Kurnool: One person died and three became ill when ammonia gas leaked from a factory in Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh on Saturday morning. The factory is owned by SPY Agro Industries Ltd.
The affected people have been shifted to hospital. The victim has been identified as Srinivasa Rao, the general manager of the factory.
The AP Pollution Control Board’s environmental engineer B Y Muni Prasad confirmed the gas was ammonia which is used as a chilling agent in carbon dioxide bottling. He said a pipeline burst under pressure while it was being reset for operation on Saturday morning.
There had been issues with maintenance of pipelines, and repair work was undertaken Friday night. When factory workers tested the system on Saturday morning, there was a pressure buildup in the Ammonia piping and it exploded.
The APPCB official said there was no impact of the gas leak outside the plant. The Pollution Control Board had served notice on the factory on June 11, 2020 and the safety of the plant was flagged by the the inspector of factories, he said.
