Boiler Explosion In Bangladesh

Steam Boilers in Ready-Made Garments Industry in Bangladesh: Existing Scenario and Scope for Development

“…However, the death of 13 workers and several injuries due to a severe explosion of a boiler at Multifabs Clothing Factory in 2017 revealed a gap in the Accord inspection scope (-Boiler explosion‖, 2017). Studies disclosed that boiler operations are associated with several critical hazards such as explosions, steam burns, chemical hazards, and so on which cannot be covered in a fire or electrical safety inspection scope (Hossan et al, 2019;Siraj et al, 2022;Yusof and Mohammad, 2022). Therefore, the Accord planned to initiate a boiler safety inspection department separately in 2018 to minimize boiler-related hazards in the RMG factories and conducted a pilot inspection program for 35 boilers in 17 factories (Accord, 2019).…”

“…But they had no scope to visit the factories to verify the practical industrial scenarios, rather they conducted a theoretical analysis. Hossan et al (2019) did a qualitative study to describe the causes, consequences, and precautions for boiler explosions in the RMG factories. Wiersma (2018) and Barua and Ansary (2017) both depicted in their descriptive studies the improvement in fire safety scenarios in the RMG factories after the safety inspection initiated by the Accord.…”

Evaluating barriers to sustainable boiler operation in the apparel manufacturing industry: Implications for mitigating operational hazards in the emerging economies

“…Paul & Alam [18] and Paul et al [20] identified inadequate inspection facilities by the authority as one of the prime barriers to sustainable boiler operation in South Asian emerging economies. Hossan et al [41] conducted a descriptive study and identified several causes and precautions for boiler explosions while emphasizing standard operations and maintenance practices to reduce boiler-related accidents. However, the abovementioned studies mainly focused on industrial safety and economic performance, not on social or environmental sustainability.…”

“…The fourth most crucial barrier determined in this study is 'Inadequate compliance with safety and hazard regulations (B11)'. The practice of conducting regular inspections of the boilers to ensure safety and regulatory compliance is not very common in emerging economies due to various technical, financial, and socio-economic constraints [20,41,63]. But, developed countries always ensure regular inspections by different government and non-government authorities to establish standard operational practices, thus minimizing environmental and safety hazards [64,65].…”

“…They identified non-compliance with standards, non-standard operations and maintenance, and shortage of skilled personnel as the most significant causes of boiler explosions. Hossan et al [41] also utilized descriptive statistics to determine the causes of boiler accidents. They found ignorance of officials, lack of awareness, and lack of proper facilities to be the most critical causes of boiler accidents.…”