(haipo) - This month (November 22) marked 12 years since the disaster that occurred in Bazan, in which 18-year-old Sameh Al Hajj, 31-year-old George Zaatara, and 33-year-old Tamer Marjia were killed as a result of a gas leak that occurred due to a malfunction in the gas system of The refinery torch.
In November 2010, a large-scale renovation was carried out at the refineries, during which almost all facilities were shut down. The three dead worked at the ecology facility where gases and liquids are separated and recycled. They were supposed to replace a valve in the old torch, but as soon as the work began, steam burst from the pipe. They waited for the leak to stop and returned to work according to the instructions of the work supervisors who were there. However, gas burst from the pipe again and one of the workers felt sick and collapsed. After he recovered and went to the clinic, an argument developed between one of the dead and the work supervisors (five in number), after which an indictment was even filed against them.
According to the indictment, the supervisors demanded that the workers continue to do the work, even though they did not check the circumstances of the gas leak. Two workers, the late Tamer and another worker - Aouni, climbed the scaffolding and continued to perform the work, but a few minutes later a stream of gas erupted again. Aouni fainted and fell and Tamer began to swing and collapsed on the spot. His friends, including the late George, who was driving a forklift and was wearing a mask, one that is not designed to protect against gas inhalation, went up to help lower Tamer along with other workers from Tamer's team, who went up to help take him down from the scaffolding without proper protective measures and were injured by gas inhalation. MDA personnel and security personnel of the plant who came to help also felt ill as a result of inhaling the gas.
In March 2017, Avi Shaked, renovation manager at refineries in Haifa, was sentenced to six months of community service and six months of probation, as part of a plea deal. The families were compensated by the state in an amount of more than ten million shekels. The trial of the other four inspectors involved in the case is still ongoing, because they did not confess as part of a plea deal. Shaked apologized for the incident and said that he shares in the grief of the families.
Have lessons been learned since the disaster? If so, what are they?
Could an event of this kind cause wider consequences in the event that it leaks outside the compound?
"The lessons of the disaster have been learned and the procedures have been updated accordingly"
The Bezan group told Lahi Pa:
"The Bezan Group is saddened by the tragic death, 12 years ago this week, of three external contractor workers and the injury of another external contractor worker during the provision of services in the refinery yard. The company supported in real time and during a subsequent period, the families of the victims. The lessons of the disaster were learned and accordingly The relevant work procedures have been updated. The Bazen Group complies with the strictest work standards for the safety of employees and service providers and their work environment and is committed to a safe work environment and the health and well-being of the employees of the Bazen Group and the external contractors."
How do we prepare?
Hai Pa system contacted the Haifa station in the Hoof district fire department, in order to learn about the way it is prepared to handle a hazardous materials incident. Although that unfortunate event was a one-off event and took place inside the complex, there is always the fear that there is a danger of such an event expanding, when it comes to dangerous materials.
From the fire and rescue system, the body charged with extinguishing fires and preventing them, extracting, rescuing and handling hazardous material incidents in order to save lives, it was communicated to Lai Pe that the system adapts itself to the challenges of the future, provides a quick, effective and professional response and promotes a safety environment and a culture that protects against the dangers of fire. As part of this, the organization says, the Haifa station provides a professional response to incidents of hazardous materials in the region, both in transportation and in the factories and institutions located in the station's sector, while activating five different stages:
Periodic reviews, practice and learning lessons
in the first level (Preparation phase) Periodic audits are carried out and various requirements for safety and measures are presented at the factories according to law and regulations, information is collected about materials in the station areas and the ways of handling them, at this stage the fire fighters carry out drills, training and patrols in various risk centers. In trainings and exercises, we learn from past events, extract lessons learned from them and apply them in the field.
Initial response
In the second phase (the immediate response phase) initial response forces are launched, while reporting to the authorities from neighboring districts and stations, collecting and processing data from the notification in the field for the purpose of forming a situational picture and understanding the incident, assessments for receiving command of the incident and especially for the operations being carried out at the center, assessments of monitoring teams to check the dangers that may affect on the public while conducting a dynamic risk assessment and passing on professional recommendations to the Israel Police incident commander.
Preparation in the field and adjustments
in the third stage (initial response phase) - At this stage, the forces in the field are preparing for initial operations to go to the center, shielding the teams with appropriate shielding according to the type of incident and the type of materials involved, preparing monitoring measures and starting initial monitoring activities, preparing sealing kits or other dedicated measures that respond to the incident, preparing flushing showers for the teams the exits, deploying command and control systems and headquarters aids for the purpose of commanding teams from shields entering the hot area, deploying stripping tents and setting up washing stations - at the police station - for the teams and victims, conducting an initial risk assessment by the risk assessment officer and initial recommendations to the incident commander, the Israel Police.
Rescue, rescue, resident behavior, impact reduction
The fourth stage (the supplementary response stage) is the stage in which the teams are already working, performing rescue operations to save lives, extinguishing fire, and containing the center, forming a situational picture in light of the assessment of the situation on the ground, direct recommendations to the Israel Police on the behavior of residents, seclusion or evacuation according to the danger and the need will be forwarded by The risk assessment officer, performing actions in front of the hotline in order to contain the substance and reduce its impact on the environment.
Completion, rehabilitation and lessons learned
Last stage - fifth stage (the restoration stage) This is the stage where the operations at the center end and the return to normal phase begins. In accordance with the risk assessment and monitoring, the risk assessment officer will recommend the termination of the incident, of course in consultation with the commander of the fire brigade, the washing of personnel leaving the center and coming into contact with the substance, the washing of contaminated means, the packaging and safety sealing of contaminated means, the collection of findings for investigation and case investigation, the carrying out of investigations and the drawing of lessons and the distribution of the report "H to the Fire and Rescue Commission for comprehensive organizational learning, when evacuating a tanker, a firefighting team will accompany the collecting tanker until it reaches the factory or toxic waste sites."
From the Haifa station they ask To convey a reassuring message to the residents of Haifa and the surrounding area:
"You deserve and can be calm and confident that the fire fighters in the city know how to provide the necessary response to an incident in the field of hazardous materials in the best and most professional way. We constantly continue to improve, train, practice, learn and get to know better how to deal with the challenges that the area poses. At the same time, there is no Ignore the amount of factories, institutions and hazardous materials that are in the area in the various descriptions."