A large ammonia leak at M/s Peter & Paul Seafood Exports, a shrimp-processing plant in the Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu, India, killed seven workers on 21 June and hospitalized 68 additional employees.
Local news outlets confirmed the shrimp processing and exporting location is in the Kannigaipair/Manjungaranai area near Periyapalayam. Additionally, The Hindu reported that the site employed “mostly migrant women.”
"Immediately as we heard about this very unfortunate incident, on the directions of the chief minister, we have sent a team comprising the special secretary of Labor Department along with two senior officials, who proceeded immediately to Chennai,” Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg told local news station IANS in an interview. “There have been unfortunate deaths. We are told the latest is seven deaths. I am in touch with the chief secretary of the state, and they are making all possible arrangements.”
According to The Economic Times, a media bulletin sent out by the state's Health and Family Welfare Department confirmed that the toxic industrial chemical leak occurred during "routine industrial operations."
“All the people who have been affected are being treated in either government or private hospitals,” Garg said. “We will be getting back the bodies of the unfortunate death victims, but also, our team is looking into the care that is being given to others and whatever other steps are required will be taken.”
Garg said compensation will be provided to those affected, and according to The Hindu, the proprietor of the company and the factory manager were both arrested in connection with the incident, with pending cases “for previous violations of industrial safety norms.”
Ammonia is a common refrigerant gas, and shrimp can spoil quickly after peeling, requiring rapid refrigeration to freeze and reduce spoilage. In order to counteract ammonia gas once released, The Hindu reported that local response teams dispatched a specialized chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) rescue team to remediate the leak.
A post-incident review found that the facility lacked “a suitable alarm system, fire hydrant, and a Form 12 register for the Employee State Insurance scheme.” It also lacked revised plan approvals for new equipment.
