The TNPCB tech committee that probed the leak from Coromandel International's unit has sought payment for environmental mitigation.
Published Feb 05, 2024 | 9:28 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 05, 2024 | 9:28 AM
Gas Leak in Ennore, North Chennai. (Screengrab)
The Tamil Nadu government has accepted the recommendations of a technical committee, formed to ascertain the cause of ammonia leak from a private unit in Chennai on 26 December, 2023, that led to the hospitalisation of dozens of people.
The recommendations include legal action, as well as a ₹5.92 crore compensation to be paid by the company.
On the night of Tuesday, 26 December, ammonia gas had leaked from a subsea pipeline “close to the shore” linked to the fertiliser manufacturing unit of Coromandel International Ltd in the Ennore area of North Chennai, leading to local residents to local residents suffering shortness of breath and nausea.
The report, by a technical committee of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), was submitted the Tamil Nadu government, according to a release from the state’s Environment, Climate Change & Forest Department.
Among its many recommendations, the TNPCB technical committee’s report also asked the pollution control board to take “immediate action to direct the unit to pay the environmental compensation of ₹5.92 crore… for environmental mitigation”.
It has further recommended legal action against the unit for non-compliance with the conditions of the consent order issued under the Air Act, the release added.
Various other recommendations, relating to safety and early warning, among others, have also been made.
“The unit shall provide adequate number of ammonia sensors all around the plant near the pipeline where it crosses the Express Highway and in the villages around the plant so as to detect the ammonia in the ambient air at all wind directions and to provide early warning to the public in case of ammonia leak,” the report said.
Onsite and offsite emergency preparedness studies by credible agencies for both Ammonium Phosphate Potash Sulphate (APPS) and ammonia storage, along with off-shore pipeline facility, should be carried out, the committee recommended.
The unit shall provide necessary arrangements including high-volume sirens to alert the people of the nearby villages during accidents and abnormal operations of the plant.
It should conduct capacity-building campaigns for the public of all the nearby villages on the “Do’s and Don’ts during emergencies”, including evacuation procedures.
Ammonia concentration in the sea water should be monitored on daily basis near the offshore pipeline at shore point, at mooring point and at a few locations in between the shore and mooring point during the pre-cooling and unloading operations, the panel said.
“The unit shall conduct a comprehensive safety and hazard audit, identify non-compliances and take corrective measures for identified non-compliances. Emergency plans shall be established to deal with leakages,” the committee recommended.
“TNPCB has submitted the above report of the Technical Committee to the Government. The Government has accepted the recommendations of the Committee and directed TNPCB to implement all recommendations of the Technical Committee immediately and report compliance,” the release added.
(With PTI Inputs)
