60% of ammonia gas cleared from seafood factory in Tiruvallur
In an operation that began at 9 a.m. on Saturday the Tiruvallur District administration along with a 15-member team of experts evacuated around 60% of
In an operation that began at 9 a.m. on Saturday the Tiruvallur District administration along with a 15-member team of experts evacuated around 60% of ammonia from three storage tanks of St. Paul and Peter, the seafood processing unit where a gas leak on June 21 had led to the death of several workers. District Collector S. Kavitha who oversaw the operations, said that the tanks contained around 1.5 tonnes to 2 tonnes of ammonia in a gaseous state in a pressurised state.
This was loaded into bullets on tankers that are used to transport the gas safely. The ammonia is being sent back to the manufacturing firm and can be put to use elsewhere. The Collector further said that the work to remove the remaining gas would begin again on Sunday morning after the compressor runs overnight to draw out from the pipes and equipment inside the unit and moved to the storage tanks. The team prefers to work during day time as it was safer and people would be more alert.
“The same safety protocols will remain in place and medical teams with ambulances and fire, police and NDRF personnel kept on the ready. Traffic will not be allowed on the Highway on Sunday too,” she said. The evacuation was carried out by a team of experts including those from industries that have the know how to deal with ammonia. A 300- metre wide area was cordoned off with industries instructed to shut down and people in nearby homes told to remain indoors.
Meanwhile, Ms. Kavitha also said that as a precautionary measure, a list of eight industries using ammonia had been drawn up and a team of experts would be visiting them to ensure safety protocols were in place. “One of the points they will look at is the place of stay/rest of workers,” she added.
The BriefWire