Ammonia fumes send 45 people to hospital

Ammonia fumes send 45 people to hospital

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Malang

At least 45 workers at a shrimp exporting company here were
rushed to hospitals on Wednesday morning after they apparently
inhaled ammonia gas leaking from a factory gas tank. Two workers
were reportedly in a critical condition.

A factory official, Krisdiyanto Nugroho, blamed high pressure
in an intercooler tube in a machine room as the cause of the gas
leak. "We are investigating the matter," said Krisdiyanto, the
general affairs manager with PT Bumi Menara Internusa, the shrimp
exporting company.

Istiani, a factory worker, said she smelled an acrid odor in
the morning when she was entered the factory and shortly after
she started feeling dizzy. She also faced difficulty in
breathing.

"I learned that all the other workers were feeling the same,"
said Istiani, who has been working with the company for 10 years.
Ammonia leakages have happened before at the factory, but
Wednesday's leakage was the most serious.

Meanwhile, Krisdiyanto said the company had implemented all
safety procedures, including regular maintenance of the factory's
machines. The accident was quite unexpected, said Krisdiyanto.
Following the accident, the company shut down the plant and was
now focused on the treatment of workers.

Chief of Malang Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Bambang Widaryatmo said
police were investigating the case.

Separately, a government official said the accident would not
have happened if the workers wore masks. "The workers are
reluctant to use safety equipment. If they had obeyed the rules,
the accident would not have happened," said Sutrisno, an official
with the Malang Manpower Office.