Fatal Fire Temporarily Closes Bayer India Plant
29 March 2010 MUMBAI, India — Following a March 11 fire at its plant in Ankleshwar, India, Bayer CropScience AG has been asked by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) to stop production at the site, according to Business Standard. The fire broke out at a storage tank on site, causing the leakage of marcaptane and phosphorus tri-chloride gases. Plant Engineer Vaibhav Saxena, age 27, was killed.
Although Bayer says the fire was quickly brought under control and there was little damage to the rest of the plant, GPCB has asked the company to temporarily stop production pending an investigation. The Ankleshwar site produces nearly 4,000 tonnes each of active ingredients (ai) and formulations, with five ai and two formulation plants. The unit at Ankleshwar is also in the process of finalizing three more projects for manufacturing ais.
Bayer said in a news release that it has sufficient amounts of products manufactured at the site in stock, and therefore product supply to its customers should not be interrupted. The company said that it is working closely with local authorities and is striving to resume production as early as possible.
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