Safety should be a way of life : Nigam

Kochi, Apr 25 (UNI) Aiming to achieve zero-accident rate in the hydrocarbon industry, Joint Chief Controller of Explosives Ajay Nigam today said safety should not be mere observance of rules but a way of life and habit.

Delivering the presidential address at the conclusion of the National Conference on Hydrocarbon Safety, Petrosafe 2007, here Mr Nigam said the rules and statutes like Explosives Act, Petroleum Act and Factories Act evolved from the experience and knowledge gathered but they only specified safety to a certain limit.

He said the rules outlined the minimum conditions that an industry or its worker should follow so that accidents were minimised but to achieve agreeable level of safety the companies should go beyond the rule books.

Mr Nigam said the conference, which concluded today, was beneficial for all agencies involved in the industry from policy makers, administrators, explorators, drilling refining,transportation to the final retail distributors.

In the three-day conference, which was inaugurated by US Chemical Safety Board Chairperson Carolyn Meritt, seven keynote and six plenary presentations were delivered apart from 70 papers covering the entire gamut of Hydrocarbon safety.

UNI