Tamil Nadu- Several hospitalised as ammonia gas leaks at industrial unit, company says ‘normalcy is restored’

Tamil Nadu: Several hospitalised as ammonia gas leaks at industrial unit, company says ‘normalcy is restored’

Several people were hospitalised after ammonia gas leaked from a fertiliser manufacturing unit at Ennore in north Chennai, Tamil Nadu, late on Tuesday night.

Following the leak from the plant, at about 11.45 pm on December 26, an odour that caused discomfort spread across the neighbourhood. Soon, over 25 people in residential neighbourhoods such as Periya Kuppam in the vicinity of the manufacturing facility experienced unease, nausea and faintness and they were taken to nearby hospitals, sources said, as reported by PTI.

— ANI (@ANI) December 27, 2023

The incident happened in Coromandel International Limited, which manufactures fertilisers and uses ammonia as a raw material. Officials received a message from the company at around 12.45 am regarding an ammonia gas leak which allegedly took place during the pre-cooling operation of the pipeline.

The President of Coromandel International Limited, Amir Alvi, in an official statement, assured that “all are safe and normalcy is restored” and said, “As part of routine operation, we noticed abnormality on 26/12/2023 at 23.30 hrs in the ammonia unloading subsea pipeline near shoreside, outside the plant premises. Our Standard Operating Procedure activated immediately and we have isolated ammonia system facility and brought the situation to normalcy in the shortest time.”

“During the process, a few members of the local community expressed discomfort and were given medical attention immediately. All are safe and normalcy is restored. We have informed relevant authorities about the incident,” the statement further read.

According to police officials, 12 villagers were admitted to the Stanley Hospital following the gas leak and their situation is said to be stable. Many others were shifted to community halls and other locations at midnight, PTI reported.

During inspection by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Board Control team, the ammonia level in the ambient air was monitored and found to be 3ppm (2090 microgram/m3 against 400 microgram/m3 on 24 hr average) at 3.30 am near the material gate.

(With inputs from PTI)