Our industry is not immune to.....

Our industry on a daily basis mitigates numerous hazards. Including but not limited to: molten metal explosions, moveable equipment, confined space, safe isolation, dust/fines. Communicable diseases is a new hazard that our industry has been forced to quickly address. With operations on every continent (except for Antarctica), our plants commonly receive raw materials either from local or oversea sources. With employees who travel internationally, our industry has been forced to quickly adapt to dealing with the ebola virus. Here is a recent story on how one company has taken precautions to prevent

The Rusal Aughinish refinery in Ireland receives regular shipments of bauxite from Guinea in West Africa which is the third most Ebola affected area after Liberia and Sierra Leone. The company officials however claim that none of their workers have contracted the disease yet due to their stringent safety measures.

The company reveled in a statement, “At RUSAL Aughinish we place the highest value on the health and safety of our employees, contractors and visitors. Our safety programmes and performance, our health facilities and our practices and procedures confirm this. In line with this, the response to the possible threat of the Ebola virus has been timely, swift and comprehensive.”

There have been no reported cases of Ebola at the Port Kamsar which is the point from where the bauxite is shipped. Despite that, there are many restrictions put in place to prevent future contractions. The ships’ crew is not allowed shore leaves and neither are they allowed physical contact with the Port Kamsar personnel, said a spokesperson.

The loading of the ships takes generally 24 hours and is done via an automatic system. All the vessel personnel, owners and captains are well-versed with all the necessary health and safety precautions needed in the region.

“In addition to the precautions at Port Kamsar, any vessel entering Ireland to unload must complete a Maritime Declaration of Health Form for the relevant authorities before being allowed to dock; this has been supplemented by an additional health surveillance document which is part of an overall procedure required by Aughinish. If either of these documents is not completed in advance or there is an ill person on board, the ship will not be allowed to dock without further investigation,” the company added.

There is also an ongoing contract with the HSE Public Health Department and a continued liaison with the Port Authorities as well the local medical practitioners. All these combined factors lead the company authorities to believe that Ebola contraction in Aughinish is remote.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog would like to congratulate Rusal on being proactive in the prevention of this communicable disease. Several aluminium companies have recently put forth travel restrictions to areas where ebola outbreaks has occurred. These actions show how our industry quickly responds to new hazards.