700
workers
walk
out,
5
hospitalised
after
foul
smell
By Louis B Homer
Trinidad Express, South Bureau
Port Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
09 23 07
Five
people were yesterday taken to hospital while some 700 workers walked off
a construction site
at state-owned Petrotrin's Pointe-a-Pierre oil
refinery,
because of what they described as a foul smell.
The
workers, who are employed with the contracting
firms Venteck and Damus, were laying pipes at the
new gas to liquids plant around 9 a.m. when they
complained about a "rotten egg" smell
from one of the plants at the refinery.
After complaining about the smell, the workers
were told by company officials to leave the site
and assemble at a nearby muster point while the
matter was investigated.
A
spokesman for the workers told the Express: "The
smell was irritating the throats of workers and
many of them started to cough and suffered short
breath."
He
added: "This is the second time in two
months that we have had to walk off the job because
of offensive smells."
The spokesman noted that under the Occupational
Health and Safety Act, the inhalation of poisonous
compressed gas could be extremely irritating to
eyes and the respiratory tract.
The five workers who were affected by yesterday's
incident were treated at the Augustus Long Hospital
in Pointe-a-Pierre and allowed to go home.
Officials of Venteck, the main contractor on the
project, were not available for comment yesterday.
Petrotrin officials said their investigation revealed
that it was emission from the alkaline plant which
led to the problem.
Workers were back on the job after lunch.
Trinidad
Express
Wednesday, September 19th 2007
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©2007 Trinidad
Express . All Rights Reserved.
