Visakhapatnam gas

leak

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The Visakhapatnam gas leak, also referred

to as the Vizag gas leak, was an industrial
accident that occurred at the LG Polymers
chemical plant in R. R. Venkatapuram
village near Gopalapatnam on the
outskirts of Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh, India, during the early morning of
7 May 2020. The resulting vapour cloud
spread over a radius of about three
kilometres (2 mi), affecting the nearby
areas and villages. As per the National
Disaster Response Force (NDRF) the death
toll was 11, and more than 1,000 people
became sick after being exposed to the
gas.
 Visakhapatnam gas leak
Date 7 May 2020

Time 3:00 a.m. IST

(21:30 UTC+05:30)

Location R. R. Venkatapuram,
Visakhapatnam
district, Andhra
Pradesh, India

Coordinates 17°45′19″N
83°12′32″E

Cause Malfunction in the

cooling system of
styrene storage tanks
(suspected)

Deaths 11[1]

Non-fatal injuries 1,000+[1]

 Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

Preliminary investigations concluded that

the accident was likely the result of
improper maintenance of units storing the
styrene monomer, improper storage and
operation errors.[2] The Andhra Pradesh
government announced an ex gratia of
₹1 crore (US$140,000 or €130,000) each
for kin of the deceased as well as funds
for the injured, allocating a budget of
₹30 crore (US$4.2 million or €3.9 million)
for the compensation of all those
affected.[3]

Background
The chemical plant at the R. R.
Venkatapuram village was established in
1961 as Hindustan Polymers.[4] It
manufactures polystyrene, its co-polymer
products,[4] and engineering plastic
compounds.[5] In 1978, it was merged with
McDowell & Co. In 1997, it was acquired
by South Korea-based LG Chem, which
renamed the company to LG Polymers
India.[4] LG Chem expanded its operations
at LG Polymers plant five times between
2006 and 2018.[6]

Lack of environment clearance …

The South Korean parent company, LG

Chem, said in its May 2019 affidavit, a part
of an application for environment
clearance, that the company did not have a
legitimate environmental clearance issued
by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change (MoEFCC), after receiving
an Environmental impact assessment
(EIA), substantiating the produced quantity
and for continuing operations.[6] According
to the EIA notification (amendment) of
2006 under the Environment Protection
Act of 1986, LG chemicals India, which is
part of the petrochemical industry, falls
into the category 'A' and should get
clearance from the MoEFCC every time
they expanded their plant or brought a
change to their manufactured product
after November 2006.[7][8] LG Chem
expanded its operations at LG Polymers
plant five times between 2006 and 2018
without such clearance. According to the
May 2019 affidavit, since 1997, it was
instead operating with state permits
required for starting a new business and
operating it and renewed every five
years.[6][8]
However, LG Chem spokesman Choi Sang-
kyu told the Associated Press (AP) that
the company had followed Indian laws and
operated based on the guidelines provided
by the officials, both at the state and
federal level. He said that the affidavit was
not an admission of violation of law but a
pledge of compliance with the law.[9] After
the 2006 notification, Choi said that the
company consulted the ministry and was
told that no clearance was required.
However, Environment Secretary C. K.
Mishra told the AP that the plant would
have no requirement of clearance in 2006,
but a clearance was imperative for any
expansion or production change since
then.[6]

LG Polymers had never asked for a federal

clearance until 2017 and per the minutes
of a meeting between the company and
the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control
Board, the latter denied the former's
request of producing engineering plastics
at its plant. However, a member of the
state pollution board said that there was
no information available regarding any
order by the state government to stop the
operation of the plant. In 2018, the
company applied for an environmental
clearance for the first time, to expand its
manufacturing capacity of polystyrene, a
plastic used to make bottles and lids. The
Environment ministry sent the application
for a review citing that the company didn't
have a clearance for the chemicals it was
already manufacturing. The company
withdrew the application while applying for
a retroactive clearance that the ministry
offered to companies in 2018 as a one-
time amnesty, which remained pending
until the fatal leak occurred.[7][8]

According to the AP, officials and legal

experts like Mahesh Chandra Mehta, an
environment lawyer, indicated that the
plant seemed to be operating in a legal
grey area, with the environmental
clearance required under central
regulations while the state executives are
to look after the enforcement. However, to
date there is no indication that the lack of
environment clearance played a role in the
disaster. Experts are also skeptical, as the
plant operated for years without any
clearance. Mehta also pointed out that
many such industries are operating
without a clearance, which shows how
weak the environmental laws are in India
with several of the world's most polluted
cities.[6] Mehta also said that each time
the company renewed that permit, the
state pollution board, which has the power
of enforcing federal environmental law,
would've been able to fine the company or
deny a permit until it received federal
clearance, which it never did. Dr. B.
Sengupta, environmental scientist and a
former head of Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB), said that the state permits
only consider pollution and do not
consider the safety aspects, whereas the
federal clearance assesses those risks
considering the handling and storage of
hazardous materials, prevention of any
disaster and mitigation in case of a
disaster.[10]

Leakage and effects

Facilities and leakage …

On 7 May 2020, the plant was re-opened

following the nationwide lockdown
implemented as a response to the COVID-
19 pandemic.[11] The plant stored 2,000
metric tons (2,000 long tons; 2,200 short
tons) of styrene in tanks, which were left
unattended.[12][13] Styrene monomer must
be stored between 20–22 °C (68–72 °F)
above which it will rapidly vaporize.[14] It is
believed that a computer glitch in the
factory's cooling system allowed
temperatures in the storage tanks to
exceed safe levels, causing styrene to
vaporize.[15] Between 2:30 a.m. and
3:00 a.m., when maintenance activity was
in progress, the gas leaked from the plant
and spread to nearby villages.[16][17][12][5]

Acute effects …

As of 7 May, the fumes had spread over a

radius of 3 kilometres (2 mi).[18][12][19] Five
villages—R. R. Venkatapuram,
Padmapuram, BC Colony, Gopalapatnam
and Kamparapalem—were the most
affected areas.[20] Hundreds of people
were rushed to hospitals with breathing
difficulties and burning sensation in the
eyes.[11] Many had been found lying on the
ground unconscious due to the effects of
the gas. According to the initial estimate,
at least 11 people had died, and 20–25
people were in critical condition.[21] By the
next day, the death toll had risen to
thirteen.[22] More than 1,000 people were
reportedly exposed to the gas.[18]

Also on 7 May, late at night, police ordered

the evacuation of people in a 2 km (1.2 mi)
radius around the leak. However, police
subsequently stated that this evacuation
was precautionary and that there hadn't
been a second leak.[23][24]

Probable leakage and

removal of chemicals
Experts from the central government who
were inspecting the plant said that it would
have faced a catastrophe had the violation
of safety norms at other storage facilities
at the plant gone unnoticed for a few more
days. They said those facilities were
vulnerable to a leak of vapour on a larger
scale and stored in a high-risk condition at
that time. An expert said polymerization
was noticed in another storage.[25]

According to Deccan Chronicle, two

experts of the National Disaster
Management Authority (NDMA), Dr Anjan
Ray, director of the Indian Institute of
Petroleum, and Shantanu Geete, an
industry expert, inspected the storage
facilities of the plant also the Vizag port.
Dr. Ray, an expert in styrene,
recommended the government that the
materials should be immediately removed
from the facilities. On 11 May 2020, the
Andhra Pradesh government directed the
company to remove 13,000 metric tonnes
(MT) of material out of the country. The
state government arranged two vessels
with the help of the Ministry of Shipping, to
carry 8,000 MT and 5,000 MT respectively
to the company's headquarter at Seoul.[25]

Mekapati Goutham Reddy, minister of

industries of Andhra Pradesh, said that the
preliminary conclusion from the
inspections of experts shows that the
storage facilities were not designed to
keep the material for a long duration.
However, the plant personnel claimed that
the material is emptied every 10 to 15
days and never stored more than the
assigned period.[25]

Relief and rescue

Nearly 200-250 families were evacuated
from villages in a five-kilometre (3.1 mi)
radius around the plant. About 300 people
were hospitalized, according to a media
report.[17][26] The Chief Minister of Andhra
Pradesh Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
announced an ex gratia of ₹1 crore
(US$140,000) for the kin of those
deceased in the accident.[3] He further
announced ₹25,000 (US$350) for those
who received primary treatment, ₹1 lakh
(US$1,400) for those who received longer
treatment, and ₹1 million (US$14,000) for
those on ventilator support.[26]

To neutralize the gas, around 500

kilograms (1,100 lb) of the antioxidant 4-
tert-butylcatechol (PTBC) will be airlifted
by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and
sent to the crippled factory. The Central
Government flew in a specialized CBRN
(chemical, biological, radiological and
nuclear) team of the National Disaster
Response Force (NDRF) from Pune to the
site as well.[27][26]

Remedial measures by LG
LG Chemicals started a support measures
to eliminate all risk factors in the plant. In
its effort, LG brought ACtify 2680, a green
retarder and ACtify 2673, a polymerisation
inhibitor from Dorf Ketal Chemicals, a
Mumbai-based chemical company. LG
said the retarder and the inhibitor will be
added into the tanks of the Styrene stored
at LG Polymers which will prevent further
degradation and any future gas leak which
will ensure the safety of the site. The
ACtify series retarder, believed to be a new
innovative green polymer retardant, is
thermally stable and provides required
protection during unscheduled
shutdowns.[28]

On 13 May 2020, the South Korean

company informed media that an eight-
member technical team, comprising
experts from production, environment and
safety department, from its Seoul
headquarters was sent to investigate the
incident and to rehabilitate the victims. LG
Polymers India said the team would take
prompt rehabilitation and real-time
remedial measures. They would meet the
victims and affected families to explain
support measures in detail and also hold
meetings with the local State government
officials.[29]

Investigation
According to the preliminary investigation,
a gas valve malfunction is believed to have
caused the leak. The leak was from one of
two chemical tanks that had been left
unattended since March 2020 due to the
COVID-19 lockdown.[30] The
malfunctioning of the tank's refrigerating
unit led to an increase in temperature,
causing the liquid chemical, suspected to
be styrene, to evaporate.[31] However,
experts have claimed that other chemicals
may have also leaked, as styrene is
unlikely to spread over 4 to 5 kilometres
(21⁄2 to 3 mi) due to its chemical
properties.[32][5][33][16][34]

Legal actions …

As part of the process of the police

investigation following the leak, a first
information report (FIR) was filed against
LG Polymers by the local police. The report
allowed for possible charges under
sections 278 (making the atmosphere
noxious to health), 284 (negligent conduct
with respect to poisonous substance), 285
(negligent conduct with respect to fire or
combustible matter), 337 (causing hurt by
act endangering life or personal safety of
others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act
endangering life), and 304 (causing death
by doing any rash or negligent act not
amounting to culpable homicide) of the
Indian Penal Code (IPC).[20]

National Green Tribunal …

A petition was filed in the National Green

Tribunal (NGT) which is India’s top
environmental court, demanding an
investigation into the incident by a high-
level committee.[35] A bench headed by the
then NGT chair, Justice Adarsh Kumar
Goel was formed, and the case was
scheduled to be heard on 8 May 2020.[36]

On 8 May, the bench ordered LG Polymers

India to deposit an amount of ₹50 crore
(US$7.0 million) as an initial amount with
the District magistrate of Vishakapatnam
to mitigate the damages caused due to the
incident.[37] It issued notices to the Andhra
Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB),
the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
and the Union Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), in
which it sought the responses of the
individual boards and the ministry. It also
constituted a five-member fact-finding
committee to probe the incident and to
deliver a report to the bench. The
committee would be supervised by former
Andhra Pradesh High Court judge, B.
Seshasayana Reddy.[38]

In the report of high-level committee

headed by NGT chair issued on 28th May
2020, accessed and reviewed by The
Associated Press, it blamed “gross human
failure” and lack of basic safety norms for a
gas leak and the tanks were outdated and
lacked temperature sensors. The
committee report also said Workers at the
factory were slow to respond to the leak
and the chemical company lacked
experience in monitoring and maintaining
tanks full of chemicals that sat idle for
weeks due to India’s coronavirus
lockdown.[39]

Human Rights Commission …

The same day as the incident, the National

Human Rights Commission of India
(NHRC) gave notice to the Andhra Pradesh
Government and the central government
that it considered the incident a gross
violation of India's constitutional right to
life. In their notice, the NHRC was seeking
a detailed report from the Andhra Pradesh
Government on rescue operations, medical
treatment and rehabilitation. It also asked
the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs to
investigate any possible breaches of
workplace health and safety law. Both
reports are expected to be delivered within
four weeks.[40]

See also
Bhopal disaster
System accident

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33. "Vizag gas leak live news updates: Toll
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3 . "NGT to take up Visakhapatnam gas
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39. "Probe blames safety lapses for
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Bibliography
The Vizag gas leak is the most recent of
human disasters with the potential to
change our lives forever by The
Business Insider
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