Oil leak from titanium factory hits Thiruvananthapuram coast, public barred from affected stretch

The leak from a glass furnace started after midnight and spilt over to the sea via the drainage. The Coast Guard has started a recce to find out the extent of spill in the sea.
A drainage that took the leaked oil from the furnace to the sea, near Travancore Titanium Products Ltd in Kochu Veli. (Photo | B P Deepu, EPS)
A drainage that took the leaked oil from the furnace to the sea, near Travancore Titanium Products Ltd in Kochu Veli. (Photo | B P Deepu, EPS)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A furnace oil leak from Travancore Titanium Products Ltd (TTP), a public sector unit making titanium dioxide, has spilt over to a part of the coastal area in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

According to preliminary estimates, a two kilometre stretch from Veli to Puthukurichy has been affected by the spill. The leak from a glass furnace started after midnight and spilt over to the sea via the drainage. The thick oil has mixed with the sea sand and sedimented at the coast.  

Company officials said the leak has been plugged. As a precaution, the public have been barred from visiting the coast at Shanghumugham and Veli.

Experts from the Pollution Control Board reached the spot and instructed company officials to remove the sand sediments from the coast. The Coast Guard has started a recce to find out the extent of spill in the sea.

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