By Thys Khiba – South African Chemicals and energy company Sasol Limited personnel member who was affected by ammonia leak at the Afrox Plant on the Sasol One Site in Sasolburg is now back to work.
“Fortunately, one Sasol employee who was affected by the ammonia leak, is in good health and back at work.
The ammonia leak was isolated on the plant and the emergency was called off at 08:50 that morning. The incident was confined to the Sasol One Site, no further impact is expected, and the area was declared safe to enter and for work to commence,” Sasolburg and Ekandustria Acting Manager: Media and Communications Elsabe Ras said.
The affected employee was transported to the medical station on Wednesday, 22 March.
This comes after Sasol indicated at approximately 07:20 on Wednesday 22 March, a strong ammonia smell was detected, upon investigation, technicians on the site discovered an ammonia leak at the Sasol One Site in Sasolburg.
It was later established that the leak was from a non-Sasol owned plant located on Sasol One Site.
“Sasol’s emergency protocol was activated immediately and all personnel evacuated from the area.
“As a precautionary measure, public roads along the plant were temporarily closed by our local municipal traffic department and SAP officials to protect pedestrians and the community to ensure their safety.”
An internal investigation into the incident has already commenced by the plant’s personnel and Sasol to establish the cause, as well as to better understand the impact of the ammonia leak on the community and the environment.
Sasol confirmed that their priority is to ensure the safety of their staff members and isolating the incident as quickly as possible.
“Sasol takes incidents of this nature very seriously. The safety and well-being of our employees, service providers and communities remains a priority.”
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