NIP reports 63 fatal occupational accidents in 2000
The National Labour Inspectorate (NIP) recorded 63 fatal occupational accidents for Q1-Q3 2000, down from 81 for the same period last year, Labour Inspector General Milan Semelak said December 18.
The number of serious occupational accidents went down from 164 to 154, as did the number of other occupational accidents, from 13,656 to 12,400.
The number of industrial accidents fell from 24 to 15, and direct damages stemming from those accidents decreased from almost 54 million crowns last September to 48.4 million crowns this year.
NIP posted the listing of the most frequently violated occupational safety rules in small and medium-sized companies.
Large companies fared slightly better, while companies with foreign participation placed more emphasis on occupational safety than did state or private Slovak firms.
Semelak said the worst accident occurred in August at the Duslo Saľa chemical factory, in which 30 people were hurt after a chlorine leak.
NIP later fined Duslo 500,000 crowns in connection with the incident. A similar accident occured when ammonia started to spread during repairs at the Bratislava ice-hockey stadium.
Deputy Labour Inspector General Anton Kasana said that the NIP is currently examining the circumstances surrounding the fire near the village of Hrabušice in the Slovenský Raj National Park earlier this year in which six people died.
Compiled by Ed Holt from SITA
