Tuas explosion: 3 workers dead, 5 in critical condition

Initial probe by MOM finds blast caused by accumulation of potato starch in confined environment

A fire investigation team at the site of the explosion in an industrial building in Tuas yesterday. The blast occurred on Wednesday at the premises of Stars Engrg, a contractor dealing with fire protection systems. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO
A fire investigation team at the site of the explosion in an industrial building in Tuas yesterday. The blast occurred on Wednesday at the premises of Stars Engrg, a contractor dealing with fire protection systems. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

Three workers have died and five remain in critical condition after Wednesday's explosion in Tuas.

Two other workers who were in a unit across from the accident site have been discharged.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) provided the updates at the site of the incident at 32E Tuas Avenue 11 yesterday.

The explosion had occurred on the premises of Stars Engrg, a contractor dealing with fire protection systems.

It forced the evacuation of 65 other people in the vicinity of the blaze from the explosion. The evacuees, some of whom stayed in the dormitories at the site, have been rehoused.

MOM said the three workers who died have not been identified, given their extensive injuries. The authorities will inform their families once their identities are confirmed.

MOM's preliminary investigations found that the explosion was caused by the accumulation of potato starch in a confined environment.

Contact with a source of ignition can cause what is called a combustible dust explosion.

Mr Silas Sng, commissioner for workplace safety and health, said MOM had issued guidance material after a similar explosion years earlier.

He added: "It is a known scientific fact that materials in powder form can be explosive when they are dispersed in the air in an enclosed environment.

"Potato starch is one of the materials that this particular company used for its product. Over time, the dust can accumulate, especially if the ventilation or housekeeping is inadequate."

He called on other companies dealing with similar materials to review their safety measures so that similar accidents do not occur.

"We must do all we can to prevent the further loss of life," said Mr Sng, who is also MOM's divisional director of occupational safety and health.

The latest deaths take the number of workplace fatalities recorded this month to 10.

This is compared with the 30 workplace deaths recorded in the whole of last year.

Mr John Ng, chairman of the Workplace Safety and Health Council, called for all companies to address the alarming trend by taking a safety time-out, whether lasting half a day or a full day.

This is a recommendation that will allow for a review of their safety processes with workers and to make time for checks on the state of their machinery.

National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Melvin Yong, who was also at the site yesterday, called for a dedicated workplace safety and health monitor at each work site, which will be much more effective than the inspections conducted by MOM now.

He said: "There are only so many inspections that we can do. I have repeated many times and I will continue to call for it, that every organisation should have a mandatory, dedicated workplace safety and health representative.

"That is something that the union has been advocating, at least in recent years, and multiple times. Today, only very selected sectors have that as a requirement."

Mr Yong said the Migrant Workers' Centre and the union are working with the affected workers' employers to render all who were in the accident the required support.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 26, 2021, with the headline Tuas explosion: 3 workers dead, 5 in critical condition. Subscribe