Sulphuric Acid Shortages in South India Force Closures at User Industries

The drying up of sulphuric acid supplies, following the shutdown of the Sterlite copper smelter at Thoothukudi, has forced several small units that use the chemical as an input to suspend or curtail operations.

Two small units – Coimbatore Pioneer Fertilisers and Amrita Chemicals – have been forced to shut down, according to the Chemical Industries Association (CIA), an industry association based in Chennai.

On May 28, the Tamil Nadu government ordered the closure of the Sterlite plant, after anti-pollution protests against the unit turned violent, claiming ten lives in police firing.

A letter from the CIA to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr. Edapaddi K Palaniswami, said over 350 employees at Coimbatore Pioneer and Amrita Chemicals have lost their jobs.

‘Probe validity of allegations’

The Association urged the State Government to probe the validity of allegations levelled against Sterlite and take remedial measures. It said that the charges do not appear to have a scientific basis and that they are mostly concerns that have been already addressed.

Sterlite had a 15 per cent share of the sulphuric acid market in India, supplying nearly 6 lakh tonnes of the acid, annually, mostly to detergent, battery, pharmaceutical, industrial and fertiliser units in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Members of the CIA and the Thoothukudi Contractors Association (TCA) have urged the Tamil Nadu government to consider reopening the Sterlite plant citing that their businesses have been badly affected and thousands of workers were left unemployed.

Sulphuric acid availability and pricing

Key members of both the associations met newspersons in Chennai recently to highlight the problems they are facing due to the plant’s closure. The CIA said that 29 companies employing over 10,000 people have been directly affected and over 150 companies have been indirectly affected due to stoppage of sulphuric acid supplies from Sterlite. These companies have a combined turnover of Rs. 24,000 crore.

Mr. S. Ilanahai, President, CIA and Managing Director, Cetex Petrochemicals, said the price of sulphuric acid had in the last two months increased to Rs. 10,000 per tonne from Rs. 4,000 per tonne.

“There is no second opinion on controlling pollution. However, we need to find a way out to reopen the plant, which should follow all the norms,” he said.

According to TCA, over 3,000 contractors, including labourers and truck operators, engaged directly by Sterlite have been affected due to the closure of the plant. Nearly 2,000 trucks were used by Sterlite daily.