Surabaya – Monday (12/12), a container filled with dangerous goods of the type sodium cyanide or cyanide was overturned when it was about to be transferred from the stockpiling yard to a truck. The field officers at the polling station swiftly sterilized and secured the location.
The field officers coordinated and immediately contacted PT Trans Continent as EMKL (Sea Freight Expedition) which handled the release of the goods, according to the procedure that had been carried out that every time a dangerous goods was to be shipped, an emergency response team had prepared an emergency response team for escorting dangerous goods in the area in front of the TPS building. to be escorted to the owner of the goods.
The emergency response team is equipped with special Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) using special tools so that the handling of spills of dangerous goods resulting from overturned containers can be handled quickly without casualties, of course, thanks to the quick coordination and responsiveness of the parties involved.
It turned out that the incident above was a drill simulation for handling dangerous goods (Danger Goods) that entered through TPS. The drill is a joint drill between TPS and PT Trans Continent which is one of the EMKL companies that handles cyanide shipments.
Plt. The main director of TPS, Bambang Hasbullah said, as an international terminal, TPS already has special procedures for handling dangerous goods, but to ensure that these procedures are understood and TPS personnel are prepared to deal with all eventualities that may occur in handling dangerous goods, refreshment and Continuous simulation needs to be done.
"We have warehouses and special blocks in the stacking yard for dangerous goods or dangerous goods, which of course are in accordance with the provisions for handling, starting from a safe room temperature, a dry and not damp place, distinguished from other ordinary goods," explained Bambang.
The implementation of the Joint drill in handling dangerous goods, namely Cyanide, was attended by approximately 50 participants who were directly involved in the loading and unloading process of these dangerous goods, both from internal TPS and PT Trans Continent. It started with a short briefing explaining what cyanide is and its potential dangers and how to handle it properly, which was delivered directly by Darren Gould, an expert from Australian Gold Reagents (AGR) Australia as a cyanide producer. The experts brought in from Australia are transport & logistics specialists on explosive and dangerous cargoes.
Cyanide is a hazardous substance that is widely used for fumigation, mining and the production of paper, textiles and plastics. This substance is available as a crystalline powder, gas and liquid.
HSE Manager of PT Trans Continent, Welem Bawangun Senaen Bambulu said that the purpose of conducting today's joint drill was also an evaluation material to measure company performance through an audit process conducted by ICMI (International Cyanide Management Institute), an accredited international institution to oversee: Production (Manufacture) ), Distribution/Circulation/Transportation & Use of Cyanide around the world, has competent experts to conduct audits and issue certification in the industry.
With several points that must be considered, namely procedures for handling dangerous goods, procedures for storing dangerous goods, emergency response, and inspection of dangerous goods storage areas.
"We want to ensure that the handling of dangerous goods from us as well as from the TPS side as a service provider and its facilities are in accordance with predetermined standards," said Welem.
The implementation of the cyanide handling joint drill is a form of TPS and PT Trans Continent's commitment to be able to provide excellent and safe service for their customers.
It should be noted that the record for the flow of containers through TPS until November 2022 was 1,245,283 TEUs, with details of the contribution of international container flows of 1,177,616 TEUs and the contribution of domestic container flows of 67,667 TEUs. From this achievement, 19,101 TEUs were recorded as dangerous goods or 2% of the total container flow as of November 2022.