Gas leakage: GNFC's TDI plant to restart after safety audit

The TDI plant of Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertiliser Company Limited (GNFC) in neighbouring Bharuch district, where five labourers died and over 10 others were injured following poisonous gas leakage last week, will restart only after safety audit, a senior official said today.
The company, to be roped-in for conducting the safety audit, was yet to be finalised, GNFC Chairman and Chief Secretary to Gujarat government Dr J N Singh told PTI.
The TDI (Toluene Di-Isocyanate) plant of GNFC at Rahiad village near Dahej in Bharuch, about 100 kms from here, was shut on November 2 late night after there was mechanical failure in a chemical reactor causing leakage of the poisonous phosgene gas.

The sick employees are being treated at hospitals in Bharuch and Vadodara, Singh said, adding that the plant got automatically shut down soon after the gas leakage.
This was second incident of gas leak at the TDI plant.
Earlier, after a gas leakage incident in January 2014, the safety/ hazard operatability as well as asset stability study was done by a company under supervision of experts from Argentina, Brazil, USA and Sweden. Following this, the plant had been restarted on December 29, 2014, and put into operation for achieving the superior quality of TDI product.

TDI is mainly used in manufacturing of flexible polyurethane foam, furniture cushion, industrial gaskets, protective pads for sports & medical use and in automobiles - seats furniture, lining and sun visors.

Normally, under the company rules, employees on the rolls are entitled to get an ex-gratia of Rs 8 lakh.
However, as an exceptional gesture, the GNFC has decided to extend the same amount of Rs 8 lakh ex-gratia to the nearest kin of the contract workers on humanitarian grounds, he said.