Power Plants are industrial facilities which are working to generate electrical power. Power can be generated using fossil fuels, nuclear power and more. The most popular recently are solar, wind, waves, and hydroelectric resources. Regardless of the use of the resource, every power plant is huge and can be a dangerous place due to its size and nature of work.
Maintaining utmost safety is one of the top priorities of operating a power plant. People who run and own power plants indulge in brainstorming sessions to come up with an effective and almost perfect safety practice. They have to consider safety for their workers, plant managers, residents of the area (if any) and the environment as well. There are a lot of safety measures that the power plants will need to take care of, below are some of these.
Informative Boards
The most basic safety measure is to have informative and warning boards placed at all required places. If the place is dangerous, that should be marked as danger with a board. Similarly, if a particular area has certain precautions that need to be taken before entering, the same need to be mentioned on a board outside. These boards should be distinctly visible and readable to anyone in that area.
Induction Safety Training
For any new employee/personnel hired, there should a separate and complete safety training that should be conducted by professionals. They should be explained, in detail, about the various workings and the measures that need to be taken. Professionals should make them aware of the catastrophe that might happen should they ignore the basic safety measures that have been set. They should also be trained how to act and respond when an emergency happens.
Regular Mock Drills
Every power plant should organize timely mock drills to prepare the employees for the calamity that might occur. There could be an incidental fire, leak or breach of any security relevant to the power plant model and drills should be done to prepare the workers. These drills should be practical as well as informative.
Revision Training
The safety training conducted at the induction should be revised after periodic intervals. These intervals can be defined as per the relevance subjective. However, the general period should be every six months. Lives and safety of workers should be of utmost importance, and all measures should be taken for enabling the same.
Security
Apart from employees being made capable of taking care of their individual safety, power plants should also have a separate, trained security personnel team. This team should be available at all times and should be strong enough to protect people should the situation so arise. They should be physically strong and have an apt presence of mind.
Regular Check-up on Valves
A power plant is a place where we find numerous valves. These will include ball valves, gate valves, plug valves, globe valves, etc. Successful working of the power plant depends on the proper working of these valves. The power plant owners and handlers should only choose the best quality valves for safety and efficiency purposes. Companies with legacy image and branding like XHVAL should be considered when purchasing valves so that their safe and efficient running is in reliable hands.
Shut Down Option
There should be one switch or plug or lever which would shut the plant down in case of an emergency or an accident. Time is of the essence at such places, and any wastage of it can be a matter of life and death. At the time of an emergency or accident, there should be one emergency way to shut the entire plant if need be instead of following the standard lengthy procedure.
Radioactive Materials
A lot of power plants use radioactive materials. There are a separate and diligent set of guidelines that should be followed when these materials are used. Distance to material, minimum direct exposure, constrained use are some of the basic measures that need to be taken.
Ensure Environment Safety
Power plant use resources that affect the environment. With global warming right on our heads, additional precautions and measures need to be taken to keep the environment safe to the maximum limit possible. Not releasing harmful substances, not discharging waste into rivers and not wasting natural resources. These are some of the necessary environmental measures.
Radiation Containment
Workers exposed to radiation must be protected. Radiation causes a lot of damage to humans, and all measures should be taken to ensure that workers in exposure are protected. The exposure should be minimized; there should be proper covers that should be checked now and then, there should be immediate remedial procedures ready in case of accidents.
Replacement Of Equipment and Parts
All the equipment used in the power plant are critical, and there can be absolutely no leniency on checking them. They should be periodically checked for faults or expiry and replaced with immediate effect. Any equipment that has even a small sign of default should be immediately stopped for further use. This is important as this will prevent any accidents from occurring.
Inspection Of Process And Material
Just like the equipment, the procedure followed and the material used should also be subjected to constant and timely inspection. There should be no side effects of the process, and there should be no slack in the material used. Power plants do not allow for even a tiny flaw. The process should not be harming the environment or the workers and the same needs to be checked.
Conclusion
Power plants operate on a vast scale, and there cannot be any misplacement. One little oversight can lead to a massive accident. The larger the extent of the material involved, the higher should be the vigilance. All the precautions must be diligently followed and also revisited to check if it needs any improvement. This entails enormous risks of life, and environmental damage and its safety should be a top priority for everyone involved in the job.
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