Displaying items by tag: disaster

US: A 43-year old worker died after sustaining severe injuries at Giant Cement’s Harleyville, South Carolina, cement plant on 21 July 2022. Local press has reported that the cause of the tragedy involved a conveyor belt at the plant.

Argentina: A man has died in a concrete silo collapse at Holcim Argentina’s Malagueño cement plant in Córdoba Province. Pedro Rivero, 67, had been working on the site at 11am on 15 June 2022 when the disaster occurred. Local press has reported that the collapsing silo crushed the crane which Rivero had been operating.

An investigation by the Argentinian Judicial Police into the causes of the event is currently underway.

Cyprus: Vassiliko Cement’s Vassiliko cement plant was the site of a tyre fire in an alternative fuel (AF) storage area on 11 June 2022. The Cyprus Mail newspaper has reported that the fire begun due to a mobile shredder malfunction. Enerco Energy Recovery operates the shredder at the 2.5Mt/yr cement plant. Local residents protested the incident at the site of the plant’s former quarry on 13 June 2022.

Nigeria: BUA Cement’s Sokoto cement plant has resumed operations following a fire that killed three workers. The Sun newspaper has reported that the fire began at a diesel storage tank depot near to the plant, where third-party contract workers were welding a diesel storage tank. The group said that it activated a swift response in order to prevent any escalation of the incident.

India: Employees of a contract firm working at Dalmia Cement’s Bokaro grinding plant in Jharkhand have allegedly killed a worker in an attack on 15 March 2022. The deceased’s roommate has also been missing since then. Both workers had been in trouble with their employer for refusing to work overtime. Operations reportedly continued as normal at the plant until other loading workers began a protest on 16 March 2022.

Dalmia Cement spokesperson Shyamlal Sahu said “The matter was brought to the notice of local police and they have started their probe. We are cooperating with them to bring the culprits to justice. We will work with the contractor – Durga Enterprises – to extend support to the bereaved family. We, at Dalmia Bharat, accord highest priority to maintaining internal harmony and a healthy working environment, and will work with our contractors towards ensuring that such untoward incidents do not happen in the future.”

India: A gas pipeline explosion at JP Cement’s Naubasta cement plant in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district reportedly injured three workers in February 2022. India Today News has reported that the incident resulted in the hospitalisation of all three workers. 15 – 20 local people subsequently attacked the plant on 11 March 2022, where they threw sticks and stones at staff and vandalised equipment. A spokesperson for the rioters accused the company of suppressing news of the pipeline disaster.

South Africa: A fuel tank explosions at a cement facility on Neptune Road in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), which Global Cement believes may be Cemza’s Coega grinding plant, has killed a 40-year-old worker. Algoa FM News has reported that there were no other casualties or injuries. Police have launched an inquest into the tragic incident.

Japan: Sumitomo Osaka Cement has secured an agreement with Hyogo Prefecture for the future reception and processing of the prefecture’s waste from disasters such as earthquakes. The company says that the agreement will facilitate the rapid reception of such materials and to best support clean-up efforts.

President Hironori Morohashi said “We will continue to strengthen our cooperative relationship with Hyogo Prefecture and work to form a sustainable society and develop and improve the region.”

Spain: The eruption of the La Cumbre Vieja volcano has destroyed a concrete plant on La Palma in the Canary Islands after engulfing it with lava. EuroNews has reported that the eruption, which begun on 19 September 2021, has displaced 6000 people on the island. The La Cumbre Vieja volcano previously erupted in 1971.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement plans to establish a facility for processing waste produced by natural disasters in Saitama Prefecture. The company says that the facility will sort waste for recycling and sort non-recyclable materials suitable for use as cement additives for further processing. The plans received approval at a talk with Kumagaya City and Saitama Prefecture administrators in mid-January 2021.

The company said, “We have been accepting waste and by-products for cement production and promoting recycling, and we are now also working to contribute to the early recovery of disaster areas.”