Workers head towards L-Town Gate of Tata Steel in Sakchi on Friday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

State labour commissioner Pooja Singhal has said that lapses led to Thursday’s explosion inside Tata Steel works and asked the company to stop production at the plant site till it was given a safety clearance.

Singhal, who on Friday inspected LD-II, one of the critical units where the explosion took place triggering a fire and injuring 11 workers, also ordered an inquiry into the lapses.

Chief factory inspector Awadesh Kumar Singh and deputy chief inspector of factories, Jamshedpur, A.K. Mishra, who accompanied Singhal during the plant visit, will conduct the probe.

“Safety measures were not up to the mark, which led to the mishap. I have also asked Tata Steel not to start production at LD-II till we are satisfied with the safety drills,” Singhal told mediapersons at circuit house after the three-hour inspection during which she checked out the LD gas originating pipeline and the spot where gases are burnt.

Singhal has also asked Tata Steel officials to properly empty, or “blanking” in factory parlance, the pipelines. But she ruled out out any negligence on the part of Tata Steel in initiating safety measures after the accident.

Production had been stopped as a precaution as gas was still being burnt on the premises. “All inlet, outlet and adjoining pipelines have been sealed. The entire area of LD-II has been sanitised and entry of workers has been restricted,” Singhal added.

According to her, a mixture of gases in the LD-gas holder, leading to auto-ignition, appeared to have caused the blast. “Prima facie, we have found that mixing of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen led to auto-ignition in outlet and inlet pipes, causing the explosion. The impact blew off the roof of the gas-holder. Fortunately, a major chunk of the roof got stuck in a steel structure, otherwise casualties would have certainly taken place,” Singhal said.

Deputy chief factory inspector Mishra said their probe would focus on the calibration of equipment installed at LD gas-holder and whether safety devices were being properly maintained or not.

“We will submit the report to the labour department on Monday and file a court case against Tata Steel if we find that the factory act has been violated in any way,” he explained.

The labour commissioner’s probe is in addition to the one initiated by the management of Tata Steel.

As many as 11 workers were injured, one of them seriously, when the LD gas-holder, suddenly exploded inside the plant around 3.30pm on Thursday, sparking a fire in the gas pipeline, 250m away. All of were rushed to Tata Main Hospital.

On Friday afternoon, the company management airlifted employee B.N. Sikdar to Medanta Medicity in Delhi after his condition failed to improve at Tata Main Hospital.

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