Ammonium nitrate storage facility in city inspected

The godown, where 18,500 tonnes of the chemical is stored, was deemed safe

A joint inspection was conducted at an ammonium nitrate storage facility of Sravan Shipping Services Private Limited at Mindi here on Friday.

On the directions of the Collector, a team comprising Revenue Divisional Officer K. Penchala Kishore, APPCB Environmental Engineer Subhan and Inspector of Factories Sankar Reddy arrived at the premises and conducted a joint inspection.

The inspection was conducted in light of the recent incident in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, when a shockwave set off by an accidental explosion of 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate levelled buildings in surrounding areas and claimed over 100 lives, besides injuring thousands.

With Visakhapatnam city being hit by a series of industrial accidents in the last three months, residents have been raising a hue and cry over the import and storage of ammonium nitrate in the private warehouse.

The committee found that 18,500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate was stored at the godown. As per their observation, the facilitator stores the chemical at the godown for supply to the importers concerned. There is no other such facilitator in A.P. The importers from various States order the requirements from the suppliers abroad and the stocks are procured through ports. The importers have to lift the stocks from the facilitator in Visakhapatnam within one month.

‘No threat to city’

After inspection of the technical aspects at the godown, the committee declared that there was no threat to Visakhapatnam. It, however, suggested that another in-depth study by a team from Disaster Management and Fire Department was necessary to implement stringent precautionary measures.

Meanwhile, former Union Secretary E.A.S. Sarma has written to the Collector urging him to order an independent survey of the lands, as he alleged that public land has been encroached upon by the company that owns the warehouses. He also urged the Collector to see that the ammonium nitrate storage be shifted from its present location to a place where it poses no threat to any habitation or a strategic asset.