Methanol is a very inflammable solvent. Due to its good solvent properties, it is used in the extraction of drugs for active pharmaceutical ingredients (bulk drugs or intermediates plants). However, if precautions are not taken it can lead to great harm, the same thing happened at Gouripatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Where in the reactor methanol and other chemicals were present but the pipeline was choked due to the presence of some material. The deputy manager, shift in charge, and production chemist were trying to open the choked pipeline.
They used an iron road to open the choked pipeline. Due to the presence of a static charge in the iron rod methanol caught fire and a big blast occurred. It led to shattered pieces of glass and metal piercing the body of all the 3 present there which killed them. This happened in the company Vision Drugs Pvt Limited. The government has given ₹20,00,000 as compensation to all the 3 people.
Management has been asked to employ one person from the family of deceased persons. A similar accident happened in Gurgaon also 30 years ago when several people were killed in a tablet coating plant.
