India, May 19 -- An accidental leakage of dimethyl sulphate (DMS) at 3am on Sunday in a manufacturing unit located at the Tarapur MIDC in Palghar affected 13 workers. They are all currently under observation at a hospital in Boisar.

The accident occurred at an industrial unit of Camlin Fine Sciences Ltd, situated on plot no. D-2/3, MIDC Tarapur. The factory has about a thousand workers and staff and manufactures antioxidants.

A preliminary enquiry was carried out by S G Sabban, assistant director of the directorate of industrial safety (DISH). The enquiry revealed that a 500-litre receiver was used to transfer the DMS solution from plant no. 4 to plant no. 10. At 3 am, after the transfer, a delay in closing the isolation valve at the re...