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| Toxic leak averted in Manali |
| Timely action by Sanmar Speciality Chemicals
Limited |
| Timely action by Sanmar Speciality Chemicals
Limited (SSCL) prevented what could have been a major chemical leak
leading to eye irritation, respiratory problems and fatalities for
a two kilometre radius in Manali, the industrial area in North Chennai
known for its petrochemical complexes. SSCL’s prompt measures
helped avert a toxic chemical leak from 76 drums containing ethyl
chloroformate imported from PPG Industries, Inc., USA and stored in
a Customs bonded warehouse at Manali. In mid-March, when the drums
began to bulge, it became clear that the product was undergoing decomposition,
posing a potential hazard to the whole neighbourhood. In just a few
days’ time the drums could have burst and the resultant toxic
leak could have caused a major disaster in Manali. An expert team
which flew in from PPG, sought local help to carry out the operation
necessary to render the chemical harmless, but found to its surprise
that there was no active emergency response group like governmental
agencies in the developed world. |
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| The bulged drums stored at Manali with dry ice
soda ash around them. |
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| Neutralisation operation in the second sector. |
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| The PPG team led by David Stermole,
Manager, Phosgene Derivatives, met the Secretary (Public) to
the Government of Tamil Nadu, M F Farooqui, IAS, and apprised
him of the position in a most transparent manner. At the instance
of Public Secretariat, the Collector of Tiruvallur, S K Prabhakar,
IAS convened a meeting to which were invited representatives
of Madras Refineries Ltd., Madras Fertilizers Ltd., ICI Ltd.,
and Tamil Nadu Petroproducts Ltd., all chemical majors situated
at Manali. As PPG had earlier supplied chemicals to Elf Atochem
Peroxides India Limited (ATOPIL), the company contacted N Subramaniam,
President, ATOPIL, who in turngot in touch with C G Sethuram,
President, SSCL. Sethuram and S Ramanujam, General Manager-Works,
ARL Chemicals Ltd., a subsidiary of SSCL, who attended the meeting
called by the Collector, responded to the challenge of assisting
PPG in the onerous task of neutralising the hazardous product.
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| On 18th and 19th March 2000 (Friday
and Saturday), by which time one of the drums had actually burst,
Sethuram and Ramanujam, accompanied by two PPG representatives,
succeeded in depressurising the drums working tirelessly to
mitigate the danger. It took courage on their part to approach
the danger zone, open the drums few at a time, vent out the
gas, sprinkle soda ash and place dry ice between the drums to
cool them. The volunteers had to take a break after every few
drums because the vapours irritated the eyes of people involved
near the drums. They wore gloves and masks but it was still
a risky operation. |
| After the depressurisation, 21
drums were initially loaded on to the first refrigerated container
and starting Sunday, 20th March, the loaded drums were moved
to Sanmar’s Alathur facility amidst police security around
midnight (0030 - 0330 hours) when there was less traffic and
disturbance on the route. First aid facilities were at hand
to handle any emergency. |
| On Monday, a team arrived from
Boots and Coots, USA, specialists in refinery fire mitigation,
who moved all the remaining depressurised drums into two refrigerated
containers to be taken to Alathur. By this time, a formal letter
had been handed over by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board
(TNPCB), permitting ARL Chemicals Limited to carry out the neutralisation
operation. |
| By Monday, March 28, the neutralisation
was completed in SSCL’s reactors at Alathur in the presence
of PPG team and TNPCB officials. The material was thus made
safe for disposal. |
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| The ECF getting neutralised in the reactor. |
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| C G Sethuram explaining the neutralisation operation
to M Devaraj, Chairman and G Rengaswamy, Member Secretary of
Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. Kannan, DEE, TNPCB and David
Stermole, PPG Inc., USA are seen in the middle. |
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| Other work at the Alathur factory had been stopped
at the instance of TNPCB and from the safety angle. The treated effluent
from the neutralised chemical was discharged as per standard norms.
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| C G Sethuram showing the emptied bulged drums
kept after neutralisation to M Devaraj during his visit to the
Alathur factory. David Stermole of PPG is on the right. |
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| SSCL complimented |
| The action has been commended by the Collector,
Tiruvallur, the DIG of Police and the TNPCB. SSCL had received the
fullest support from all the official agencies concerned, including
the police who helped in the preliminary phase of the action when
they cordoned the area off. The officials of TNPCB provided constant
support while monitoring the situation. |
| M Devaraj, IAS, Chairman, TNPCB, and G Rengaswamy,
Member Secretary, TNPCB, visited the Alathur facility and complimented
the factory team “for carrying out the work successfully and
helping the city of Chennai and the government to manage such a crisis
effectively.” |
| Speaking at length to Matrix, C G Sethuram said
that it was a tremendous experience for SSCL, earning both the company
and the Sanmar group enormous goodwill. |
| SSCL has succeeded in demonstrating Indian companies’
ability to take risks and manage potentially hazardous situations.
It has also set an example as a good corporate citizen. |
| According to Sethuram, the episode was an eye-opener
as to the general lack of preparedness to meet such situations. The
way chemicals were stored in the godown – and there must be
hundreds and thousands of such godowns in the country – was
shocking, with no safety sheets maintained and no attention paid to
the compatibility of chemicals stored juxtaposed with each other.
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| “It was a huge, huge job, and for a whole
week, we came home in the early hours. At the end, we had the satisfaction
that a major disaster had been averted”, Sethuram said, proud
but relieved. |
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| TNPCB officials and David Stermole of PPG with
Sanmar group officials during their visit. |
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