CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has temporarily suspended the operation of the Coromandel International plant at Ennore near Chennai after an ammonia leak at its facility late at night on Tuesday. All manufacturing activities of the fertilizer manufacturing plant have been suspended after the incident, except the Sulphuric acid unit which couldn't be immediately shut down, according to state environment minister SV Meyyanathan.
The gas leak happened in the subsea pipeline outside the plant premises, which is used to carry ammonia from the ship. It happened during the pre-cooling process in the pipeline, done to pump ammonia in liquid form.
Coromandel International's stock price dropped 34 rupees (-2.71%) from Rs 1262.05 to Rs 1227.80 as of 12.50 pm. It opened at Rs 1270 and fell to Rs 1217.35 on intraday trade.
"As part of routine operation, we noticed an abnormality on 26th December at 11.30 pm in the ammonia unloading subsea pipeline near shoreside," Coromandel International said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Our Standard Operating Procedure activated immediately, and we isolated the ammonia system facility and brought the situation to normalcy in the shortest time," it added.
According to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, the ammonia level in the ambient air was 3ppm at 3:30 am. Residents have complained about breathing difficulties and irritation in the eyes and throat.
The company said, "During the process, few members in 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. Coromandel has always adhered to the highest safety standards and emergency response system."
TNIE has sent a detailed query to the company regarding closure and safety audits. The material will be updated once get a response.
Meanwhile, locals in the Ennore neighbourhood are staging a protest for the permanent closure of the plant. It is important to note, the oil spill from Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation and other industries happened in the same area on December 5th.
Minister SV Meyyanathan said the government would do a thorough inspection of infrastructure with experts, review safety audits and disaster mitigation plans of the Red category industry in Ennore.
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