Independent University, Bangladesh

Course Name: Business English

Course ID: Eng105

Section: 08

Group-07
Topic: “Toxic Gas Leak in Chittagong Fertilizer Factory”.

Submitted To

Professor Rabeya Begum

Submitted by

Name: Nitul Sardar

ID:2030465

Date of Submission: 20th April, 2021

Greetings to our course teacher and audience. We, as a team, would like to present
our report on “Toxic Gas Leak in Chittagong Fertilizer Factory”. To make this report,
each of our team members had to search online, watched associated
documentaries, discussed with each other, and finally attempted to exercise our
original reporting talents. Myself Nitul Sardar, studying at Independent University,
Bangladesh in the department of Pharmacy as an undergrad student. And my fellow
team members are Ahmed Foysal, Md. Azizul Islam, Apurbo Karmokar, Fatema
Jannath.

At first, let me address the overall framework for this report.

In the last three-decade, Bangladesh has seen a surge in the industrial revolution,
which was expanded further in chemical factories. Nevertheless, the aforementioned
could be a piece of positive news for our people if we haven't witnessed an
occurrence asserted in our report and so countless others like ours.
In summary, on the 24th of August 2016, a major gas explosion in a fertilizer factory
in Chittagong affected about 250 people physiologically and economically.

Secondly, let's have a look at the disturbance and the cause behind it. On that day at
night, toxic ammonia gas started to leak followed by a strong wind from the Karnafuli
River and Patenga Port. As a consequence, the gas necessitated almost no time to
spread out adjacent to the region, and therefore, affected severely the factory
mechanics and local inhabitants. Our report uncovers that the catastrophe was not
natural but it occurred because of the mismanagement of those who were
responsible for taken care of the plant security.

Thirdly, after the incident, sixteen firefighter units rushed to the spot immediately,
though meanwhile, 30 workers were already inside the factory. Besides, we feel
great sorrow for those 52 factory workers who had to admit to Chittagong Medical
College after being dangerously wounded. Several locals reported that they have
gone through Respiratory Illnesses and a part of the injured victims didn't get to
consult with doctors due to the devastating number of injured individuals that day.

Fourthly, our findings point out that the majority of the patients were released after
few dates of treatment in full health condition. Notwithstanding, more reliable plant
security management, and modern scientific precautionary measures are the only
way out of restricting further gas leakage like this.

In conclusion, as Bangladesh is a fast-paced growing economy, in the future, we will

require more Chemical Factories to be built. On the other hand, we have to ensure
that our factories are thoroughly controlled scientifically and responsibly. No give-
and-take should be executed and no negligence should be manifested in such
hazardous sectors. Now I would like to ask you some questions and after that I’ll be
happy to answer any questions you may have.

Q1: Do we oftentimes see a gas discharge like this other country than Bangladesh?
Answer:
The governments of lower-middle-income countries like Bangladesh do not
implement strict laws and regulations to prevent such accidents. On the contrary,
industrially developed countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan etc. look
over carefully to prevent potential damages.
Q2: As undergrad students, what is the scope for us to counter an occurrence like
this?
Answer:
The voice of students both online and offline should be raised against that corporate
greed. Civil protest can be the most lawful way of projecting our anger.

Q3: What can be the governmental and non-governmental approaches to make our
factories safer in the future?
Answer:
Government should form a regulatory body that will permit only those companies
which took precautionary measures strictly. NGO and INGO should also come over
and work for hand in hand with the government and local people.

OK, I think that’s everything I wanted to say about the issue. Thank you everyone for
your valuable time.