Oct. 24 India: Safety rating for chemical plants: A step in right direction

This article is brought to you by Business Standard.

 

 

Chemical industry involves handling of hazardous substances, which if not handled as per prescribed guidelines can lead to disaster. While there are many regulations (pertaining to safety, environment, handling, manufacturing, etc) for the chemical industry in the country, there is no mechanism by which one can know the level of safety preparedness of the manufacturing unit. In order to usher in safety culture in the chemical industry, the Government is planning to introduce safety rating for chemical plants in India.

 

As a first step, on October 7, 2013, the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India, announced the proposal to have a rating system for Safety & Security of Chemical Plants in India.

 

The draft Rating System envisages a 2-stage methodology for assessment of safe & secure performance of a facility. The first stage acts as a screening mechanism to filter out organisations that do not meet even the basic requirements of safety & security systems essential for a chemical, petrochemical, and petroleum industry. The second stage is a rigorous assessment to benchmark the various safety & security systems being practiced by the organisation against the framework stipulated in the proposed policy draft.

 

 

For the full article please refer to the Business Standard link above.

 

For information on authoring India SDS and labels for consumer and industrial products please contact Nexreg Compliance.