Gas leak: unit sealed by RDO after removal of ammonia

Tiruvallur district administration in St. Sealed Peter and Paul Pvt. Ltd.’s seafood processing unit at Kannigaipair in Tiruvallur district, an ammonia leak occurred on June 21, causing the death of 18 workers.

Collector S. Kavitha said the pumping of ammonia from the unit, which started on Saturday morning, was completed on Tuesday evening.

“We ensured that the entire process was completed without any problems. All support departments worked in harmony,” he said.

The sealing was done by a team of officials led by Revenue Divisional Officer S. Ravichandran, who said the gate of the unit would be locked on Thursday after the facility is cleared of waste.

While eight workers continued their treatment in hospitals, the regional administration sent 170 workers who were not affected by the leak back to their homes in Odisha, Assam and Jharkhand.

“As per the government’s instructions, we booked tickets and sent them with the officials in their respective districts. The workers’ salaries till June 18 were also sent to their bank accounts. The workers have linked up with the manpower agencies in case they wish to return to work in the district,” Mr. Ravichandran added.

620 tons were seized

Meanwhile, Central Food Safety officials last week seized around 620 tonnes of frozen cuttlefish, prawns, squid and tuna and moved them to two special cold storages.

They also took samples of seafood. Approximately 80 tonnes of contaminated seafood were transported to a special methane facility, where they were ground and converted into sustainable energy.