Ammonia gas leakage at dairy in Mumbai’s Goregaon, no casualties

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In a similar incident in December last year, three people died following a gas leakage in a fertiliser company at the Sangli district of Maharashtra.An ammonia gas leakage occurred at the cold storage unit of a dairy opposite the NESCO grounds in Mumbai’s Goregaon (East) Wednesday night, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), adding that no casualties were reported. The leakage was reported from a 3,000 kg tank, part of the refrigerator unit, at the 2,000-square-foot cold storage on the ground floor of the dairy.Civic officials said the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) and the HAZMAT unit, a specialised cell trained to handle situations involving toxic chemicals, biological agents and chemical gases, were pressed into action.“The area was cleared immediately, and the process of detecting the leakage was initiated. MFB officials were deployed inside the dairy along with the HAZMAT unit, and the leakage was detected from one of the valves in the tanks of the refrigerator unit,” said an official.The MFB sprayed water through high-pressure pumps to neutralise the effect of the ammonia gas. After the operation, an additional 20 kg of ammonia gas was transferred to a different tank to prevent further leakage.An MFB official said while the actual cause of the leak has yet to be determined, prima facie evidence suggests a faulty valve may have been the cause. The officials said an investigation will be launched, and the licences issued to the dairy will be reviewed to ensure it has the proper clearances to use ammonia gas.“Ammonia gas is both poisonous and flammable. One needs to be very careful while operating establishments involving such compounds,” the official added.In a similar incident in December last year, three people died following a gas leakage in a fertiliser company at the Sangli district of Maharashtra.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd