A task almost impossible

It would be surprising to learn that only six inspectors are in charge of examining and certifying around 5,500 registered boilers across the country a year, which is an undoable task for them.  

The issue has come to the forefront after Saturday's devastating fire at a packaging factory in Tongi BSCIC industrial area. As of the filing of this report, the fire at Tampaco Foils took at least 25 lives.

The Office of the Chief Inspector of Boilers, a government agency under the industries ministry, now comprises one chief inspector, two deputy chief inspectors and four inspectors. Of them, one deputy chief inspector is responsible for Chittagong region and another for Rajshahi region.

More than 900 boilers are to be tested by one inspector. But one can inspect and certify a maximum of 70 boilers a month, said MA Mannan, chief inspector.

“All together we can inspect and certify some 400 boilers a month,” said Mannan, who himself goes to factories for boiler inspection on weekly holidays since he has office duties on workdays.

A boiler is a closed tank in which water is heated. The main function of a boiler is heating water to generate steam to be used for purposes such as space heating, sterilisation, drying, humidification and power generation.

An inspection or hydraulic testing of a boiler in operation is required once a year, and an overhauling is needed at least once every three years.

Usually it takes around half an hour for the hydraulic testing, two to three hours for general inspection and six hours for a complete inspection and certification, Mannan said.      

The authority of inspection sent a proposal in February to the industries ministry for recruiting 350 employees, he said, adding that he would sit with the ministry officials after Eid to expedite the recruiting process.

It will not be a problem for them to carry out the inspection and certification duties smoothly once they get adequate manpower, he said.

The authority has also proposed to open eight new offices across the country -- one in six divisional headquarters each except Sylhet and Barisal, and one each in Gazipur and Narayanganj, the chief inspector said.

Asked about the suspected explosion of a boiler on Saturday, he said a boiler can be exploded for a number of reasons.

The major reason is a faulty pressure relief valve that releases extra pressure of steam from boiler, he said.

A boiler can also be exploded if the water inside falls below a certain level, Mannan said.

So far this year only one boiler exploded at an auto rice mill in Naogaon. “There was no record of boiler explosion in fiscal 2015-16,” he said.

Earlier on Saturday, Mannan dismissed the reports that the fire at Tampaco Foils had been caused by a boiler explosion.

His version, however, runs counter to that of Lt Col Musharaf Hossain, director (training, development and planning) of Fire Service and Civil Defence. He told reporters that the fire originated from a boiler explosion.

Meanwhile, visiting the Tampaco Foils factory areas Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu said all boilers in that area would be inspected, reports our Gazipur correspondent.

“Measures will be taken to fix problems in the boilers, if there is any,” he said.