Biodiesel Processing and Production - Essay Example

REPORT FOR NEBOSH al Affiliation INTERNATIONAL GENERAL CERTIFICATE Candi report template specification) UNIT IGC3 – THE HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICAL APPLICAITON Student number Location Date of review / / 1. Introduction The focus of inspection was Area Vegetable Oils And Derivatives Company that is located in Oman, Rosalie. The date of inspection was 28th of July 2015.The reason for inspection was to ascertain the main health hazards facing workers as they go about their various activities in the chain of production. The company manufactures top quality cooking fats and oils, margarines, ghee, mayonnaise and butter products. The cooking oils manufactured in include Palm olefin cooking oil, pure sunflower oil, and refined palm olein. Blended corn oil, fats and margarine products are also part of the products. There are numerous steps in the processing and manufacture of oil that start from the transportation of the harvested oil from farms and agricultural facilities to the company. These include transportation, refining, fractionation, splitting, storage and packaging of the final products of consumption. All of these fell under the units of investigation. The investigation concentrated mainly on the processing and manufacture of palm oil. The company employs more than six hundred employs 60% of whom are Omanis, and others are expatriates. There are a variety of equipment in use for the production of palm oil that the inspection focussed on. The plant features all stages required to produce palm oil to international standards. They involve mechanical handling systems, (screw and bucket conveyors, pipelines and pumps). Boilers that run on fibre and shell produce superheated steam that produce electricity through generators. Most of the processing operations are automatic, and routine analysis occurs through process control laboratories. The workers engage in various activities in the oil factory from the time the oil arrives at the premises to its final refined and processed form. These include bunch reception, bunch sterilization, bunch threshing (to free the palm), fruit digestion, pulp processing, oil clarification, oil drying and oil packing. The total size of the area inspected is eighteen thousand square feet. 2. Executive Summary The main reason for inspection was the substantial increase in the number of casualties that suffered physical injuries daily at work. The number had grown alarmingly in the past one year that made an inspection crucial to avoid any further injuries to workers. The procedure started with the inspection of the extraction of palm fruits from the farm and transportation to the hospital. This was only done for local production as most of the raw materials come in as imports from other countries. From there, it proceeded to the factory where there is bunch reception (unloading of the fruit harvest and loading onto wooden boxes). There was then investigation of threshing that is removal of the fruit from the fruit bunches; Manual threshing involves cutting the fruit laden spikelet’s with an axe then separating the fruit from the spikelet’s by hand. Afterwards, there is sterilization of the fruit bunch by the use of high-temperature treatment of the loose fruit. There is then digestion of the fruit (releasing the palm oil from the fruit by rupturing them using a digester machine) followed by pressing, drying and then finally storage of the oil. All these chains of activities were thoroughly scrutinized to find out if there was a situation that risked injury to the workers. The inspection considered the chemicals in use throughout the processing units and their compliance with environmental laws and regulations. 3. Main findings of the inspection 3.1 Housekeeping - There were critical findings that came out after the inspection. Most injuries occurred as a result of direct contact with the boiler steams used throughout most of the operation. Workers who came too close to the boilers suffered steam burns. Some of the pipelines in use in the factory for transporting steam and oil in its intermediary’s stages were leaking, and this caused accidental burns to workers who were not aware. The burns are mostly on the face, arms and hands as these are the one usually exposed. There was a significant amount of workers who sustained injuries due to the slippery floors in the company premises. Most of these fell leading to sprains, strains or even fractures. Others survived head injuries that left them hospitalized for days in the hospital. 3.2 Welfare Facility - Also, the inspection revealed that most of the works come into contact with pesticides while extracting, unloading and threshing of the palm fruits. When inhaled, the pesticides predispose one to diseases of the lungs such as lung cancers. The same results in loss of lung function of the lung that progress to disability and ultimately death. The observations imply that the construction company breached article four set by the Occupational Health and Safety Convention (Van Gerpen, 2005, p. 1100). The investigation also established that the workers expose themselves to highly toxic compounds for time periods greater than the ones the United State Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends (Xia and Larock, 2010, p. 1900). The toxic compounds are mostly chemicals used in the cleaning of the palm intermediary products. The investigation revealed that the workers did not wear any protective gear that could protect them from the inhalation of these toxic compounds. This too was a breach of Article 16 of the Occupational Health and Safety Convention. The article requires employees to ensure that the workplaces, machinery, equipment and processes under their control are without risk to their health (Un, Koparal and Ogutveren, U. B., 2009, p. 430). The inspection was beneficial in many ways. Palm oil processing is clearly hazardous to the employees of Area Vegetable oil and Derivatives Company. Many people have already lost their lives, not mentioning the ones who are currently sick due to the injuries they sustain during such operations. It goes against the principle of business ethics that defines the moral obligation of an organisation to its employees. It is only morally right that the organisation takes appropriate measures to ensure there is no health hazard to its employees. Taking necessary measures to avoid further exposure of the employees to the health risks is also a necessary legal precaution (Cherubini, 2012, p. 1413). The use of toxic chemicals is against several environmental laws in United States. It goes against most of the articles set in 1983 Occupational Health and Safety Convention by The International Labour Organisation. Some employees/workers might not be personally satisfied with the findings of this inspection and might sue the company for negligence. Such an action might make the company suffer huge financial losses if the court rules against the company. Instituting health measures, for this reason, protect the company against such occurrences in the future. Thus taking immediate action is critical for the sake of the company’s future. 4. Conclusions The findings imply gross noncompliance with environmental laws. Most of the materials used in the processing of palm oil are hazardous. They injure internal and external organs of the employees predisposing them to cancer and, as a result, goes against environmental laws. More importantly, this violates ethical laws of business as it endangers human lives. It is critical that the company put in place measures to reduce these health risks. Such measures might be costly at first but are, in the long run, beneficial both financially and ethically (Van, 2005, p. 1098). 5. Recommendations Recommendation Likely resource implications Priority Target date Purchasing appropriate footwear for using in the working environment. Putting warning signs on the wet floor.  Teaching members of staff about safety measures. Expenditure $30000 for purchase of footwear Medium 1/3/2015 Wearing protective gear e.g. gloves and face masks. Teaching members of staff safety measures. Printing warning messages. Cost of $10000 for purchasing protective gear e.g. facial masks and hand gloves. High 4/2/2015 Frequent medical check-ups for employees for toxicity tests. Increase in company expenditure to account for medical check-ups. Medium 1/3/2015 Ensuring employees are working in safe and healthy environments. Hiring safety supervisors to monitor good working conditions Medium 1/3/2015 Purchasing new equipment. Repairing and replacement of old leaking pipes. Additional expenditure for purchase and repair of steam pipes and pipelines. High 4/2/2015 6. References Cherubini, F., 2010. The biorefinery concept: using biomass instead of oil for producing energy and chemicals. Energy Conversion and Management, 51(7), 1412-1421. Un, U. T., Koparal, A. S., and Ogutveren, U. B., 2009. Electro coagulation of vegetable oil refinery wastewater using aluminium electrodes. Journal of Environmental Management, 90(1), 428-433. Van Gerpen, J., 2005. Biodiesel processing and production. Fuel processing technology, 86(10), 1097-1107. Xia, Y. and Larock, R. C., 2010. Vegetable oil-based polymeric materials: synthesis, properties, and applications. Green Chemistry, 12(11), 1893-1909. Zhan, W., Song, Y., Ren, T., and Liu, W., 2004. The tribological behaviour of some triazine–dithiocarbamate derivatives as additives in vegetable oil. Wear, 256(3), 268-274. Read More