Bangladesh: fatalities in clothing factory blast
04/07/2017
The boiler explosion happened at a plant operated by Multifabs in Dhaka, a supplier to European retailers, said officials.
An investigation is under way.
The Clean Clothes Campaign said in a statement: "Boilers are currently not covered under the inspections of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which stipulates that the boiler room be separated from the rest of the factory with fire-rated construction, but does not include inspections of the boilers themselves to detect explosion risk. Fire separation alone is an insufficient measure, since, as in yesterday’s disaster, the explosion of a defective boiler can be powerful enough to breach the walls of the room in which it is contained, spreading fire and/or causing structural damage. The only way to fully protect against the possibility of a boiler explosion is to ensure the integrity of the boiler.
"The Accord safety standard, and the Accord inspection program, must be immediately expanded to cover boilers. The Accord Steering Committee, its leadership body, will need to approve this modification to the Accord safety standard and the Accord’s inspectorate will need to add technical capacity for this purpose. Both should be done without delay and a programme to inspect all boilers in factories product for Accord signatory brands and retailers should be swiftly launched."
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