A lethal boiler blast in state-run NTPC power plant in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh occurred injuring many.
What was the accident about?
NTPC’s Unchahar plant in Raebareli district is around 110km from the state capital.
It is a capacity of 1,550 MW coal-fuelled plant, supplies electricity to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Delhi and Uttarakhand.
The Unchahar plant is currently generating around 640 MW.
The blast occurred in the boiler area of a 500-megawatt (MW) recently commissioned unit.
There was an explosion in the boiler, gases and steam escaped from the flue affecting the people working around the area.
What are the implications of the accident?
Incident involving a high pressure and high temperature area can have serious repercussions.
This appears to be a very unusual incident because NTPC has a high record of safety.
The boiler explosion underscores the importance of inspections and protocols for hazardous industrial operations.
High pressure boilers are hazardous pieces of equipment, which needs to be strictly regulated with special laws.
At the Unchahar plant, the blocking of an outlet for waste gases by ash, unusual in a fairly new boiler, calls for an inquiry into the quality of the equipment and the fuel used.
What measures needs to be taken?
A rigorous approach to accident reporting must become part of the process if the weak spots in regulation are to be addressed.
The accident was entirely preventable because boilers are designed to provide warnings.
The plants should undergo periodic inspections to ensure that all these features are working and intact.
There needs a transparent regulatory mechanism for hazardous industrial activity.
Industrial regulation has, unfortunately, come to be viewed as a barrier to ease of doing business in India.
Self-certification and third-party certification of facilities are needed, policymakers needs to take care of it.
