No increased ammonia concentration near Azomures works

Ammonia concentration in Targu Mures was well below the allowed limit, between 01:00hrs and 07:00hrs, the Ministry of the Environment, Waters and Forests (MMAP) wrote on Wednesday on Facebook.

The details came after an explosion followed by a fire at the Ammonia 3 plant of the Azomures chemical works on Tuesday night around 01:00hrs.

"Immediately after the incident, representatives of the Mures Environmental Protection Agency (APM) and the National Environmental Guard - Mures County went to the scene. The fire was extinguished. Plant operators followed the specific procedures, technically isolating the affected area and closed the plant safely. APM Mures continuously monitored the ammonia concentration with its self-contained laboratory. There were no increases in ammonia concentration (between 01:00hrs-07:00hr the values well below the allowed limit - between 0.001 and 0.017 mg/cu.m. The operator continuously monitors air quality indicators (ammonia) in self-monitoring points located in the area of influence of Azomures (the village of Cristesti and the Mureseni neighbourhood). From the information we have, there were no exceedances of the maximum allowed concentration for ammonia in the surrounding air," according to the ministry.

An explosion followed by a fire occurred on Tuesday night at ammonia station 3 of the Azomures chemical works, with a man about 50 years old sustaining an upper limb fracture. After the incident, a RO-ALERT message was issued to inform the population in the neighbouring area.

Azomures said in a press statement on Wednesday that an investigation had been launched into the technical incident.