Sulphuric acid leak detected at Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi

A team of special officials inspecting Sterlite copper plant on Sunday.

A sulphuric acid leak, described by officials as “minor,” was detected in one of the storage units of the sealed Sterlite copper plant, a Vedanta group company, in Thoothukudi on Sunday evening.

A special team formed after the plant’s security staff spotted the leak the previous evening confirmed the leak. Thoothukudi Collector Sandeep Nanduri, however, said there was no cause for panic.

Two-hour inspection

The team, led by Sub-Collector M.S. Prasanth, comprised District Environment Engineer of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, officials from the Revenue, and Fire departments.

They found the leak after a nearly two-hour inspection of the plant. A spokesperson of Sterlite told

The Hindu that though the plant had been sealed and was not operational, company security staff and police conducted routine inspections every day. On Saturday evening, they suspected a leak and reported it to the district administration.

“Measures will be taken to evacuate the sulphuric acid from the plant tomorrow (Monday),” the Collector told reporters. Officials of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Inspectorate of Factories and other departments would be involved in the operation.

He said the quantity of sulphuric acid present in the plant was not known. “Evacuation would take a day.”

Meanwhile in New Delhi, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, who attended a meeting of the NITI Aayog, when asked by journalists if the Prime Minister had spoken to him about the Sterlite controversy, merely said the issue was under enquiry. The government had taken all steps to ensure the closure of the Sterlite plant, he said