Hot oil leaked from the jacket of the reactor coming in contact with chemicals inside the reactor was the cause of the explosion at SB Organics Ltd. in Sangareddy’s Hathnoora on April 3, according to officials from the Pollution Control Board (PCB). Smoke came out of the reactor for about 30 minutes before the explosion, a preliminary investigation showed.
The explosion killed six men, including one of the plant’s directors, and injured 16 others.
The Patancheru police have written to the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology and the Defence Research and Development Organisation to inspect the site of the incident. “The probe is also to ascertain whether the chemists at the plant were manufacturing anything other than the licensed chemicals,” said the officials.
