Iran Petrochem Industry Focus on Health, Safety and Environment

EghtesadOnline: In line with policies to upgrade health, safety and environment (HSE) standards in petrochemical companies, experts from 21 petrochemical companies have completed technical training overseas, the head of HSE department of the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company said.

News ID: ۷۴۸۵۸۳

30 September 2019

"A group of 140 technicians have been trained on the latest HSE systems in European countries (including Italy and the Netherlands) since 2016," Navid Naderpour was quoted as saying by ILNA Sunday.

Preventing accidents by maintaining workplace safety is and should be a priority of the rapidly growing petrochemical industry, he said.

Referring to an explosion in Bouali Sina Petrochemical Complex in the southwestern city of Bandar Mahshahr in 2016, he concurred that that incident was a wake-up call for the sector to keep its HSE personnel alert, according to Financial Tribune.

In 2016 a fire broke at Bouali plant inflicting losses to the tune of $200 million. A similar accident occurred at the Bistoon Petrochemical Company in Kermanshah Province.

"Skilled staff have held 2,000 HSE courses for more than 11,000 workforce in the past three years," he added.

Staff at HSE sectors should be familiar with manufacturing petrochemicals, as it aids them in their work to prevent or mitigate episodic chemical releases that lead to disasters in the workplace and the surrounding community.

As long as HSE personnel are not well-trained, company profit margins will be at risk as high physical requirements of working in heavy industry and the polluting nature of fossil fuels can lead to irrevocable loss, he warned.

"Efficient health and safety at the workplace not only ensures productivity, but can help reduce human and business costs of injury and lawsuits."

Revising safety regulations, checking the physical status of workforce, equipment and machinery of fire stations, assessing performance of the HSE department and assessing fire risk should be the priority of HSE departments, he concluded.