ast week, the Mattancherry fire station in West Kochi received a phone call alerting about an ammonia leakage at an ice plant unit close to the fishing harbour here.
When the fire officials rushed to the spot, the factory premises were already filled with ammonia gas but no causalities were reported. Soon, two fire tenders, one each from Mattacnherry and Island fire stations, were pressed into service and the emergency situation could be contained within an hour.
The incident, took place on October 24 evening, was the seventh such incident to be reported from the West Kochi region over the past ten months. “This has become a major cause of concern as many of these ice plants and sea food processing units using ammonia gas as refrigerant are located close to the residential areas here,” pointed out R. Prasad, Divisional Fire officer, Ernakulam.
He attributed the recurring incidents of ammonia leakage from such units primarily to the lack of periodical maintenance of tanks storing the gas and the pipelines attached to it. “This is one area that these factory units tend to ignore in case of a decline in their profit levels,” the official added.
According to Mr. Prasad, many of these units functioning near the Kochi Harbour, Kannamali and Pallurthy areas are several-decades-old. “Many of these units are found to be depending on a pipeline and valves that were laid at the launch of these units. Chances are high that corrosion may have set in on them, causing leakages,” the official said.
Meanwhile, officials with the Factories and Boilers Department in Ernakulam said ignorance on the part of workers at the units was also leading to such leakages. “In some cases, workers are found repairing the ammonia pipelines even by keeping its valves open, which is a highly dangerous practice,” they said.
Ammonia, a colourless but strong smelling gas can cause suffocation but it is not flammable. Exposure to very high concentrations of gaseous ammonia can result in lung damage and in some cases, death in humans.
Many ice plants and sea food processing units using ammonia gas as refrigerant are located close to residential areas.
