude of the risk of the exposure to contaminated water.
The Sydney water crisis was not tragic as there were no casualties reported. The contamination of water with the cryptosporidium and giardia would have led to diseases and even loss of life if the people consumed the water. The risk occurred due to poor management of the plant. The engineers failed to consider the possible risk that could have been encountered during the rainy season. The cost of management could have increased to improve the water quality, treatment and distribution of the water. A regular water test should be put in consideration and pipes used in distribution should be cleaned to avoid the contamination of the water.
The Bhopal gas tragedy is among the extreme industrial mishaps in the world. The poisonous gas that leaked from the factory led to thousands loss of lives and left other people with serious injuries (Sriramachari, 2004 p.914). The tragedy happened on 2nd December during the night at the pesticide industry in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh, India, and the industry is known as Union Carbide India Limited. More than five hundred thousand individual were exposed to the poisonous gas. The state verified a total of 3787 deaths correlated to the poisonous gas release and 558125 injuries; this includes 38900 severe and permanently disabling injuries and 38478 temporary partial injuries.
Elements common to failures
In the early days in December the safety measures related to the methyl isocyanate plant, were not functioning accordingly. It implies that the management of the valves and lines was poor such that they were in a bad condition. The steam boilers and vent gas scrubbers which are supposed to clean the pipes had been out of service for some time. The release of the poisonous gas was the result of water that entered the pipe into the tank that caused an exothermic reaction. Engineers fail to ensure that the safety system is well managed and in good condition.
- A different approach
According to Mittal (2016 p. 1081) the Bhopal gas tragedy could have been avoided if the system in the plant was well managed and the employees are well educated on how to handle the pipes to prevent water from penetrating into the MIC tanks. Also, the incident could have been avoided if only the plant had places sensors which would cause an alarm when there is a gas leakage to allow engineers to take immediate action to avoid further tragedy.
- Barriers that should have been in place
The Bhopal gas tragedy could have been avoided if a maintenance plan was in places, consisting of a regular inspection of the safety systems of the plant, appropriate maintenance on the plant and proper education to the employees on how to take safety measures when cleaning the out pipes with water to avoid the water from entering into the MIC tank.
- Lesson learned
The Bhopal gas incident is among the extreme tragedy in the world. Many people lost their lives and others suffered serious injuries that led to permanent disability. Any plant that has the risk of producing toxic gas should have safety measures on how to prevent and deal with the exposure of the poisonous gas before affects the people (Gupta, 2002 p.3). The main lesson learned from the tragedy is the need of proper maintenance of the plan and proper education to the employees on how to prevent the water from entering the MIC tank when cleaning the pipes. Also, proper methods of cleaning the pipes should be implemented to avoid such human factors that can lead to disaster.
- Changes or improvements implemented
The plant was closed completely after the incident.
- Inherent risk definition
The risk involved is the exposure of a poisonous gas from the union carbide plant to the population around leading to thousands loss of lives and other people sustained severe injuries.
- Causal chain
The causal chain for the Bhopal gas tragedy is in the appendix
- Risk assessment
Categorising engineering failures
A risk assessment was conducted to verify the magnitude of the risk caused by the exposure of the poisonous gas to the people.
- HSE ToR Test
Bhopal gas disaster is among the worst tragedy in the world. Over three thousand people lost their lives while more than five thousand people suffered severe permanent injuries and temporary injuries. Poor management of the plant and employee lack of knowledge on how to work under such a plant led to the tragedy (Palazzi et al, 2015 p.41). The plant could have avoided the tragedy if only they increased the cost of maintenance of the plant and employed skilled personnel to work in the plant. The plant should have implemented the modern technology by using computers in monitoring the plant and raise an alarm when there is a leakage of any harmful gas. The employee should be educated on how to work in the plant to avoid water from entering the tank so as to avoid such a tragedy. Cost should be planned on ensuring the plant has proper safety measures on cleaning the pipes to avoid human error.
References
Clancy, J.L., 2000. Sydney’s 1998 water quality crisis. American Water Works Association. Journal, 92(3), p.55.
Cox, P., Fisher, I., Kastl, G., Jegatheesan, V., Warnecke, M., Angles, M., Bustamante, H., Chiffings, T. and Hawkins, P.R., 2003. Sydney 1998—lessons from a drinking water crisis. Journal?American Water Works Association, 95(5), pp.147-161.
Davies, P.J. and Wright, I.A., 2014. A review of policy, legal, land use and social change in the management of urban water resources in Sydney, Australia: A brief reflection of challenges and lessons from the last 200 years. Land Use Policy, 36, pp.450-460.
Gupta, J.P., 2002. The Bhopal gas tragedy: could it have happened in a developed country?. Journal of Loss Prevention in the process Industries, 15(1), pp.1-4.
Mittal, A., 2016. Retrospection of Bhopal gas tragedy. Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, 98(9), pp.1079-1083.
Palazzi, E., Currò, F. and Fabiano, B., 2015. A critical approach to safety equipment and emergency time evaluation based on actual information from the Bhopal gas tragedy. Process safety and environmental protection, 97, pp.37-48.
Sriramachari, S., 2004. The Bhopal gas tragedy: An environmental disaster. Current Science, 86(7), pp.905-920.
Stein, P.L., 2008. The great Sydney water crisis of 1998. Water, air, and soil pollution, 123(1-4), pp.419-436.
Webb, A.A. and Martin, P.V., 2016. Potential of payments for ecosystem services scheme to improve the quality of water entering the Sydney catchments. Water Policy, 18(1), pp.91-110.
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