DMK Member of Parliament Kanimozhi has written to Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri requesting that Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd. stop production at its refinery in Chennai till it fixes its gas leakage problem.
Ms. Kanimozhi said for more than a month, toxic gas had been leaking in Manali and Thiruvottiyur areas and the State government had constituted a five-member expert committee on July 21 to ascertain the cause of the gas leak, the nature of the gas and the environmental impact. The MP said the committee submitted its inspection report on July 27 after inspecting the areas.
“Based on the investigation by this expert team, it has been found that the gas leak from CPCL is suspected to be H2S (hydrogen sulphide). It is noteworthy that H2S is a potent neurotoxin that can damage children’s brain and cause other serious impacts on human health,” she said. A copy of her letter was circulated to the media.
Ms. Kanimozhi said the committee had made several recommendations to CPCL to stop its gas leakage, “but it is painful to note that CPCL has remained ignorant to the seriousness of the problem and has been seen acting complacent”.
She said on August 7, people of the area panicked due to the increased toxic gas leakage in T.K.S. Nagar and Kamadevan Nagar area. She said it was important that CPCL accept the recommendations of the expert committee, immediately fix its gas leakage problem and stop its production activities till then.
