42 hospitalized after ammonia gas leak at fertilizer plant in Chennai

An ammonia gas leak from a pipeline running from the sea to the factory of a private fertilizer company in Ennore near here on Tuesday led to hospitalization of at least 42 people, including children, after they complained of breathlessness due to the strong odour of the chemical.

The incident caused panic among residents of Chinnakuppam, Periyakuppam, and Thalangkuppam, who rushed out of their homes at around 11.30 pm on Tuesday after locals alerted them about the gas leak from the Coromandel International Limited, owned by Murugappa Group.

People who complained of breathlessness and those who vomited were shifted to near-by private and government hospitals, while fishermen said the incident led to the death of fish, prawn, and crab with the gas entering the sea water.

The gas leak comes just as people in Ennore, which is surrounded by several polluting industries, are slowly limping back to normalcy after being affected by the oil spill from a refinery owned by the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL). The oil from the refinery, which was let into the flood water, entered their homes affecting their livelihood and damaging household items and even boats parked on the seashore.

On Wednesday, people from the three villages staged a protest outside the factory, demanding its permanent closure. “We don’t need any explanation from the government or from the company. We have been affected so badly by the plant for the past few years that we don’t want the company to function here,” a protestor said.

Though the gas leak was controlled, the ammonia level in the ambient air and in the sea rose to alarming levels by 3 am on Wednesday. According to an analysis by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), ammonia level in the ambient air was monitored and found to be 3 ppm (2090 microgram/m3 as against 400 microgram/m3 on 24 hour average).

The ammonia level in the sea water was also high at 3.49 am – it was 49 mg/L as against the marine discharge standard of 5 mg/L, even as mild ammonia odor was observed near the site and near-by villages.

Health Minister M Subramanian said as many as 42 people from the area were hospitalized due to the gas leak. “They are doing fine. All of them will be discharged from hospitals by this evening,” he told reporters after visiting the affected people.

As several people complained of burning sensation in eyes and other symptoms, the Greater Chennai Corporation and Health Department have rushed three lung specialists and three general medicine doctors to the spot to conduct check-ups on the affected.

The gas leak occurred in the subsea pipeline of the Murugappa Group company which manufactures Ammonium Phosphate Potash Sulphate (APPS) and has a double insulated ammonium storage tank of 12500 T capacity.

The company, which is part of the Murugappa group, said it noticed abnormality in the ammonia unloading subsea pipeline near shoreside, outside the plant premises at 11.30 am during routine operation.

“Our standard operating procedure was activated immediately, and we have isolated ammonia system facility and brought the situation to normalcy in the shortest time,” Amir Alvi, President & Head, Manufacturing (Fertilizer) & Supply Chain, Coromandel International Limited, said in a statement.

Ammonia is received via Ennore minor port through ships and transferred from there using 8-inch flexible HDPE pipeline of 2.5 km length laid underneath the sea bed, the TNPCB said, adding that the depth of pipeline from the sea surface varies from 1’ near the shore to 18’ at the mooring point at port.

The unit receives and unloads ammonia of 3000 to 8000 T once a month, which are generally imported from Iran or Saudi Arabia. Ammonia is received in liquid form at -330 C and stored in the storage tank under the same condition.