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The Visakhapatnam gas leak, also called the Vizag gas leak, was an industrial accident due to the insufficient maintenance of units. Visakhapatnam gas leak occurred on 7 May 2020 at the LG polymers, a chemical plant in the R.R.Venkatapuram village on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. The source of the Visakhapatnam gas leak was a styrene plant owned by a South Korean electronics company about 15 km from the coastal city near Gopalapatnam. The preliminary investigations of the Visakhapatnam gas leak have concluded that the industrial accident was likely the result of the insufficient maintenance of units storing the styrene monomer, improper storage, and operation errors.
Visakhapatnam Gas Leak
The Visakhapatnam Gas Leak is an industrial accident that occurred in Andhra Pradesh has killed around eight people and led to the hospitalisation of more than a thousand. The gas leaked was styrene or vinyl benzene which was confirmed by RK Meena, the district commissioner of police. The Visakhapatnam Gas Leak occurred early morning of 7 May 2020 at a private plastic making plant owned by LG Polymers Private Limited, a part of South Korean conglomerate LG Corp due to insufficient maintenance of units.
Causes of the Visakhapatnam Gas Leak
As part of their application for environment clearance, the South Korean parent company, LG Chem, stated that the industrial accident due to insufficient maintenance, stagnation, and changes in the temperature inside the storage tank could have resulted in the auto polymer, in turn, causing vaporisation. Also, the preliminary investigations of the Visakhapatnam gas leak have concluded that the industrial accident was likely the result of the insufficient maintenance of units storing the styrene monomer, improper storage, and operation errors.
Styrene
According to the World Health Organisation, styrene is the 20th most-used chemical globally. Styrene has a wide range of applications in the production of resins and polystyrene plastics. These are used in rubber, food packaging, plastic, fibreglass, pipes, insulation, and automobile parts. Styrene is also known as PVC gas (polyvinyl chloride) to produce PVC.
Styrene is a colourless gas found in water, air, and soil once released into the environment. It is a pure form of gas that can range from odourless to mild sweet odour, while synthetic forms are said to have a sharp odour. It harms the central nervous system (CNS) in the human body. The centres controlling the disease have noted that even short-term exposure to the concentrated form of any gas can potentially affect even infants and young children. These chemicals are broken down in the air in one or two days while it evaporates from the soil and shallow water surfaces.
Exposure to Styrene
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) reported that short-term exposure to the substance could result in irritation, respiratory problems, irritation in the eyes, mucous membrane, and gastrointestinal issues.
Moreover, long-term exposure could adversely affect the central nervous system and lead to other health-related problems like peripheral neuropathy. It also causes depression and cancer in some cases. However, EPA states that there is no adequate evidence despite several epidemiology studies suggesting there may be a relationship between styrene exposure and an increased risk of lymphoma and leukaemia.
The government takes several measures, and the significant measure is to prevent further dangerous spread of polymerisation and self-heating of the styrene; 500 kilograms of the polymerisation 4-tetra-butyl catechol (PTBC) was airlifted by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and sent to the crippled factory. In addition, the central government flew in a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and specialised CBRN team from Pune to the Visakhapatnam Gas Leak site.
The high-powered committee suggested various measures taken by the industry to avoid an industrial accident as the neutralising of styrene takes more time. The measure includes safety audits to prevent accidents in the future and various protocols from being followed and suggested to observe all the industrial plants.
It is always an unclear moment in Visakhapatnam whether the deaths are due to direct exposure to styrene gas or its by-products. However, it ruined hundreds of lives, including many children and adults admitted into the hospitals.
Conclusion
The handling of industrial disasters in India suffers from systemic apathy. To respond to the unfolding Visakhapatnam Gas Leak, measures to be taken effectively keep concerned about what happened in the Bhopal Gas tragedy. The preliminary investigations of the Visakhapatnam gas leak have concluded that the industrial accident was likely the result of the insufficient maintenance of units storing the styrene monomer, improper storage, and operation errors. To ensure public safety and precautions, comprehensive safety audits and protocols for all the industries have been established with a standard operating procedure that should be enforced.
