After the tragic gas leak incident took place at LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam, the government of Andhra Pradesh appointed a High Power Committee to investigate the incident and provide them with a report so that future accidents as such could be avoided.
The committee is headed by Forest Department Special Secretary Neerab Kumar, and Special Secretary to the Industry Department Karikala Valavan, Visakhapatnam City Police Commissioner RK Meena and the Collector worked as its members. This committee has now submitted a 350 page report to Chief Minister Y.S.Jagan Mohan Reddy about the fateful gas leak.
The 350 page report was prepared from nearly 4,000 pages of annexures. It is also a thorough examination of what had happened, and information that was gathered from the LG Polymers factory; from 1,250 questions, 250 emails that were dropped by those concerned, 180 calls that were received, and by interacting with those who suffered because of the gas leak.
Talking about the gas leak itself, Neerab Kumar has said that it is an uncontrolled styrene vapors release from the M6 tank at LG Polymers. He also said that this leak is considered as a major accident under the MSHIC rules, 1989. The gas leak resulted in the death of 12 people, and in the hospitalization of 585 people.
The reason for the leakage of the gas was because of the substantial rise in the temperature of the M6 tank. This high temperature caused the vaporization of styrene liquid in the tank. As a result, high pressure developed in the tank which had very small vents. When the pressure was beyond the limit, it caused the vaporized styrene gas to leak from the tank.
The main reasons for the polymerization of styrene liquid, and the leakage of the gas thereby have been state as: poor design of tank, inadequate refrigeration and cooling system, absence of circulation and mixing systems, inadequate measurement parameters, poor safety protocols, poor safety awareness, inadequate risk assessment response, poor safety management systems, slackness of management, insufficient knowledge among staff, insufficient knowledge of the chemical properties of styrene,
Neerab Kumar also said that the company failed to activate any siren to alert people around the area, despite having 36 sirens. He also said that the accident could have been prevented if proper precautions were taken, or if at least one siren was sounded at the right time.
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