3. ABOUT THE TRAGEDY
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 the R. R. Venkatapuram village of the Gopalapatnam
neighbourhood, located at the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh, India, during the early morning of 7 May 2020. The resulting
vapour cloud spread over a radius of around 3km (1.86 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.
4. On 7th May 2020, an incident of uncontrolled Styrene vapour Release
occurred at LG Polymers, RR Venkatapuram, Visakhapatnam from one of the
Styrene storage-tanks (M6 Tank). The uncontrolled Styrene vapour release
from a storage tank into the atmosphere occurred for the first time in India.
The accident took the life of 12 persons in the immediately subsequent
period and 585 people had to undergo treatment in hospitals, besides
causing loss of livestock and vegetation. This Styrene vapour release,
widely referred to as “Vizag Gas Leak”, is one of the major Styrene vapour
release incidents from a bulk storage tank anywhere in the world. It was
decided that a team from CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and
Nuclear) unit of NDRF from Pune, along with an expert team of National
Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur would be
rushed to Vishakhapatnam immediately to support the State The
government in the management of the crisis on the ground.
6. HOWTHE DISASTER TAKES PLACE:
Styrene monomer was used to produce expandable
plastics at the manufacturing plant. It should be held
strictly at a temperature below 170℃. Due to the
lockdown of Covid-19, there was a temporary partial
shutdown of the plant, excluding maintenance
activities in the plant, which were carried out
according to a predetermined time frame.
7. The problem started because of not getting styrene gas stored at the correct.
temperature. This caused pressure in the storage chamber to build up, and caused the
valve to break, resulting in gas leakage.
The container used to store styrene gas was old and not kept properly.
The gas was stored in two 5 metric tons total capacity tanks.
This facilitie’s non-maintenance culminated in the leakage of 3 tons of styrene into the
surrounding areas.
Factory’s defunct VOC detection system has no monitoring mechanism installed
specifically to detect styrene.
The facility extends over 600 acres of land including nearby residential areas (it is
spread over 231 acres according to the company’s terms of reference submitted in
2018).
The impact zone was within 2-3 km of range.
There is a nearby village and residential areas surround the plant, resulting in a higher
exposure rate.
9. HARM TO WORKERS
• Around 200 women workers in the Atchutapuram SEZ reportedly fell
sick on Friday evening following an alleged ammonium gas leakage
from the nearby plant.
• Sources said that more than 150 women workers to 200 workers
had fallen sick due to the leakage of Ammonium gas from the
nearby plant. Officials suspect that the gas was allegedly leaked
from the Porus company.
• According to sources the incident took place at around 2.15pm gas
leakage was noticed by the workers as many women complained
about vomiting and dizziness in the head. The government
authorities are afraid that it may lead to another Styrene Gas
leakage of LG Polymers that took place a couple of years ago. But
10. ENVIROMENTAL AFFECTS
• The state’s animal husbandry department reported the death of 34
animals.All the trees in the vicinity of the M6 tank, where the gas
leak occurred, were either fully or partially dry.
• Plants dried up wherever the relatively heavy mixture of monomer
and polymer styrene was flooded, the team noted. All the trees
were dried up to the level of styrene vapour engulfing the affected
area.The state horticulture department reported damage to half the
crops within a five-kilometre radius from the site of the accident.
11. For crops that were not affected, the horticulture department advised farmers to
destroy them instead of selling them as produce, as they were not safe for
consumption.
The drinking water supply was also disrupted because of the possibility of
contamination. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) took
immediate remedial measures to sanitise 6,318 houses in the affected areas,
including disinfection and sanitization in the main distribution main lines and
reservoirs.
Mobile water tankers were then made available to the people of the affected
villages.
12. WAYS TO CONTROL
• There should be 24-hour sanitisation of the factory premises, it said.
• The factories need to maintain a sanitisation routine every two-
three hours especially in the common areas that include lunch
rooms and common tables which will have to be wiped clean with
disinfectants after ever.
• To minimise the risk, it is important that employees who work on
specific equipment are sensitised and made aware of the need to
identify abnormalities like strange sounds or smell, exposed wires,
vibrations, leaks, smoke, abnormal wobbling, irregular grinding or
other potentially hazardous signs which indicate the need for
immediate maintenance or if required shutdown,
