Lessons elusive 3 years after styrene gas disaster in Vizag

Visakhapatnam: Three years after the styrene gas leaked from the LG Polymers turned into vapour in the wee hours of May 8 in 2020 and spread to Venkatapuram and the neighbouring areas, fear still grips the people of Visakhapatnam with several victims of the incident still undergoing a horrifying experience.

Someswara Rao, a resident of Venkatapuram says he still runs from one place to another for treatment as he is unable to take up any work as the poisonous gas has left him with skin and multiple health issues.

“We are still looking for help from the government,” U Raja, LG Polymers’ Contract Workers’ Union leader, said. The contract workers, who were rendered jobless, have not been given any aid to meet their livelihood expenses.

The plant is run by LG Polymers India Pvt Ltd, which used to manufacture polystyrene and expandable polystyrene. It is the Indian manufacturing arm of South Korean conglomerate LG Chem.

The gas tragedy, which claimed at least death of 12 people, took place as the gas vaporised following intense heat. It leaked from a storage tank vent. The incident led to shutdown of the plant, slapping of penalty by National Green Tribunal and immediate arrest of then company CEO and 11 other officials.

The State Government immediately swung into action and announced Rs 1 crore compensation to the next of kin of each deceased, Rs 10 lakh to those who were on ventilator treatment and Rs 1 lakh to those hospitalised for at least two days. However, some of the residents of the area and Opposition parties allege that three other workers who died while undergoing treatment have been denied the compensation promised by the government.

A super-speciality hospital promised by the government and regular monitoring of the health condition of gas disaster sufferers have still remained on paper. Moreover, the location of Visakhapatnam in a spoon-type topography with the surrounding sea, hillocks and industrial units on all sides, gives any scope for the people to escape in the event of a major catastrophe like the Bhopal Gas Disaster.

Being the industrial hub and home to several hazardous industries, the fear of gas leakages always haunts the denizens. The HPCL Visakh Refinery blast in the mid-1990s is still fresh in memory for those residents, who have been staying in the city since then.

Noted social activist and former IAS officer E A S Sarma said, “The L G Polymers accident is a grim reminder of the lack of industrial safety in and around Vizag and how the authorities refuse to learn lessons. In 2019, APPCB granted consent for the expansion of the unit against all norms, including its location in the midst of a thickly populated area, indicating a nexus with L G Polymers management.”

He told Bizz Buzz that three years after the accident, the government has not cared to fulfill its promise of super-speciality medical facilities for the affected people. No one knows what happened to the cases filed by the police against senior managers of LGP.

After the LGP accident, several accidents took place around Vizag, in the Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City (JNPC), showing how callous are the promoters of industry and how complicit are the authorities responsible for industrial safety. The government does not seem to care for the people’s lives and health, in its anxiety to pamper the promoters of industry, he pointed out.

CPI State assistant secretary the compensation promised by the government has not been fulfilled fully. Despite such a major accident, both the State and Central Governments are still in deep slumber over enforcement of pollution control measures and punishing the managements of LG Polymers and other companies for recurrence of industrial accidents in the city at regular intervals.

CITU district secretary R K S V Kumar alleged that the agencies mandated to enforce pollution control measures are hand-in-glove with the industrial management due to apparent reasons.