A Rating System for Safety & Security of Chemical Plants Proposed

New Delhi, October 08, 2013: A Rating system for Safety & Security of Chemical Plants is proposed.  The Department of Chemicals and Petro-Chemicals has come up with a draft for the purpose.  All concerned Ministries/Departments, Industrial Associations, Industries and citizens are requested to send their suggestions or comments by the end of this month.  Such suggestions can be sent by e-mail at dirrt1@rediffmail.com ; arun.agarwal@nic.in or by post.  The department after receiving the comments from various sources will incorporate them to come out with the final “Chemical Plant Safety and Security Rating System”.

The Rating System aims to propagate the need for zero accidents and to incentivize the units having best safety operational measures.

The draft Rating System envisages a 2-stage methodology for assessment of safe & secure performance of a facility. The first stage acts as a screening mechanism to filter out organisations that do not meet even the basic requirements of safety & security systems essential for a chemical, petrochemical, and petroleum industry. The second stage is a rigorous assessment to benchmark the various safety & security systems being practiced by the organization against the framework stipulated in this document.

The draft Rating System consists of 19 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and is intended to be used as an assessment tool for rating the Chemical organizations in respect of the practices followed by them.  The draft document envisages a star rating system to grade the chemical plants according to their performance.

 Inadequate awareness about handling of hazardous chemicals and products may lead to serious accidents with severe consequences on people, property and the environment. The rating system facilitates safe & secure handling, storage and processing of hazardous chemicals and in avoiding accidents and occupational diseases. — CCI Newswire