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Four photos released by the state Electrical Alliance 1. Cuba In its organization profile, several workers can be seen Shovel dust Inside the boiler Thermoelectric Entering the island without using protective equipment, They sounded the alarm.
publicationpublished on Saturday, August 10, which purports to explain the actions taken by the entity to try to address the wave of power outages on the island Eight power plants outages, It revealed that authorities were making workers work in extremely dangerous conditions.
“Technicians and workers of the Ernesto Guevara de la Serna Thermal Power Plant in Santa Cruz del Norte carried out the cleaning of the boiler of Unit 2, the streaking of the furnace (SIC) and the cleaning of the lubrication filter (SIC), which will soon facilitate the start-up (SIC) of the machine,” the publication said.
Jorge Piñón, director of the Latin America and Caribbean Energy Program at the University of Texas, reviewed the snapshots and provided details on what they reveal.
“Industrial solid waste from thermal power plants burning heavy fuel oil to generate electricity generates in the atmosphere a complex mixture of pollutants such as acid gases, organic compounds and solid wastes such as fly ash and bottom ash,” he specified for DIARIO DE CUBA.
“Bottom ash is a waste material that is continuously generated in thermal power plants. It consists of agglomerated ash particles that are too large to be carried by the combustion gases and fall through the open grate into an ash hopper at the bottom of the furnace.”
“Due to the small particle size, “These ashes contain toxic elements such as arsenic, chromium, lead, vanadium and zinc and are considered highly hazardous to humans.”he warned.
Pinon recalled that Cuban scientists and experts such as CM Alonso Hernández, J. Bernal Castillo, Y. Bolaños Álvarez, M. Gómez Batista and M. Díaz Asencio, all linked to the Center for Environmental Studies of Cienfuegos, “have published important studies” that demonstrate the dangers of handling boiler ashes. ”
“Workers handling the ash need protective gear like gloves, goggles, masks etc. The equipment protects them from dust and other harmful substances. UNE should provide training to staff on the importance of the equipment and establish clear rules for its use. Without it, workers could develop serious respiratory and skin problems,” he said.
“EU and US regulations on worker safety and protection would treat this situation as a criminal situation, Clearly hold companies accountable for any negative impacts they may have on the health of their workers.”he finished.
In the UNE publication’s own forum, some voiced their concerns. For example, Juan Carlos Sotolongo González commented: “The solid waste from the combustion of Cuban crude oil contains a lot of compounds derived from sulfur, vanadium and other metals. I wonder… why the workers don’t use personal protection means? “Do they understand the risks of systematically carrying out these missions without this means of protection?”
María Antonia Piñón points in the same direction: “The health and safety of the workers is important. The ashes from these boilers contain large amounts of polluting metals such as vanadium. Where is the safety equipment for these colleagues?”
Meira Rabi added: “The saddest thing about this case is that these poor workers are working, sacrificing, Because of course they have to work, even risking their lives, The result was not seen. “They were battling cancer and the patient had already lost his life.”
However, a brief background check shows that this situation is far from an exception. In April 2023, while cleaning the inside of a chimney at the Antonio Guiteras thermal power plant in Matanzas, a wall collapsed, causing The incident claimed the lives of two workers and injured two others..
exist Cleaning and rescue work Dozens of workers intervened, with official propaganda describing it as a “heroic act”. Covered in toxic ashmost of which do not have adequate means of protection.
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