STORY 1113 CONFINED SPACE
Three Lives Inside a Palm Kernel Bunker
Almost three years after I had moved away from the mill, I received some shocking news.
There had been a fatal accident at a palm oil mill in 2009.
Three people had died.
What made the news even more painful was that all three were people I knew closely.
They were not strangers.
I had worked with them.
I had seen them doing their jobs.
I had spoken to them.
I had shared the same workplace with them.
But on one particular day, three ordinary workers went to work for what appeared to be a routine task.
They never came home.
It Started With a Quality Problem
The story began with a quality issue involving palm kernel.
A consignment delivered to a refinery was found to contain an unusually high level of *dirt*.
It was almost 10%, while the specified limit was around 6%.
For the mill management, this was a problem that needed to be investigated.
Where had the dirt come from?
Was it introduced during collection?
Transportation?
Storage?
Or was there a problem inside one of the bunkers?
The manager gave an instruction:
Inspect Palm Kernel Bunker No. 3.
Take samples.
Check the quality.
The instruction sounded simple.
But one important question had not been properly addressed:
Where should the sample be taken from, and how should it be taken safely?
THE YEAR WAS 2009
At that time, confined-space awareness in many workplaces was not what it is today.
Entering a bunker, silo or storage space for inspection or sampling could sometimes be regarded as part of normal work.
It had been done before.
It had been done many times.
And when something has been done repeatedly without an accident, people can easily begin to believe:
“It must be safe.”
That is one of the most dangerous assumptions in workplace safety.
A task being completed safely one hundred times does not guarantee that the 101st time will be safe.
Risk does not care about routine.
BUNKER NO. 3
That day, a Lab Assistant and a fellow worker went to Palm Kernel Bunker No. 3.
The bunker was still approximately 40% full of palm kernel.
One of them entered the bunker to collect a sample.
The Lab Assistant remained above the bunker.
Everything appeared normal.
It was simply another work assignment.
Another sample.
Another routine inspection.
A few minutes passed.
Then the worker collapsed.
He became unconscious.
Everything changed in an instant.
A routine quality inspection had become an emergency.
The young Lab Assistant panicked.
He immediately called for help.
THE SECOND MAN
An Assistant Supervisor arrived.
Inside the bunker was a worker who was unconscious.
There was no time to think.
His instinct was simple:
Save him.
He entered the bunker.
But moments later—
he collapsed too.
Now there were two unconscious men inside the bunker.
THE INSTINCT TO SAVE A FRIEND
The Lab Assistant saw what was happening.
He wanted to help.
He started to climb down.
But halfway into the bunker, his body began sending him warnings.
He felt dizzy.
He felt nauseous.
Something was wrong.
His instincts told him to stop.
He turned back and climbed out.
But by then, the exposure had already affected him.
Not long afterwards—
he too became unconscious.
THREE MEN
Other workers finally realized what was happening.
Emergency action was taken.
All three men were eventually brought out of the bunker.
But it was already too late for two of them.
Two lives were lost.
The Lab Assistant was rushed out for emergency medical treatment.
But the mill was far from the nearest medical facility.
Approximately 90 kilometres away.
The vehicle moved as quickly as possible.
But time was running out.
Sadly—
the third victim also died on the journey.
Three deaths.
One bunker.
One work instruction.
One routine sampling activity.
And three families lost someone they loved.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?
Years later, when I looked back at the tragedy, one question remained in my mind:
Why did this happen when workers had entered palm kernel bunkers before?
Wasn't entering the bunker something that had been done routinely?
Why did this particular bunker suddenly become so dangerous?
The answer may have been hidden in something that appeared relatively minor—
a change in the bunker design.
ONE WALL THAT CHANGED THE AIRFLOW
At the top of the bunker, there was a vent line.
However, there had been a significant modification around the upper section of the bunker.
An additional wall had been constructed around the top area.
The original purpose was reasonable:
to prevent rainwater from entering the transfer conveyor connecting the bunkers.
But every engineering modification can have unintended consequences.
In this case, the additional structure significantly restricted natural airflow around the bunker.
Ventilation became less effective.
And when ventilation is inadequate, hazardous gases can accumulate.
What looked like an ordinary palm kernel bunker from the outside—
could become a completely different environment inside.
A space that had previously been considered routine had become a potential death trap.
THIS IS THE REAL DANGER OF A CONFINED SPACE
A confined space does not necessarily look dangerous.
It can be a:
bunker.
tank.
silo.
manhole.
pit.
sewer.
vessel.
process chamber.
The greatest danger may not be visible.
It may not be felt.
And sometimes—
it may not even be detected by our senses before it is too late.
A hazardous atmosphere can cause a person to collapse before he has enough time to call for help.
That is why confined-space work cannot depend on experience alone.
Saying:
“I have entered this place many times before.”
is not evidence that it is safe today.
MALAYSIA'S JOURNEY TOWARDS CONFINED-SPACE SAFETY
The tragedy happened in 2009.
At that time, Malaysia already had the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, which established broad responsibilities for employers to protect the safety, health and welfare of workers.
But Malaysia's specific confined-space safety system was still developing.
In 2008, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, JKKP/DOSH, had already established guidelines relating to confined-space worker training, training-centre registration and the conduct of confined-space safety and health courses.
Then came a major milestone.
On 20 September 2010, JKKP published the:
Industry Code of Practice for Safe Working in a Confined Space 2010.
This became an important reference for controlling confined-space work in Malaysia.
The philosophy of confined-space work increasingly changed from:
“Enter and do the job.”
to:
Risk Assessment.
Isolation.
Atmospheric Testing.
Ventilation.
Permit to Work.
Competent Personnel.
Standby Person.
Communication.
Rescue Planning.
Emergency Response.
That was a major change in safety culture.
DO NOT ENTER TO RESCUE
There is another painful lesson contained within confined-space tragedies.
When somebody collapses inside a confined space, the natural human reaction is:
“Go in and save him!”
But in a confined space, an unplanned rescue can create another victim.
One person collapses.
Another person enters.
The second person collapses.
A third person enters.
The third person collapses.
Within minutes—
one victim can become two.
Two can become three.
And a single accident becomes a multiple-fatality tragedy.
That is why modern confined-space safety places so much emphasis on:
planned rescue.
Not spontaneous rescue.
Not bravery alone.
Not entering blindly because someone is your friend.
But rescue based on:
procedure, training, equipment and competent personnel.
ALMOST 17 YEARS LATER
Today, almost 17 years have passed since that tragedy.
Can we say that the same thing can never happen again?
No.
As long as confined spaces exist—
the risk remains.
As long as people work—
human error remains possible.
As long as industrial processes operate—
conditions can change.
And as long as people assume that a familiar job does not need to be reassessed—
accidents can happen.
Today we have better knowledge.
More training.
Better equipment.
More detailed procedures.
More competent personnel.
But all of these controls are only effective if people actually use them.
DO NOT LET THEIR DEATHS BE IN VAIN
We cannot bring those three men back.
But their deaths can become a lesson for the generations that follow.
Every time we see a bunker—
remember them.
Every time we open a manhole
remember them.
Every time someone prepares to enter a tank
remember them.
And whenever someone says:
“Don't worry. I've done this many times before.”
Stop.
Think.
Ask again:
“Have we proved that this space is safe today?”
SAFETY IS MORE THAN A DOCUMENT
At every workplace, the confined-space requirements and safe-working practices must be implemented seriously.
Workers must receive appropriate training.
Gas detectors must be available, suitable and properly maintained.
Rescue equipment must be available.
Permit systems must actually control the work.
Isolation must be verified.
The atmosphere must be tested.
Standby personnel must understand their responsibilities.
And the rescue plan must be practical—not simply a document sitting inside a file.
Because when someone collapses inside a confined space—
we may have only minutes to save a life.
THE LESSON
When I received the news about the deaths of those three colleagues almost three years after I had moved away, I never imagined that one incident inside a palm kernel bunker would stay with me for so long.
Looking back today, I realize that the tragedy was not simply about three people making mistakes.
It was about:
limited awareness,
immature procedures,
changes in the physical environment,
an unknown hazardous atmosphere,
and perhaps most importantly—
the assumption that a routine job must therefore be a safe job.
That is what we must change.
Because safety is not about how many times we have completed a task without an accident.
Safety is about making sure—
the next time is safe too.
Those three colleagues are gone.
But their story still has a purpose.
It can remind us that every bunker, tank, vessel, pit and manhole deserves respect.
Every confined space deserves assessment.
Every entry deserves proper control.
Every worker deserves to go home.
Because as long as the hazard exists—
the possibility of an accident exists.
Never become complacent.
Never assume that routine means safe.
Never enter without establishing that the space is safe.
And above all -
NEVER SACRIFICE A HUMAN LIFE FOR A JOB THAT CAN BE STOPPED.
That is my story today.
