Experts detect more risks of gas leakage at the LG Polymer factory in Vizag



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Vijayawada: The port city of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh would have faced a catastrophe if the violation of security regulations at the LG Polymers factory had gone unnoticed for a few more days.

Experts who inspected the aftermath of last week’s styrene gas leak discovered, to their surprise, that there were other storage facilities at the factory that were vulnerable to a larger-scale vapor leak.

Two of the experts appointed by the Center have certified that the styrene was stored in a high-risk present condition at the factory.

On Monday, the Andhra Pradesh government ordered the company to immediately remove 13,000 metric tons (MT) of material from the country. Consequently, the state government arranged, with the help of the Union Shipping Ministry, a ship to transport 8,000 MT to the company’s headquarters in Seoul. Another vessel is being prepared to ship 5000 MT outside the factory.

The evacuation will be completed in 3-4 days, said a press release from the Office of the Chief Minister.

Official sources told the Deccan Chronicle that two experts appointed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Dr. Anjan Ray, director of the Indian Petroleum Institute, and Shantanu Geete, an industry expert, also inspected the facilities of storage at LG Polymers plants. as in the Vizag port facilities.

“It was noted that the polymerization has just started at another storage facility on the factory premises,” said a senior official.

Experts also visited the storage facility at the port and found that all required technical and safety parameters were not being maintained. Dr. Ray, who is an expert in styrene, recommended to the government that the factory and port material be removed immediately.

“The preliminary conclusion is that the storage facilities were not designed to hold the material for an extended period. Plant staff stated that the material is emptied every 10-15 days and is never stored more than that, “Industry Minister M Goutham Reddy told the Deccan Chronicle.

Meanwhile, the high-powered committee made up of top bureaucrats Neerab Kumar Prasad and Karikal Valevan began its investigation into the accident. He visited the plant and interacted with experts. He also invited contributions from people who can send the information they have to [email protected].

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