Tamil Nadu govt asks fertilizer unit to follow slew of conditions after gas leak

Chennai: Tamil Nadu government has asked Murugappa Group-owned Coromandel International Limited to replace a pipeline running from sea to the factory, provide adequate number of ammonia sensors, and monitor ambient ammonia level among other things, a month after a gas leak from the factory led to hospitalisation of over 60 people.

The direction came after a Technical Committee constituted by the government concluded that the ammonia leak on the night of December 26 did occur from the under-sea pipeline of the Coromandel International close to the shore. The committee also observed that significant relocation of heavy granite boulders around the pipeline due to Cyclone Michaung could have caused damage to the pipeline which resulted in the ammonia gas leakage that affected residents of several villages in Ennore.

The committee also asked the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to direct the unit to pay an environmental compensation of Rs 5.92 crores for environmental mitigation and to take legal action against the unit for the non-compliance with the conditions of the consent order issued under the Air Act.

The company is now non-operational and people are protesting against its reopening.

Hundreds of people were moved to near-by temples and community halls on December 26 night as the strong odour of ammonia rent the air, even as 60 people were rushed to government and private hospitals, who were discharged later. Ammonia received via Ennore minor port through ships is transferred to the factory using a 8-inch flexible HDPE pipeline of 2.5 km length laid underneath the sea bed.

The committee asked the company to replace the existing offshore pipeline with a new pipeline with the state-of-the-art monitoring, automatic control and accident prevention system, properly secure it, transfer ammonia only after ensuring that the pipeline is intact and safe, and provide an adequate number of ammonia sensors all around the plant near the pipeline.

“The unit shall also carry out onsite and off-site emergency preparedness studies by credible agencies for both Ammonium Phosphate Potash Sulphate (APPS) and ammonia storage along with off-shore pipeline facility,” the committee said in its recommendations.

The panel also asked Coromandel International to install a water curtain system, fire water nozzle operated by motor in ammonia feed pumps to reduce the impact of ammonia leakage and shall explore the option of automatic tripping system during pressure built up, and leaks in the pipeline.

The unit should also provide necessary arrangements including high volume sirens to alert the people of the nearby villages during accidents and abnormal operations of the plant and conduct capacity building campaigns on the Dos and Don’ts during emergencies including the emergency evacuation procedures.

“The unit shall monitor ambient ammonia level every hour at the offshore pipeline at the shore point, at the mooring point and at the villages located within 2 km from the plant in the prevailing downwind and upwind directions during the pre-cooling and unloading operations,” the panel said.

The gas leak came just as people in Ennore, which is surrounded by several polluting industries, were slowly limping back to normalcy after being affected by the oil spill from a refinery owned by the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL).