CARE WITH EXPLOSIVES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 787, 7 October 1929, Page 7

CARE WITH EXPLOSIVES

ACCIDENTS ON PUBUC WORKS DISREGARD OF WARNINGS fress Association WELLINGTON, Saturday. "There is no foundation in fact for the allegations made against the Public Works officials by Mr. A. Cook, president of the Alliance of Labour, in regard to the handling of explosives on our works.” declared the Hon. E. A. Ransom, Minister of Public Works, when his attention was directed to an interview on this subject in which Mr. Cook blamed the engineer-in-chief of the department for failure to issue instructions in handling explosives to the departmental officers in charge of the men. “The instructions issued on this subject are very explicit, and take a. number of forms, with the object of impressing men, and the officer in charge also, with the danger of improper handling of explosives. In 1927 the department issued a circular on these lines, and on August 1 last followed this up with a 23-page booklet containing diagrams showing how charges should be made up, and how safe storage places should be built, with full instructions for safe um. Again, in September, the department distributed throughout its works dan* ger notices printed on calico enabling them to be placed in a prominent position, where all workmen could se. them. As to the recent *>cident at Wat karemoana. the Minister said that the department had received a report front its officer. A workman was examin* ing gelignite in a tent in the morning, before work, and dropped a plug on the hot iron hearth. The gelignite was not frozen, but in any case a warm pan and hot water, with a special man detailed to give the gelignite attention, was in camp. The Minister declared that the department could not have taken more care in this particular case, but unfortunately its frequently repeated warnings had been apparently over* looked. A previous accident was due to warming gelignite in a frying pan when proper hot water appliances were available but not used. In face of these facts, it was unfair that departmental officers who had taken so much care to impress on employees the danger of improper methods in the handling of explosives should be blamed for accidents.