Hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) are widely transported in marine vessels to reach every part of the world. Bulk transportation of hazardous chemicals is carried out in tank container–carrying cargo ships or in designed vessels. Ensuring the safety of HNS containers during maritime transportation is critically important as the accidental release of any substance may be lethal to the on-board crew and marine environment. A general assumption in maritime accidents in open ocean is that it will not create any danger to the coastal population. The case study discussed in this article throws light on the dangers latent in maritime HNS accidents. An accident involving an HNS-carrying marine vessel in the Arabian Sea near the coast of Yemen became a safety issue to the coastal people of Kasargod District of Kerala, India. The ship carried more than 4000 containers, which were lost to the sea in the accident. Six HNS tank containers were carried by the waves and shored at the populated coast of Kasargod, more than 650 nautical miles east from the accident spot. The unanticipated sighting of tank containers in the coast and the response of the administration to the incident, the hurdles faced by the district administration in handling the case, the need for engaging national agencies and lessons learned from the incident are discussed in the article. This case study has proven that accidents in the open ocean have the potential to put the coastal areas at risk if the on-board cargo contains hazardous chemicals. Littoral nations, especially those close to the international waterlines, must include hazardous chemical spills to their oil spill contingency plans.
Introduction:In India quite a few religious festivals and cultural fairs are accompanied by public
display of fireworks. The grandeur of the festivals is often evaluated by the common man
with respect to its colorful firework displays. Firecracker accidents during mass
fireworks at public display venues may be disastrous in its consequences and damages. A
fire cracker disaster which occurred during a religious public firework display event at
Puttingal in Kerala, India was documented and analyzed to figure out the safety concerns
and good practices, towards making a reference for effective emergency management.Methods:The fire cracker incident was studied on the broader perspective of disaster
management. Inputs from agencies involved in emergency response, casualty management,
damage assessment and general administration as well as the perspective of victims and
the public who witnessed the event was incorporated in to the study through
participatory observation, field visits and face to face discussions.Result:The response followed by the firecracker explosion was analyzed in three phases based
on the time frame of response. Influence of traditions and culture in firework
organization, the mandatory legal requirements for firework displays and the current
safety practices followed were evaluated in the background of this rare firecracker risk
which turned out to be a major disaster in the state of Kerala in India.Conclusion:Public display of fireworks in Puttingal temple was organised despite of the legal
permission from competitive authority. Negligence of law, non-sensitivity of public
towards fire work safety, competitive nature of event organizers and social pressure
from religious groups traversed the basic fire work safety requirements, ultimately
triggered the largest fire cracker disaster in Kerala.
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