CHENNAI: The ammonia gas leak from Coromandel International Ltd Ennore, a fertiliser manufacturing facility has left many with breathing difficulties and eye irritation.
The incident happened at 11.45 pm on Tuesday when the staff at the factory operating in Periyakuppam sensed the gas leakage. At least 25 people in the neighbourhood of the manufacturing facility experienced unease and were taken to nearby hospitals, as per PTI.
Avadi Joint Commissioner of Police P Vijayakumar said that the issue has been brought under control. A police team on the factory’s premises is aiding operations to control the issue, the police official added.
The seawater sample at the point of pipeline leakage, taken at 3:49 am, showed the ammonia level to be 49 mg/L as against the marine discharge standard of 5 mg/L.
The team recorded 0ppm of ammonia levels in ambient air in Thalankuppam, Periakuppam, Chinnakuppam, Ernavur kuppam, Kathivakkam railway bridge and Ennore bus depot, among others, at around 4 am.
The leak is said to have happened during the pre-cooling process in the pipeline which is done to pump ammonia in liquid form.
"A message was received from the unit at 12:45 am regarding the ammonia leak during the pre-cooling operation of the pipeline. A team headed by the Joint Chief Environment Engineer reached the site by 2:15 am and inspected the unit and pipeline locations," the press release said.
Writer and researcher Nityanand Jayaraman said that the levels of ammonia reported in the press release were taken three hours after the incident and do not offer insight into the incident itself.
“The winds were blowing from Northeast to Southwest carrying the contaminant plume from the coast towards Burma Nagar and Ernavur. Levels ought to have been measured 2 to 3 km southwest depending on wind speed,” he said.
He added that it was safe to conclude that people have suffered ‘unacceptable levels of exposure, considering they continued to experience an intense odour at Ernavur and Burma Nagar at 1 am.
“The human nose can detect ammonia at 5 parts per million or more. Beyond 52 ppm, the human nose cannot sense it. If people had been able to sense it with symptoms such as burning eyes and throat, levels would have been anywhere between 5 and 50 ppm.
The US occupational health standards prescribed a safe level of 35 ppm which is not to be exceeded during any 15 minutes in the workplace. There is no reason to be complacent,” he said.