22 June 2023, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition urged local government units (LGUs) to conduct safety checks in ice and cold storage plants in their areas of jurisdiction following the ammonia leak and fire in Navotas City last Monday.
The group pushed for safety checks in ammonia-using facilities as the National Poison Prevention Week is observed from June 19 to 23 with the theme “Tungo sa Kaligtasan ng Kalusugan at Kapaligiran: Dinggin ang Panawagan.” (Towards the Safety of Health and the Environment: Heed the Call)
“We urge our Mayors to instruct concerned department heads to undertake safety checks in industrial facilities using ammonia as refrigerant such as ice and cold storage plants to prevent ammonia leaks and explosions, which can put the lives of workers and residents at grave risk,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.
“As these facilities are often located near or within residential areas, it is imperative that ammonia poisoning prevention policies and procedures, including emergency response plans, are effectively communicated and complied with,” she said.
In line with the people’s right to know and to be protected from harm, local authorities and facility operators should ensure that barangay officials and residents are informed of the poisoning risks in ammonia-based refrigeration systems and the measures in place to keep ice and cold storage plants safe for host communities, the EcoWaste Coalition asserted.
Last Monday, over 20 people were rushed to different hospitals following an ammonia leak at the Icy Point Cold Storage in Navotas City, which later caught fire.
Ammonia, particularly anhydrous ammonia, is a common refrigerant used in facilities engaged in ice making, beverage, and food manufacturing, and in cold storage or refrigerated warehousing.
Exposure to ammonia, a colorless, corrosive, and highly irritating gas with a suffocating smell, can irritate or burn the nose, throat and respiratory tract, eyes, and skin, and cause dizziness and nausea among victims, according to material safety data sheets. Exposure to high concentrations of ammonia can be fatal.
Ammonia gas leak incidents have grabbed the headlines through the years, the EcoWaste Coalition lamented. Some of the reported incidents are as follows:
In April 2022, residents living near the Magsimpan Ice Plant in Navotas City were evacuated following ammonia leakage. Some 16 people were hospitalized.
In February 2021, an ammonia leak from T.P. Marcelo Ice Plant in Navotas City led to the death of two workers, the hospitalization of close to 100 people, and the evacuation of some 3,000 nearby residents. Also during the same period, leakage from an ice plant in Lian, Batangas caused the plants at an adjacent creek to wither and the fish to die.
In March 2019, the ammonia gas tank of an ice plant in Barangay Tuburan, Pagadian City exploded killing one worker and injuring two others.
In September 2018, at least 35 residents of Polomolok, South Cotabato were hospitalized due to an ammonia gas leak from a fruit processing and storage plant located in the area. In February of that year, an ammonia gas leak from a nearby ice plant sent 57 students of the Olongapo City National High School to a hospital.
In October 2016, a worker was killed and another worker was hospitalized after being exposed to ammonia that leaked from a cold storage facility in Mandaue City, while hundreds of workers at an industrial complex in Carmona, Cavite stopped work due to ammonia gas leak from an ice plant.
In June 2012, hundreds of residents of Barangay Sta. Cruz, Quezon City fled to safety following an ammonia gas leak from an ice plant. Also in April of the same year, an ammonia gas leak occurred at a cold storage facility in Barangay Manggahan, Pasig City causing the hospitalization of three persons. In February of that year, an ammonia gas leak from an ice plant sickened 100 residents in Barangay Ayala, Zamboanga City.
In March 2011, residents of Barangay Tibag, Pulilan, Bulacan were affected by an ammonia leak from an ice cream factory in the area. In February 2011, over 300 families had to be evacuated as a result of an ammonia gas spill at an ice plant in Barangay Bagong Bantay, Quezon City.
“The list of ammonia gas leak incidents is already way too long. The time has come for the national government to review, with stakeholders’ participation, the current safety standards for ammonia-using ice and cold storage plants and related facilities to cut the string of toxic gas poisoning incidents that have already claimed the lives of people,” the EcoWaste Coalition further suggested.