Disaster team visits chemical spill site to check for traces
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Tuesday visited the chemical spill site in southeast Delhi’s Tughlakabad to find out if there are any contamination traces.
According to an NDRF official, the team reached the spill site at 8am. “The team went and checked if there was any chemical residue left, which can be harmful. However, nothing of that sort has been found. The spill, which was contained with salt and sand, was disposed off on Saturday,” the official told HT.
Around 475 schoolchildren were hospitalised on Saturday after inhaling poisonous fumes that spread due to a chemical leak at a container depot near two schools in the area. The students complained of irritation in eyes, breathlessness, nausea and severe headache.
The NDRF’s Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear team is equipped with special gear to tackle such situations.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee has already started a probe while the National Green Tribunal on Monday sent a showcause notice to the Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR) on why it should not be shifted to some other place. The Delhi Police has also issued notices to the companies involved in the transportation of the container, the customs department and CONCOR.
“We have asked them to submit a list of the agreements and documents regarding the transportation of the container and what it contained. The investigation will focus on finding out where the lapse took place and the agency responsible for it,” an official said. The leak might have occurred because of the containers not being properly sealed after being checked, he said.
The liquid chemical, which has been identified as chloromethylpyridine, is believed to have leaked from broken barrels inside an iron container, which was kept in the depot overnight before being transported to Sonepat in Haryana. This chemical is used in fertilizers, insecticides and certain drugs.