The Hindu Business Line : Endosulfan plant gutted at Kochi

The endosulfan unit of Hindustan Insecticides Ltd, which was gutted in the early hours of Tuesday. The fire entails that the unit, the major money earner for the company, will lie idle for at least three months. Fresh investments would be needed in equipment and machinery too. - H. Vibhu

Kochi , July 6

A MAJOR fire broke out at the endosulfan plant of the Hindustan Insecticides Ltd in the early hours of Tuesday. There were no casualties.

HIL management said the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage could be ascertained only after investigation, which is under way. In a release issued here, Mr K.R. Venugopla Pillai, DGM (P&A) said that the fire, which was noticed at 2.45 a.m., spread quickly due to the presence of highly inflammable toluene. The production process was going on in the plant at that time.

As soon as the fire occurred, the company took immediate action to contain the fire and a request was made to the neighbouring FACT and other industrial units as well as Kerala Fire Force for fire tenders. The fire was brought under control by about 5.30 a.m., he said.

HIL has got four plants at Udyogamandal for the manufacture of four different pesticides. One among them is the endosulfan plant. The plant has got a capacity to produce 1,600 TPA of endosulfan.

The raw materials used in the production process are hexachlorocyclropentadine (HCCP), butene diol (BD), thionyl chloride (TC) and toluene.

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