Ammonia gas leak at TN unit, over 50 hospitalised

Weeks after oil spill, north Chennai faces ammonia leak, factory blaze

- Divya Chandrababu

More than 50 people were hospitalised after an ammonia gas leak late on Tuesday night in a fertilizer plant in Chennai's Ennore area, an area that was already devastated by an oil spill earlier this month.

Officials said the gas leak took place from a pipeline that runs from the sea to the factory of a private fertiliser company. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board said the level of ammonia in the air was 2,090 micrograms (mm in cubic meter) as opposed to the accepted levels of 400 microgram. In the sea, it was 49 milligrams per litre (mg/l) as against the standard of 5 mg/l, the board said in a statement.

The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal took suo motu (on its own accord) cognisance of the leak on Wednesday and directed the TNPCB to file a report to be heard on January 2.