At least 20 people reportedly fell ill on Thursday after chlorine gas leaked at a scrapyard at Merces which also left residents in the area gasping for breath. It is learnt that as the leak grew there was an explosion of the gas cylinder which also led to the leaves on the trees and shrubs drying up around the explosion site. Be that as it may, there have been several instances in the past when scrapyards have been gutted in fire incidents.
Scrapyards, many of them illegal, usually store several kinds of flammable goods which is an open invitation for a fire incident. Scrapyards may not have the requisite fire-fighting equipment hence are like ticking time-bombs. The various inflammable items that could be present in a scrapyard include tires, oils and hazardous fluids, metals, car batteries, LPG cylinders, etc.
It is prudent for the scrapyards to obtain necessary permissions and the premises need to be inspected periodically by the authorities concerned for fire-fighting capabilities. Scrapyards should not be allowed near residential areas and zones should be demarcated for these yards. As per guidelines of the GSPCB, scrapyards need to be compliant with regulations of the TCP department, health department, labour and employment department, revenue department, Goa Industrial Development Corporation, directorate of fire and emergency services as well as the bylaws of panchayats and municipalities.
