Following occupational accidents and fire disasters that plunged Turkey into mourning, scientists have taken action for a permanent solution. Dr. Rüştü Uçan, President of MESKA Foundation and Head of Occupational Health and Safety Department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi, announced that a 30-member expert team led by Lecturer Abdurrahman İnce has prepared a comprehensive draft report aimed at making vital rules for welding and similar "hot work" operations a legal obligation.
Emphasizing that their 250-page study would not be sufficient if it remained a mere "guide" or "manual," and that it should become a "mandatory" regulation, Dr. Rüştü Uçan said, “What we want is a regulation that will be mandatorily applied. It should be stated, ‘You cannot start this work without doing this.’ We no longer want to appear on television after such sad incidents occur. Let's take the necessary precautions.”
Dr. Rüştü Uçan stated, “The Ministry of Labor and Social Security should take this draft study we submitted to them into consideration and enact a 'Hot Work Permit Regulation'.”
Dr. Rüştü Uçan, Head of Occupational Health and Safety Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, Üsküdar Üniversitesi, announced that a 30-member team of academics and experts, led by Lecturer Abdurrahman İnce, has prepared a comprehensive draft report aimed at making vital rules for welding and similar "hot work" operations a legal obligation.
Scientists took action for a permanent solution
Dr. Rüştü Uçan stated that they carried out a study to be submitted to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, and continued:
“Under the leadership of Lecturer Abdurrahman İnce, who worked as an instructor at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department and is a faculty member at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences, Occupational Health and Safety Department, a team of 30 academics, industry experts, and a few colleagues from the Ministry carried out this study. Our goal here is this: They call us especially after many fires. We express our opinions about these in the press. But this should not happen. As scientists, as a working team, we should have stated beforehand what needs to be done, and actions should have been taken accordingly so that we don't encounter these incidents. For example, the bar fire where 29 people died. If the fire had started when there were a thousand people in the bar, at its busiest moment, many more people would have died. It was such a problematic fire. The Haydarpaşa Train Station roof fire, the Galatasaray University fire, could have been prevented if we had such a Hot Work Permit Regulation and if it had been correctly implemented.”
The draft's foundation is based on regulations applied in the USA for 60 years
Dr. Rüştü Uçan stated that the basis of their work is the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) regulations, which have been applied in the USA for 60 years and updated 8 times, emphasizing that there is a significant legal void in Turkey regarding this matter. Stating that the current situation is based on initiative, Dr. Rüştü Uçan continued:
“When hot work, welding or other hot work, is to be done, 60 years ago America introduced a regulation, and they absolutely do not issue hot work permits without applying it. We say let's adapt this in Turkey. Currently (in Turkey), because we do not have such a permit procedure if a hot permit is to be issued, if welding is to be done, or if another hot work is to be done, the fire immediately escalates as soon as the flame ignites in a bar fire.”
Dr. Rüştü Uçan stated that there is a significant legal void in Turkey regarding this matter, adding, “We translated the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) regulations, which have been applied in America for 60 years. At the same time, we translated how other countries, such as Japan and other European countries, apply them, and compiled them into a comprehensive draft. We submitted this to the Ministry. Our aim here is for the Ministry to incorporate this into legislation that everyone will be obliged to apply.”
The 11-meter rule saves lives!
Dr. Rüştü Uçan also drew attention to the simple but life-saving rules underlying their proposed regulation, saying, “There should be no flammable material within 11 meters around the area where hot work will be performed. If you cannot remove the flammable material, you must cover it with a non-combustible curtain. If such a protective measure had been taken within 11 meters around the bar fire in Beşiktaş, the fire would not have started. If hot work is to be done, a person who knows how to extinguish fires should wait there with a full fire extinguisher. Thus, that person will stop the fire as soon as it breaks out. The necessary preparations must be made in advance to prevent a fire.”
It must become a mandatory regulation
Emphasizing that their 250-page study would not be sufficient if it remained a mere "guide" or "manual," and that it should become a "mandatory" regulation, Dr. Rüştü Uçan concluded his words as follows:
“What we want is a regulation that will be mandatorily applied. It should be stated, ‘You cannot start this work without doing this.’ If you start, in the event of a very large fatal accident resulting from this, the individuals who started it without this permit and the management will be directly responsible. We no longer want to appear on television after such sad incidents. What we want is for such a mandatory work permit system to be established in Turkey as well. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security should take this draft study we submitted to them into consideration and enact a 'Hot Work Permit Regulation'.”