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Coromandel International, a leading manufacturer of fertiliser for crop protection and special nutrients, said in an affidavit filed before the National Green Tribunal that third-party audit reports have found that there was no ammonia emission in its Ennore plant area in December 2023.
After Chennai witnessed Cyclone Michaung in December 2023, the company, as a precautionary measure, appointed an authorised marine contractor to inspect the offshore pipeline systems to assess any impact on the unloading systems including boulder movements near the shore. The report submitted by the agency confirmed that the shore adjacent to the ammonia pipelines is free of any boulders post-inspection. The report said that there were no major beam or metal structure damage observed when compared to pre-cyclone conditions. The affidavit is in response to a suo moto case initiated by the Chennai Bench of the National Green Tribunal on the basis of a newspaper report published in December.
The company also carried out its routine inspection on December 21, 2023, prior to carrying out the pre-cooling operations. A physical inspection of unloading systems was held with external experts, who also verified the pipeline pressure, which has been maintained at 2 kilograms per centimetre square, a standard protocol deployed to ascertain the integrity of the pipeline.
An expert who conducted the audit stated that the chances of line pressurisation beyond the design condition are not a credible scenario. Even if the line temperature before starting of precooling is ambient, the likely increase in line pressure is well below the line design pressure value. The report further stated that the precooling operation and shutdown were performed as per the established SOP.
The affidavit further stated that the leak at its plant in Ennore was an accident that happened due to factors beyond its control. The company took emergent action within minutes which prevented major mishaps and reiterated how its facility in Ennore, which has been operational since 1996, has the best safety measures and protocols.
"...in compliance with the direction issued by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, the company had stopped all the Ammonia offshore pipeline activities for precooling and unloading of ammonia. The company was also directed to identify the location and extent of damage that happened to the offshore pipeline and to rectify the same. However, the company is not able to conduct inspection of the offshore pipeline due to the hostile situation prevailing outside the plant premises," said the affidavit.
The report further says that “the company’s safety protocols have been drawn up in consultation with ammonia handling experts and have been in vogue for many years. The fact that the unit has safely executed as many as 210 shipments from 1996 onwards stands testimony to the safety standards. The subsea pipeline is made of 10-layered non-corrosive material, which has been designed for 25 kilograms per centimetre square, against the operating pressure of 6 kilograms per centimetre square and is predominantly buried for the entire length beneath the seabed (approximately 1.5 metres), except for the exposed area near the shore, which has been suitably barricaded. The company constructed a steel corridor structure as per the recommendation of an ex-professor of IIT Madras, in order to prevent any pipeline damage due to the movement of heavy granite boulders on the shore.
Coromandel said in its affidavit that Ammonium Phosphate Potash Sulphate manufactured in its Ennore plant caters to the demand of the farming community across states. The plant was established in 1996 and is the major manufacturer of a unique product - Paramfos- produced only at the Ennore Unit and is widely used by farmers in many Indian states. It is supplied across the nation and is mainly used for Paddy, Ragi, Sugarcane, Groundnut, and Maize.
