3 workers dead, 2 others suffer burns from chemical spill in Tuas

(Source: Channel NewsAsia - Sunday, March 1)

SINGAPORE: Three workers have died after a chemical spill took place their work site in Tuas on Friday.
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Two died last night from chemical burns, while the third man succumbed to his injuries on Saturday morning. Another worker is in critical condition at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) with 70 per cent burns to his body. A fifth worker is now in stable condition at SGH.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the incident when yellow fumes were seen coming from the first level of the building. The workers were conducting equipment maintenance works when the incident took place.
The Civil Defence Hazardous Materials team de—contaminated the workers before they were sent to the National University Hospital for treatment. They were later transferred to SGH.
The workplace was then cleared of the fumes using absorbents and water.

3 workers dead, 2 others suffer burns from chemical spill in Tuas

(Source: Channel NewsAsia - Sunday, March 1)

SINGAPORE: Three workers have died after a chemical spill took place their work site in Tuas on Friday.

Two died last night from chemical burns, while the third man succumbed to his injuries on Saturday morning. Another worker is in critical condition at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) with 70 per cent burns to his body. A fifth worker is now in stable condition at SGH.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the incident when yellow fumes were seen coming from the first level of the building. The workers were conducting equipment maintenance works when the incident took place.
The Civil Defence Hazardous Materials team de—contaminated the workers before they were sent to the National University Hospital for treatment. They were later transferred to SGH.
The workplace was then cleared of the fumes using absorbents and water.

5 workers suffer chemical burns from chemical spill in Tuas

(Source: Yahoo News / Channel NewsAsia - Saturday, February 28)

SINGAPORE : Five workers suffered chemical burns when a chemical spill took place at their worksite in Tuas on Friday.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted to the incident when yellow fumes were seen coming from the first level of the building. The workers were conducting equipment maintenance works when the incident took place.
The Civil Defence Hazardous Materials team de—contaminated the workers before they were sent to the National University Hospital for treatment. The workplace was then cleared of the fumes using absorbents and water.

Incidents involving Falls from Height

Recently, two incidents involving falls from height were reported within a span of two days. Two lives were lost.

Case 1 - Fall through Roof
A worker was found dead on the ground at the back of a factory unit. He had been assigned to repair the air-conditioning condenser unit on the external wall of the factory. He tried to access the condenser unit by climbing out of the window. As he stepped on the roof, he immediately fell 4.25m through the roofing material.

Case 2 - Fall from Formwork
A worker was working on the formwork of a 2-storey detached house. While receiving a reinforcement bar from another worker, he lost his balance and fell off the formwork to the ground 9.8m below. He was pronounced dead.


Recommendations
1. Prior to the start of work, conduct an adequate risk assessment to identify all potential hazards and the risks involved. Control measures and safe work procedures must be established and implemented.
2. Workers working at height (such as rooftop and formwork) should either be provided with an individual fall arrest system or a travel restraint system. This would include the use of safety harnesses, safety nets or safety belts. When using safety harnesses or safety belts, it must be securely anchored to a suitable anchor point or static line. Safety nets could also be slung close beneath the roof to protect workers from serious injuries.
3. Air-conditioning units may be installed on the ground level to eliminate the need for working at height. If the units must be located at height, safe and proper means of access to the external condenser unit must be provided.

4. Do not step directly onto the rooftops as the roofing material as it may not support the weight of a person. Instead, suitable working platforms such as cherry pickers and/or other safe means of accessing the roof should be utilised.

5. Whenever reasonably practicable, edge protection such as barricades or guard rails should be installed to provide protection against person falling off the formwork. The top rail must be at least 1m above the working surface.

Proper guard rail (blue arrow) installed as barricade