Why are lives so cheap in Indian steel plants?

Centre for Science and Environment report had highlighted poor safety conditions in steel plants. Two mishaps in a row at the Bhilai and Visakhapatnam steel plants show no corrective measures have been taken

Health and safety are the most neglected concerns in Indian steel sector. This was again reinforced by two major accidents—one at the Bhilai steel plant in Chhattisgarh last Thursday and the other at the Visakhapatnam steel plant in Seemandhra on Monday.

Such mishaps are not new but we do not seem to have learnt from the past. In June 2012, a major blast had happened at Visakhapatnam steel plant, which claimed 16 lives and left many injured. The accident at the Bhilai Steel plant last week claimed six lives and injured over 30 people.

What makes steel plants hazardous 

The accident at the Bhilai plant happened because of a blast in the gas cleaning plant area. Blast furnace gas is produced at a melted iron-making unit called blast furnace. This waste gas is poisonous, containing a mixture of carbon monoxide (26 per cent) and hydrogen (4 per cent); nitrogen and carbon dioxide make up the rest.  As it is energy rich gas, it is collected from the top of the blast furnace and water cooled and cleaned in the gas cleaning plant. The cleaned gas is used as fuel in other steel making units. This is one of the critical areas in a steel plant where chances of accidental release of the poisonous gas mixture are high.