A company spokesman confirmed the development claiming thatboth burners which were used to pre-heat coke ovens misfired on August 17 and18.
He said as part of the company's plant expansion, heating ofthe second battery of coke ovens had begun on August 16.
"Coke ovens are required to be pre-heated, as aone-time activity, before they are charged. For pre-heating, high-capacitydiesel burners are used," he said.
On August 17, at around 7 pm, an unexpected misfiring in twohigh-capacity diesel burners resulted in generation of soot, which dispersedinto the atmosphere.
"The burners were set right and the process wascontinued.
However, despite precautions, two burners misfired again ataround 11 pm on August 18," the spokesman said.
In order to ensure that no further inconvenience is causedto people or property in the neighbouring areas, the company discontinuedfurther use of all high-capacity burners, to avoid any possible misfiring.Also, the company plans to delay the commissioning of its coke plant battery byanother three weeks.
Sesa Goa Ltd has been operating a 250,000 tonne pig ironmanufacturing plant since 1992 and a 280,000 tonne metallurgical cokemanufacturing plant since 1994 at Amona, Navelim.
