Tiruvallur ammonia leak: Environmental group demand complete overhaul of DISH

CHENNAI: Environmental organisation Poovulagin Nanbargal has called for a complete overhaul of the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) following the ammonia gas leak at a seafood processing plant in Tiruvallur district that claimed 10 lives and left over 60 workers hospitalised.

The leak occurred on June 21 at St Peter & Paul Sea Food Exports Private Limited in Kannigaipair village near Periyapalayam. Most of those affected were migrant workers from Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Kerala.

In a statement, the organisation alleged that the tragedy was preventable and accused the factory management of ignoring earlier complaints about minor ammonia leaks. It also alleged serious safety lapses, including the deployment of untrained workers in hazardous operations, the absence of safety drills and warning systems, and the housing of workers within the factory premises.

intervals and reduced transparency. The group also alleged that Tamil Nadu's centralised inspection portal was not functioning effectively.
The organisation urged the government to place DISH under the leadership of an IAS officer, operationalise the inspection portal for public access, mandate video recording and geo-tagging of inspections to improve accountability, and revise industrial safety norms to address climate-related risks, including extreme heat.