Vizag gas leak: no green nod, company told state last May

A father rushes to take his son for treatment at King George Hospital after a major chemical gas leak in the LG Polymers industry in RR Venkatapuram village, Visakhapatnam. (PTI Photo)

Visakhapatnam unit of LG Polymers India, where a gas leak killed at least 10 people and left several injured, did not have an environmental authorization for its petrochemical plant during a substantial period of its operations between 1997 and 2019, according to documents accessed by The Indian Express.

In an affidavit filed with the Statewide Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), the company admitted that as of May 10, 2019, the unit did not have a “valid environmental permit justifying the amount produced, issued by the authority competent to continue operations. “

He also acknowledged that he had expanded production at the plant “beyond the limit of the environmental authorization or had changed the product mix without obtaining prior environmental authorization as required by the EIA notification, 2006.”

The company also promised not to “repeat any such violation in the future.”

In addition, the company’s plans to expand the unit last year were classified as a “Category A” project for which “prior environmental authorization” was required from the Union’s environment ministry. However, the company requested authorization from the Andhra Pradesh State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority, which in June 2019 transferred the proposal to the Center.

According to information obtained from the Union Ministry of the Environment, the company’s proposal was withdrawn from the environmental approval portal in November 2019 saying that “it seems that the PP (company) is not interested in continuing the project.”

LG Polymers, which in 1997 purchased the McDowell & Company plant, applied for an environmental authorization for the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board plant in May 2019 when it wanted to expand its capacity from 415 tons per day (TPD) to 655 TPD. The unit manufactures polystyrene and expandable polystyrene with imported styrene. It also reprocessed primary plastics into engineering plastics.

Questions to the Visakhapatnam unit of LG Chemical, its parent company in South Korea, as well as to the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board, went unanswered.

In a statement released Thursday in Seoul, LG Chem, the parent company of LG Polymers, said the gas leak was under control and that the company was cooperating with authorities. “… filtered gas can cause nausea and dizziness, so we are investing every effort to ensure that proper treatment is provided quickly,” he said. “We are investigating the extent of the damage and the exact cause of the leak and the deaths.”

Previously, McDowell & Company, which used to operate the unit between 1982 and 1997, before selling the unit to LG Polymers, decided to decommission styrene and alcohol based distillery production, considering the “proximity of the plant to populated areas” .

The plant, located on the outskirts of the city, found itself among the population over time as the city expanded. After taking over the McDowell & Company company, LG Polymers decided to continue manufacturing polystyrene and expandable polystyrene, albeit from imported styrene. The company had received a consent for the establishment and consent for the operation of the unit in November 2001 and May 2002, respectively.

Pursuant to the 1989 Hazardous Chemicals Manufacturing, Storage and Import Rules, styrene is classified as a “hazardous and toxic chemical”. The styrene monomer, which was being used in the manufacturing plant to produce expandable plastics, must be stored at a temperature below 17 degrees Celsius.

While investigations into the accident are ongoing, a possible reason could be that during the plant closure due to Covid-19, the styrene gas was not stored at the proper temperature, causing pressure build-up in the pressure chamber. storage and that led to the valve to break, resulting in gas leakage.

In 2018, the company had planned an expansion of its unit. The proposed expansion at 240 TPD was to cost Rs 168 crore to create new production blocks, utilities and improve the effluent treatment system. The company also said it proposed to employ workers living in nearby villages for construction, and therefore there was no need to provide housing units on site.

In its May 2019 application, the company admitted that the hazardous chemicals would be used to make polystyrene and expandable polystyrene, it would have “no significant impact” on the health of vulnerable people, such as patients, children and old people. .

“All hazardous materials will be stored in MS drums (mild steel), in a covered shed and no soil contamination is expected. The same philosophy will be followed for subsequent expansion ”, stated the application. He had also said that all the built-in safety precautions would be taken during the expansion, and that “there will be no harm to the environment or human health.”

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