Gas leak in dairy; one falls sick

The incident, though of low intensity, led to chaotic scenes inside the factory leaving one person sick. Ravi Kumar, a technician who inhaled the gas complained of sickness and he was rushed to the hospital. He is said to be out of danger.

The incident came to light around 10.30 am when dairy employees were on their routine annual maintenance drive along with a technician from Kirloskar. They suspected some technical snag as there was foul smell emitting from one of the units. They noticed a huge compressor’s bolt unscrewed.

M N Venkataramu, Managing Director of Bangalore Dairy, told Deccan Herald : “There are three refrigeration units but currently, the entire dairy units run on only two refrigeration units. Our men were conducting the annual maintenance check in the third one. It is clear that the leakage is due to one of the unscrewed bolts.”

Fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and took the situation under control, said Venkataramu. “This is the first incidence in the last 12 years. In huge dairies like this, ammonia is used to chill water to convert it into ice. It’s not harmful. But maximum exposure leads to irritation. This is a gas without hydrogen and its effect can be brought down using water only,” he added.

Milk supply to be normal

He also confirmed that the incident will not affect the milk supply in the City.
“This refrigeration unit has got nothing to do with the milk processing unit. There is no chance of gas leakage into the milk processing unit.”