The Tamil Nadu government has accepted the recommendations of a technical committee, formed to ascertain the cause of ammonia leak from a private unit here in December 2023, including legal action and a Rs 5.92 crore compensation to be paid by the company.
On December 26, an ammonia leak "had occurred from the under-sea pipeline of the Coromandel International Ltd. close to the shore," the technical committee concluded, an official release said.
The leak of ammonia gas from the subsea pipeline linked to the fertiliser manufacturing unit in north Chennai led to local residents suffering shortness of breath and nausea.
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The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has submitted the report to the TN government, the release from the state's Environment, Climate Change & Forest Department, said.
The committee has made various recommendations, including asking TNPCB to take "immediate action to direct the unit to pay the environmental compensation of Rs 5.92 crore to TNPCB for environmental mitigation."
It has also 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 were also 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."
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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.
