Be prepared

This refers to the editorial ‘Mystery gas’ (Feb 19). The unfortunate leak of poisonous gas in Karachi resulted in the death of innocent people while several hundred suffered respiratory problems. This accident has exposed the lack of preparedness of the city authorities to respond to such situations. No coordination between different organizations was visible. The cause of the incident could not be identified for several days. Different organizations gave different versions for the cause of the accident.

Some of the suspected gases could have been detected in few minutes with portable gas detectors. Such detectors are most probably available with the nearby several oil storage facilities. One wonders why such basic facilities are not available with the KPT. This unfortunate accident should be thoroughly studied, and preventive measures should be identified and implemented. Considering that the KPT handles a large number of chemicals on a daily basis, a comprehensive action plan including all stakeholders such as KPT, SEPA, etc should be developed and implemented to avoid such incidents in the future. Necessary help may be sought from the ICCBS Forensic Laboratory, University of Karachi.

Dr Mohammad Saleem

Karachi