Emphasis On Safety In Factory Design

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31597, 7 February 1968, Page 24

Emphasis On Safety In Factory Design

(New Zealand Press Association)

MASTERTON, February 6.

A single motive—preventing repetition of a tragedy—is behind the design of a $320,000 factory about to come into full production in Masterton.

It is the new button factory of General Plastics, in Queen Street, which replaces the building destroyed in a disastrous explosion and blaze nearly three years ago. The cause of the eruption —which killed four workers and injured four others—is believed to have been the igniting of plastic dust by a spark from exposed electrical wiring. A subsequent Commission of inquiry produced a code for design of plastics factories, aimed at preventing a similar tragedy. General Plastics’ structure is the first new factory to be built since the code was published. Safety features embodied in the design include:—

Elimination of all ledges or cavities where dust might accumulate. A wall designed to collapse

if interior pressure exceeds a pre-determined level.

Solid concrete flooring throughout. Fully enclosed ceilings. All electrical wiring embedded in concrete flooring or pillars, or enclosed in heavy plastic tubing. Exclusive use of fire-proof materials, An automatic fire alarm system.

Rebuilding—delayed by the inquiry—began in November, 1966, 19 months after the explosion. Limited production was continued at subsidiary factories and temporary premises in Masterton, and at the company’s Petone factory, to which a number of workers travelled daily from Masterton.