Five workers hospitalized as refrigeration gas escape adds to industrial risk concerns.
An ammonia gas leak at a milk processing facility in Virar, Palghar district, Maharashtra has raised fresh industrial safety concerns for dairy operations in India’s Mumbai Metropolitan Region. At a plant located in the Kaner Phata industrial area, five workers were hospitalized after inhaling toxic fumes during routine refrigeration system maintenance, prompting a swift emergency response.
Local authorities, fire brigade units and emergency services were deployed immediately after the leak was detected, successfully containing the situation and securing the plant perimeter. The affected workers were taken to a nearby hospital in Pelhar for treatment, and officials subsequently deemed the surrounding residential areas safe, with no off-site casualties reported.
Officials have ordered an immediate shutdown of the affected milk plant pending a comprehensive cleanup and third-party safety audit before operations can resume. The prohibition underscores the gravity of industrial gas escapes and reflects growing scrutiny of compliance with safety protocols in processing plants handling hazardous refrigerant gases like ammonia.
This incident adds to a troubling pattern of industrial gas leaks in the Palghar-Virar belt, a heavily concentrated manufacturing zone that includes chemical, pharmaceutical and allied sectors. A recent pharmaceutical leak in Boisar forced the evacuation of 2,600 people, and multiple gas incidents have been recorded in the region over the past year, including one in which four workers died.
For dairy producers, processors and analysts, the episode highlights critical risks associated with industrial refrigerants and the importance of robust safety systems in the dairy supply chain. Ammonia is widely used in large-scale cooling systems — including those at dairy plants — and its release underscores the need for enhanced maintenance, worker training and regulatory oversight to prevent occupational hazards and ensure food production continuity.
Source: The Indian Express – https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/virar-ammonia-gas-leak-milk-plant-palghar-industrial-safety-lapses-10564434/
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