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Ammonia at closed seafood unit in Chavara being neutralised

Staff Reporter

Following directive from High Court on grounds of public safety

SAFETY ACT: Ammonia in tanks at a closed seafood unit in Chavara being neutralised under the supervision of the Controller of Explosives.

KOLLAM: Following a directive from the High Court, Controller of Explosives R. Venugopal arrived here on Tuesday to supervise and neutralise ammonia stored in five tanks at a private seafood processing unit at Chavara, which has been lying closed and under the administration of the Official Liquidator of the court.

District Collector B. Sreenivas said the directive was on grounds of public safety. The ammonia was stored in five receiver tanks, each having a capacity of 300 litres. Each tank had 200 litres of ammonia.

The tanks were in a corroded condition and posed a threat. Any leak could prove fatal to people in a vast area.

Since ammonia was not stored in cylinders or high-pressure tanks, it does not come under the purview of the explosives Act. Hence, the Controller directed the district administration to carry out the neutralisation process. But since the district administration lacked the expertise to do so, the Collector requested Mr. Venugopal to supervise the process.

Mr. Venugopal did it with assistance from the technical personnel of the Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd. and the Fire and Rescue Services.

The neutralisation process will continue on Wednesday.

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