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.