34 people fell sick due to chemical gas leak from a factory in Ambernath on October 12

An incident of sulfuric acid gas leak was reported from a chemical company located at Ambernath MIDC in Thane district, Maharashtra on October 12. At least 34 people residing near the chemical factory fell sick due to this incident. One fire tender was rushed to the spot to contain the leak. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) as well as the police team were also rushed to the incident location to carry out further investigation in this matter. The 34 affected people were admitted to the hospital for medical assistance.

The incident took place at R K Chemical Company located at Anand Nagar MIDC in Ambernath around 10 am on Tuesday. Soon after the leakage, 34 people from the nearby areas started facing breathlessness and other health issues. After being informed, one fire tender was sent to the spot and the leakage was plugged within an hour of efforts. The people complaining of breathing problems were shifted to the Civil Hospital in Ulhasnagar. Meanwhile, a team of MPCB and police were also rushed to the spot and a probe was launched to ascertain the cause of the chemical leakage.

There are around 200 factories in the Ambernath and Badlapur MIDC area, out of which, 70 are textile factories while the rest are mostly chemical units. The chemical leakage issue arises very frequently in these companies. Some of the social activists claim that the authorities responsible to control these companies are quite negligent about this issue. It is further observed that the authorities at MPCB only issue closure notices and after some days allow such companies to resume operations resulting in such incidents. Prompt and strict actions are required in such cases if we want to stop occurring of these type of mishaps. But if the things continue to remain same; there looms a threat of a major tragedy which may severely affect the residents of these cities.

The analysts of Cybertech Risk Center generated real-time alerts on this incident and closely monitored the situation providing its clients with timely alerts about the same. We at Cybertech Risk center cover Chemical Spill, Fuel Spill, Natural Gas Leak, Oil Spill, Biohazard, Explosive Materials, Fumes, Hazmat Response, Radioactive Material and Unknown Substance under the “Hazmat” category that could be the reason of disruption for the client’s business continuity process, working in collaboration with NC4 providing pan India coverage.