Audit is needed to prevent, detect, and respond to ammonia gas leaks, watchdog group says
2 May 2026, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition urged national and local authorities to conduct a nationwide safety audit of ice and cold storage plants to proactively prevent ammonia gas leaks and ensure business and community preparedness for emergencies.
The advocacy group for a zero-waste and toxics-free society aired the suggestion after ammonia, a corrosive gas with a suffocating odor, leaked on April 29 from Cristal Ice Plant in Deparo Street, Barangay 168, Caloocan City. Several individuals were hospitalized due to breathing issues, with local evacuations and road closures ordered following the incident.
The proposed audit is vital to curbing ammonia discharge from facilities that use it for cooling, freezing, and food preservation, such as those engaged in ice making, food processing, beverage manufacturing, and cold storage or refrigerated warehousing, the group said.
The audit, the group said, should verify a facility’s compliance with regulations to prevent, detect, and respond to hazardous material releases, including a gas detection system for continuous leak monitoring, an emergency response plan, crisis and emergency risk communication, and other environmental and safety measures.
As it is not uncommon for facilities using ammonia to be located in or near densely populated areas, the EcoWaste Coalition emphasized that communities hosting facilities using ammonia, particularly ice and cold storage plants, should be able to meaningfully participate in such an audit in line with the public’s right to know and get involved in matters about their health and safety.
Exposure to ammonia leads to severe irritation or burns to the respiratory system, eyes, and skin, often accompanied by dizziness and nausea. High-level exposure to ammonia is life-threatening.
The Deparo ammonia leak highlights a dangerous pattern of accidents in local ice and cold storage facilities, the EcoWaste Coalition observed.
In October 2024, an ammonia leak occurred at the Saporro Ice and Cold Storage in Barangay Blumentritt, Murcia, Negros Occidental, affecting some 120 families.
In December 2023, 12 workers at an ice plant in Barangay San Antonio, Quezon City, were evacuated following an ammonia leak.
In June 2023, a 16-year-old died, and over 20 people were hospitalized due to breathing difficulties following an ammonia leak at the Icy Point Cold Storage in Navotas City, which also caught fire.
In April 2022, residents living near the Magsimpan Ice Plant in Navotas City were evacuated following an ammonia leak. Some 16 people were hospitalized.
In February 2021, an ammonia leak at T.P. Marcelo Ice Plant in Navotas City claimed the lives of two employees, hospitalized close to 100 people, and led to the evacuation of some 3,000 residents. In the same period, an ammonia leak from an ice plant in Lian, Batangas, caused the plants in an adjacent creek to wither and the fish to die.
In March 2019, the ammonia gas tank of an ice plant in Barangay Tuburan, Pagadian City, exploded, killing one worker and injuring two others.
In September 2018, at least 35 residents of Polomolok, South Cotabato, were hospitalized due to an ammonia leak from a fruit processing and storage plant located in the area. In February of that year, an ammonia leak from a nearby ice plant sent 57 students of the Olongapo City National High School to a hospital.
In October 2016, a worker was killed, and another worker was hospitalized after being exposed to ammonia that leaked from a cold storage facility in Mandaue City, while hundreds of workers at an industrial complex in Carmona, Cavite, stopped work due to an ammonia leak from an ice plant.
In June 2012, hundreds of residents of Barangay Sta. Cruz, Quezon City, fled to safety following an ammonia leak from an ice plant. Also in April of the same year, an ammonia leak occurred at a cold storage facility in Barangay Manggahan, Pasig City, causing the hospitalization of three individuals. In February of that year, an ammonia gas leak from an ice plant sickened 100 residents in Barangay Ayala, Zamboanga City.
In March 2011, residents of Barangay Tibag, Pulilan, Bulacan, were affected by an ammonia leak from an ice cream factory in the area. In February of the same year, over 300 families had to be evacuated because of an ammonia spill at an ice plant in Barangay Bagong Bantay, Quezon City.
The proposed audit will prevent and reduce ammonia releases from ice and cold storage facilities and promote public health and safety from such hazardous releases, the EcoWaste Coalition concluded.
