As residents of Ennore in north Chennai drew the curtains on December 26, they had no clue to the impending period of panic that was to hit them soon, mere weeks after they grappled with the effects of an oil spill. At Periyakuppam, when Doulath Begum, 27, went to the bathroom some time after 11 p.m., she sensed a strange pungent odour. Her husband, K. Balachandar, 34, said it could be the mosquito repellent they had lit up. As she insisted that the odour was coming in through the ventilator, he opened their front door ajar to a strong gush of pungent ammonia, a smell they were far too familiar with.
At the same time, one of the workers leaving the nearby factories — the workers being the first to breathe in ammonia and quickly alert locals — began banging on Mr. Balachandar’s door, yelling about a ‘tank burst’. So, he immediately tied a damp cloth around his nose and rushed out with his wife and child. They came onto the streets to find chaos.
Troubles from bubbles
No tank had ‘burst’. But, around 11.30 p.m. on December 26, there was a leak in the ammonia unloading pipelines of Coromandel International Limited, a fertiliser manufacturing unit at Ennore, about 2 feet from the shore, according to an official statement released the next day. When the pipelines are not in use, they are maintained at 2 kg/cm2 vapour pressure. Thirty-six hours before the transfer of ammonia, which the company receives in a 3,000-8,000-tonne monthly shipment, the pipeline is put through a pre-cooling process. During this process, gas bubbles rose out of the subsea pipeline, spreading the stench.
Without any information as to what was happening, hundreds of residents living close to the unit assumed the worst and started moving out of their homes towards Thiruvottiyur. “When we came outside, the smell was so strong that it immediately caused a choking sensation,” says Vijaya, a resident of Chinnakuppam.
By 12.30 a.m., the district authorities and the police were alerted. A couple of government buses came to ferry residents out and the police told people that it was only a leak, which was fixed. Hundreds of people stayed at a community hall near the office of Thiruvottiyur MLA K.P. Shankar until the next morning. Fifty-two people were admitted to hospital as they experienced breathing difficulties.
According to a statement from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), a message was received from the unit at 12.45 a.m. Reaching the site at 2.15 a.m., officials of the TNPCB and the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) learnt that the unit immediately started depressurising the pipeline by diverting the ammonia vapour to the flare and completed the operation within 20 minutes.
Though those admitted to hospital have been discharged since, the impact on the environment must be studied. At 3.49 a.m. ammonia in the sea was 10 times the allowed level, with 49 mg/litre, as against the marine discharge standard of 5 mg/litre. In the air, near the pipeline leak area, at 3.51 a.m. the TNPCB measured it to be 3 ppm (2090 microgram/m3 as against 400 microgram/m3 on a 24-hour average) — five times the allowed level. From 4.02 a.m. to 4. 24 a.m., officials recorded the levels moving southwards from Thalankuppam to Periyakuppam, Chinnakuppam, Ernavurkuppam, Kathivakkam Railway Bridge, Ennore Gulf Oil gate, and Ennore bus depot — all measuring 0 ppm.
As the wind direction was from the northeast, according to Nityanand Jayaraman, an environmental activist, the levels should have been monitored in areas southwest of the leak, but it was not done. At daybreak of December 27, locals who started returning to their houses sat in front of the fertiliser unit, which was temporarily closed, demanding its permanent closure. TNPCB officials stuck a notice on the gate that said the offshore pipeline activity was suspended and that the company could resume operations only after the concurrence of the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board, and the approval and no-objection certificates from Indian Register of Shipping and DISH.
‘Not the first time’
M. Mahalingam, an activist and long-time resident of neighbouring Manali, says the smell of naptha, petroleum, and ammonia can be felt in the air in the locality almost daily. “If you take the 55B bus route, you will complain of nausea. Over the years, due to technological advances, many things have changed for the better. But much more needs to be done. These changes have happened because of the companies and not because of government departments responsible for the safety of the units and people residing in the neighbourhood.”
On December 14, 1981, 24 persons involved in construction work at a chemical factory in Manali were hospitalised after they inhaled chlorine gas. Forty years since, incidents of leaks and of people experiencing pungent, chemical-laden odour have been so regular that many locals in the Ennore-Manali region, which has the highest number of red-category industries in the State, now live with health conditions such as asthma, tuberculosis, respiratory issues, and skin infections. “We didn’t know it was all because of the effluents from these companies for a long time,” says Ms. Vijaya.
About a dozen residents who were affected said the sharp, pungent odour of gases was commonplace in the area. Health risks from long-term exposure to ammonia and other toxic chemicals include chronic lung, eye, and skin conditions.
Shobana, a resident of Periyakuppam, says, “That night, we ran for safety just carrying our children. We left our homes unlocked. We usually sleep in fear of tsunami; but now, ammonia would be added to our problems. Though we have had minor leaks, this is the first major one.”
According to the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989, in case of an on-site emergency, the industry should have a plan in place. Whereas, an off-site emergency, such as the ammonia leak on December 26, requires the Collector or the District Emergency Authority, designated by the State government, to prepare an adequate off-site emergency plan, with information from the industry, detailing how emergencies relating to a possible major accident on that site will be dealt with. Further, the industry should also immediately inform the district authorities in case of an accident.
A former engineer at the TNPCB points out that industries must have an on-site plan for such critical situations. It should chart out locations of ambulances and doctors, and evacuation procedures. The Collector needs to approve it and mock drills must be conducted regularly. As part of their off-site plans, societal risk must be mapped and assessed according to each weather condition, distance and concentration, he says.
‘Trust private engineers’
Gowrishankar Kowtha, a U.S.-based environmental engineer, says industries located close to the shore need to evaluate all machinery and infrastructure for proper functioning after a major storm event. “The companies should have a protocol in place to evaluate functionality and a third party needs to validate the testing prior to reopening the plant. In addition, it is a standard practice to maintain protocols for emergency corrective action in case of accidental releases of products. India also needs to develop trust in private environmental engineers and not just depend on government agencies. The country also needs to bring in reforms in the way we handle environmental issues,” he adds.
On January 2, 2024, the State government and the TNPCB will submit reports to the National Green Tribunal, which had taken suo motu cognisance of the ammonia leak. Locals have planned to intensify the protests, with participation of representatives from 32 villages at Ennore, until final orders are passed.
