Oversight of various govt departments contributed to gas leak tragedy: HPC

It should take immediate steps to amend Consent For Operation issued to LG Polymers, duly taking into account the possibility of styrene vapour emission from the atmospheric M5, M6 tanks (in the plant) during regular operations, the HPC said in its main report, submitted to the government on Monday. The HPC observed that styrene vapour release was not identified as an emergency.

Oversight of various government departments, primarily the directorate of factories, also contributed to the May 7 styrene vapour leak in LG Polymers unit at Visakhapatnam that left 12 dead, the high powered committee that probed the mishap said. The HPC had on Monday identified poor safety protocols and total breakdown of emergency response procedures as the root causes of the tragedy.

"Clearly, the Directorate of Factories has not been effective in implementing the provisions of the Factories Act and the other governing laws. It has failed to ensure that LG Polymers abided by all the safety protocols, the Factories Act and the other governing Acts, Rules and Regulations," the High Power Committee that probed the accident, observed in its 319-page main report.

The HPC, headed by Special Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests) Neerabh Kumar Prasad, recommended necessary action against officials of the Directorate of Factories over the serious lapses. The HPC also found fault with the AP Pollution Control Board for not stipulating Styrene Vapour Standards in the Air Consent Order.

"This is a serious lapse on the part of the APPCB. It should take immediate steps to amend Consent For Operation issued to LG Polymers, duly taking into account the possibility of styrene vapour emission from the atmospheric M5, M6 tanks (in the plant) during regular operations, the HPC said in its main report, submitted to the government on Monday.

The HPC observed that styrene vapour release was not identified as an emergency. "The Director of Factories (DoF) reported that the Onsite Emergency Plan, internally prepared and revised by LG in 2016, did not identify the scenario of chemical leak with respect to toxicity as one of the possible emergencies.

But (chemical) leaks resulting into fire accidents were identified (as emergencies). Styrene vapour release was not identified as an emergency," the HPC noted.

In fact, in an Offsite Emergency Plan for Visakhapatnam district prepared in 2007 by Hyderabad-based Environment Protection, Training and Research Institute and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, in association with Safety Service Centre, Netherlands, experts have not identified styrene vapour release as a scenario for LG Polymers. LG was considered only for fire emergency, according to the HPC report.

The Director of Factories informed the probe panel that an inspection of LG Polymers was conducted twice in 2016 and latest on December 18, 2019. Though two Deputy Chief Inspectors of Factories were assigned the inspection duties in 2017 and 2018, they were not carried out.

The LG management did not comply with at least 16 orders related to safety measures, issued by the DoF in 2016. After the inspection in 2019, another 18 orders were issued afresh, taking the total to 34.

It is not known whether these orders have been complied with. The reactions of LG Polymers, on the orders in the inspections carried out by the Factories Department, reflect poorly on the safety culture in the plant," the HPC observed.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)