HAZARDS IN IRON & STEEL INDUSTRY: GAS HAZARDS & E.O.T. CRANES

HAZARDS IN IRON & STEEL INDUSTRY

Iron and steel industry is a heavy industry, involving a whole range of processes-chemical, metallurgical, mechanical, electrical, construction, road and rail traffic, materials handling, earth moving, nucleonic and many others. Each of these processes has many in-built hazards, falling broadly into three categories.

Those that can be eliminated: e.g. leakages of gases, dust in motor house, pollution through plant chimneys, blazing of coke ovens, narrow workspaces, etc.

Those that can be controlled: e.g. noise level in pump houses and turbine halls, heat level in cast houses, dust level in sintering plant, gas concentration at working levels etc.

Those against which protective measures need to be taken i.e. those that can neither be controlled nor eliminated: Liquid hot metal (Heat and Glare), Noise in Rolling Mills.

A mixture of coke oven and blast furnace gases is used for heating in soaking pits and reheating furnaces. Persons should not take rest near gas hazardous areas.

A number of E.O.T. Cranes are used in the Rolling Mills for handling materials. During maintenance or repair of a crane in a particular bay, steps should be taken to ensure that other cranes do not come within the safe limit of 20 feet from either end of the crane that is under repairs. Maintenance crew should not leave any spares or loose materials like nuts, Bolts etc. New or discarded over the crane after completion of the repairs, as during the movement of the crane, due to vibrations, these can fall down and injure persons working below.

INSTRUMENTATIONS AND PROCESS CONTROL

Mechanical workshops; electrical repair shops; refrigeration and air-conditioning systems; electronic data processing systems; fire services; safety engg. Services and pollution control.

1. PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTION DIVISION
2. APPROACH TO HAZARD CONTROL

One basic approach to any hazard control has been that in the first place, the hazard to be controlled has to be controlled has to be identified. A typical “safety hazards and emergency steps” should be studied. Such studies are made shop-wise and process control sheets are prepared indicating the hazards involved. Safety measures required and the safety appliances needed norms are to be taken from those prescribed under the factories act and rules, environment, water and air pollution act and rules.

ABOUT TRAINING :

Merely having updated safety books is not enough If these are to be strictly followed, regular on the job training is essential for the operation on the machines and producer and for the employees in there respective trade. Employees have also to be trained before they are put on the job whenever there is a change of trade or transfer to another department. This is necessary to acquaint themselves fully with the hazards of the new trade and new work place.

IRON AND STEEL IT HAS THREE ZONES :

1. IRON ZONE COMPRISING OF -

Ø Raw materials storage, preparation and handling yard.
Ø Coke ovens and by-products plant.
Ø Sintering plant
Ø Blast furnaces.
Ø Gas holders and pipe lines.

2. STEEL ZONE COMPRISING OF -

Ø Steel melting shop
Ø Continuous casting shop
Ø Oxygen plant
Ø Slag and scrap yard
Ø Gas holders and pipelines

3. ROLLING MILLS ZONE COMPRISING OF -

Ø Different rolling mills,
Ø Gas booster stations and pipelines
Ø Loading bays for dispatch of finished materials
Ø Electrical cable tunnels and oil callers.

HAZARDS IN IRON & STEEL INDUSTRY