A five-day training on assistance and protection against chemical weapons and emergency response to chemical incidents ended at a Dhaka hotel Thursday. The training course, which began on June 19, was jointly organised by the Bangladesh National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention (BNACWC) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). OPCW representatives, high officials from Bangladesh Armed Forces, police, ministries, and participants of other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries were also present at the closing ceremony, according to the Inter Service Public Relation (ISPR) Directorate. Four OPCW instructors, 20 participants from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal, and 17 participants from Bangladesh attended the course. Read: ILO calls for ensuring proper handling, storage of chemicals in Bangladesh State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman was present as the chief guest and Lieutenant General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Armed Forces Division principal staff officer and BNACWC chairman, was present as a special guest at the closing ceremony. In March 2018, the same regional course was jointly conducted by the OPCW and the BNACWC in Bangladesh. The practical part of this course was held at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Training Complex in Mirpur Wednesday. The participants were oriented with all the gears and equipment they needed to use in an emergency. They also learnt the mechanism involving identification, detection and decontamination procedures in the face of a chemical accident.   A basic idea regarding the medical management of chemical weapon casualties was also given to the participants.

A fire that broke out Saturday night following an explosion at BM Container Depot, an inland container depot in Chattrogram's Sitakunda, has left hundreds including fire service officials and policemen injured and is feared to have killed many. Four people have already succumbed to their injuries, Panchlaish Police Station Sub-Inspector Nurul Alam told UNB. However, this number is expected to rise significantly. Around 200 injured persons have so far been taken to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH). Ambulances carrying injured persons were still coming to the hospital nearly three hours after the explosion. Early accounts indicate an initial fire at the depot broke out around 9:45pm. Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence Assistant Director Faruk Hossain said as firefighters worked to put out the flame, there was a large explosion in one of the containers around 11pm, followed by a series of small ones, and since then the fire has been out of control. "The explosion was heard within a radius of 4km from the spot," Faruk added. Sixteen firefighting units have so far been dispatched to fight the flames but they were yet to tame it till the filing of this report. Firefighters from Cumilla and Feni are also joining them, but the presence of highly flammable chemicals in the containers has complicated the situation. "We are trying our best. We don't know when we will be able to control the fire fully as the number of containers is huge. We don't know what kind of products are there inside the containers but we are informed that some containers contain imported chemicals that complicated the situation," one of the firefighters said. President of the association of inland container depot owners Nurul Qayyum Khan said he suspects the explosion may have occurred due to a container with a shipment of hydrogen peroxide that was to be exported in the coming days.   Chattogram Civil Surgeon Ilias Chowdhury has requested everyone to rush to the blood bank of CMCH and donate blood. Doctors from nearby government and private hospitals have been requested to report to CMCH as the tide of injured persons arriving there has been unrelenting. Bangladesh Red Crescent Society volunteers are working with the hospital authorities to collect blood from the donors. At the request of the civil surgeon, many doctors and nurses have joined the doctors at CMCH to deal with the situation. "It is not yet clear what caused the fire. But I think it started from a container. Arrangements are being made to ensure that the injured get the best treatment; we will bear all costs," BM Container Depot Director Mujibur Rahman told UNB. "Those who have sustained injuries will get maximum compensation. Also, we will take responsibilities for all the victims' families," he added. BM Container Depot, a Dutch-Bangladeshi joint venture, was set up as an inland container depot (ICD) which is operating from May 2011, one of 19 such ICDs located in Chattogram. The chairman of the depot is Dutch businessman Bert Pronk, who has other investments too in Bangladesh, while the managing director is Mustafizur Rahman of the Smart Group of Industries. Also read: 330MW Power Plant in Habiganj catches fire

A high level of toxic chemical has been found in the cash receipts that customers get through machines at payment counters of restaurants, super shops and ATM booths, according to a study report released on Thursday. Bisphenol A affects not only the humans but environment, animals and plants as well, said the study by Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO) in its new research report on "BPA in Receipt: Toxin in Finger" in a virtual event. The report said BPA, initially created as an estrogen supplement, has been linked to development problems in infants and children, and cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart disease in adults. Researchers said that BPA is broadly used as a plasticizer that is bound in polymers to make plastic bottles and food can liners and on thermal imaging paper used to print credit-card and cash register receipts, point-of-sale receipts, ATM receipts, prescription labels, airline tickets and other machine-generated receipts. According to this study the percentage availability of BPA in Cash Receipts is 0.08% - 3.7% by weight which is higher than the EU’s standard rate 0.02% by weight.   ESDO research team leader Dr. Shahriar Hossain said that thermal paper is usually used in cash register receipts in restaurants, food stores doing BPA contamination of food from fingers and hands.  He said BPA from thermal paper can be absorbed through the blood faster. At the levels measured in this study, many illnesses like diabetes and disorders like obesity can increase, he added.  The study revealed that BPA from receipts seeps into the skin, dramatically increasing the amount of BPA in the human body. And the hand disinfectant increased the absorption rate. Additionally, commonly used skin care products also appear to increase the rate of absorption of BPA, the researchers commented. ESDO research team assessed the situation through a baseline survey carried out from February 2019 to January 2020 on total 1350 people (Consumer and retailers) to assess public perception on Bisphenol-A (BPA) in thermal papers used in popular outlets in Bangladesh.  Besides, cash receipts have been collected from local shops (Fast food, super shop, restaurants, pharmacy, ATM etc.) and ATM booths of the surveyed areas by ESDO research team.  The laboratory tests of thermal papers found the presence of BPA in quantities ranging from 10 – 53 μg/cm2 where 0% of the population surveyed was aware of thermal paper containing BPA and its adverse effects.  Former Secretary and ESDO Chairperson Syed Marghub Murshed, who presided over the session, said the current outlook is based on a review by the ESDO of numerous studies, as well as its in-depth research on BPA. He urged the government to work seriously on this subject,  while ESDO will assist the government in integrating the issue of BPA into regulations. Joint Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Keya Khan attended the event as special guest. She stated that as children and pregnant women are vulnerable to BPA, the health and environmental hazards needs to be assessed and regulated through proper monitoring. Additional Secretary of Health Service Division Enamul Haque of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare appreciated the initiative and called for taking necessary steps to look for environmental friendly alternative immediately. ESDO Executive Director Siddika Sultanacalled for a proper waste segregation and management for BPA coated receipts to prevent BPA contamination of drinking water and food.  Director General of Department of Environment (DoE) expressed his concern over the issue while delivering his speech as chief guest. He said “The threat arising from BPA in receipts should not be overlooked.” He spoke of the need for formulating regulation to tackle the problem. Former Chairman of Department of Chemistry in the University of Dhaka Prof. Dr. Abu Jafar Mahmud,  , Former Chairman of Department of Chemistry in Jahangirnagar University Prof. Dr. Abul Hashem, Director of DOE Masud Iqbal  Shameem,  ,Project Coordinator of Environmental Intervention Unit, icddr,b  Dr. Md. Mahbubur Rahman also spoke at the programme.    

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) Monday arrested two chemical warehouse owners from Bagura and Dhaka city in connection with a case filed over the blaze in old Dhaka's Armanitola Friday. The arrestees are the owners of the warehouse from which the fire broke out and left five people dead. Mostafizur Rahman, owner of Moin and Brothers, and Mohammad Mostafa, owner of RS Enterprise, illegally stored flammable items and chemicals, Rab spokesperson Assistant Superintendent of Police Imran Khan said. Also read: Armanitola building fire: One more victim dies A special team comprising Rab intelligence and Rab-10 Battalion conducted a drive at Nandigram of Bagura at around 4am and arrested Mustafizur. Another team of the elite force carried out a raid in the city's Uttara-10 at around 5am and arrested Mustafa. During preliminary interrogation, both the arrestees said they had been storing chemicals in their warehouses but did not have legal permission to do so. The fire broke out at a chemical storage facility on the ground floor of the six-storey Haji Musa Mansion early Friday, left five people dead and at least 35 wounded. It took 19 firefighters nearly three hours to douse the flames. The case over Friday's fire was filed with Bangshal Police Station on the night of the incident.  Also read: 4 killed, 35 injured in Armanitola building fire Illegal chemical warehouses, unplanned building construction, narrow alleys and having so many people squeezed into too little space make old Dhaka highly vulnerable to fire hazards. In February 2019, a devastating fire at Wahed Mansion in Chawkbazar's Churihatta took away 71 lives; in June 2010, the Nimtoli blaze claimed 124 lives.