Secretary's Message
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The chemicals occupy an important segment in country's economy and play an inseparable role in daily life of mankind. The number of chemicals has seen a rapid increase in the past decade with many of them being toxic, corrosive, inflammable or explosive in nature and some even have a combination of these characteristics and are termed as hazardous chemicals. These chemicals have potential hazards not only for mankind but also for fauna, flora and environment as a whole. Owing to this it becomes extremely essential to take care while handling the chemicals in any form at any stage of manufacturing, processing, treatment, storage, transportation, use, destruction or conversions etc. Despite preventive measures accidents do happen in handling hazardous chemicals and hence readiness to cope up with an emergency is essential and compliance with statutory norms is a must for responding effectively to a chemical emergency. Govt. of India has set up a Central Crisis Group Alert System (CCGAS) at New Delhi to coordinate with and assist to the State Governments and the concerned agencies in times of emergency and has set-up Emergency Response Centres (ERCs) at four places, viz one each at Manali (Tamilnadu), Thane (Maharashtra), Vadodara (Gujarat) and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. The prime aim of these ERCs is to establish a link between industries and expert crisis groups' during emergency situations and disseminate technical information to Industries, Authorities and other target groups. Besides CCGAS and ERC, the Govt. of India has also established a National Register of Potentially Toxic chemicals (NRPTC) which functions on the same line as that the International Register of potentially Toxic Chemicals (IRPTC). Under this a comprehensive inventory of chemicals-in-use is maintained along with their Material Safety Data Sheet and other technical information. This NRPTC is assisted by focal agencies i.e. Regional Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals (RRPTC) in the States. Seven states have RRPTC including one at Madhya Pradesh. In the wake of increased use of hazardous chemicals/substances, rapid pace of industrialization and growing complexity of the industrial processes, the Govt. of India has brought into force several important Legislation to deal with chemicals which need to be implemented strictly not only in the interest of environment but also in the interest of country's growth and economy. There are several other legislations but discipline of safety can not be enforced only by legislative norms but everybody must take safety as individual and moral responsibilities and only this change in attitude can help us achieve the desired aims. Accidents or disasters are obstructions to the economic and social progress of nation and hence this calls for an integrated effort to prevent and control them. There is need to join hands and prevent the possible chemical mishaps. The Emergency Response Centre is always there to extend all possible technical assistance in times of need.
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Secretary's Message
|
The chemicals occupy an important segment in country's economy and play an inseparable role in daily life of mankind. The number of chemicals has seen a rapid increase in the past decade with many of them being toxic, corrosive, inflammable or explosive in nature and some even have a combination of these characteristics and are termed as hazardous chemicals. These chemicals have potential hazards not only for mankind but also for fauna, flora and environment as a whole. Owing to this it becomes extremely essential to take care while handling the chemicals in any form at any stage of manufacturing, processing, treatment, storage, transportation, use, destruction or conversions etc. Despite preventive measures accidents do happen in handling hazardous chemicals and hence readiness to cope up with an emergency is essential and compliance with statutory norms is a must for responding effectively to a chemical emergency. Govt. of India has set up a Central Crisis Group Alert System (CCGAS) at New Delhi to coordinate with and assist to the State Governments and the concerned agencies in times of emergency and has set-up Emergency Response Centres (ERCs) at four places, viz one each at Manali (Tamilnadu), Thane (Maharashtra), Vadodara (Gujarat) and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. The prime aim of these ERCs is to establish a link between industries and expert crisis groups' during emergency situations and disseminate technical information to Industries, Authorities and other target groups. Besides CCGAS and ERC, the Govt. of India has also established a National Register of Potentially Toxic chemicals (NRPTC) which functions on the same line as that the International Register of potentially Toxic Chemicals (IRPTC). Under this a comprehensive inventory of chemicals-in-use is maintained along with their Material Safety Data Sheet and other technical information. This NRPTC is assisted by focal agencies i.e. Regional Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals (RRPTC) in the States. Seven states have RRPTC including one at Madhya Pradesh. In the wake of increased use of hazardous chemicals/substances, rapid pace of industrialization and growing complexity of the industrial processes, the Govt. of India has brought into force several important Legislation to deal with chemicals which need to be implemented strictly not only in the interest of environment but also in the interest of country's growth and economy. There are several other legislations but discipline of safety can not be enforced only by legislative norms but everybody must take safety as individual and moral responsibilities and only this change in attitude can help us achieve the desired aims. Accidents or disasters are obstructions to the economic and social progress of nation and hence this calls for an integrated effort to prevent and control them. There is need to join hands and prevent the possible chemical mishaps. The Emergency Response Centre is always there to extend all possible technical assistance in times of need.
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