1. Introduction
On 7th May 2020, an incident of uncontrolled Styrene vapour Release occurred at LG Polymers, RR
Venkatapuram, Visakhapatnam from one of the Styrene storage-tanks (M6 Tank).
The uncontrolled Styrene vapour release from a storage tank into the atmosphere
occurred for the first time in India.
The accident took the
life of 12 persons in the immediately subsequent period and 585 people had to
undergo treatment in hospitals, besides causing loss of livestock and
vegetation. This Styrene vapour release, widely referred to as “Vizag Gas
Leak”, is one of the major Styrene vapour release incidents from a bulk storage
tank anywhere in the world. It was decided that a team from CBRN (Chemical,
Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) unit of NDRF from Pune, along with an expert team of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI),
Nagpur would be rushed to Vishakhapatnam immediately to support the State The government in the management of the crisis on the ground.
The National Disaster
Management Authority arranged a special aircraft for airlifting joint team of
four response experts from 5th Battalion, NDRF Pune along with PPE, other
equipment and five environmental experts from Nagpur. The aircraft reached
Visakhapatnam on 7th May and the team immediately supported the local
administration in controlling the situation.
As per the Manufacture,
Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, (MSIHC) 1989,- ‘ “major
accident" means an occurrence including any particular major emission,
fire or explosion involving one or more hazardous chemicals and resulting from
uncontrolled developments in the course of industrial activity or due to
natural events leading to serious effects both immediate or delayed, inside or
outside the installation likely to cause substantial loss of life and property
including adverse effects on the environments.”
As per the above
definition, the uncontrolled Styrene vapour release from the M6 Tank at LG
Polymers Visakhapatnam, commonly reported as “Vizag Gas Leak” qualifies as a
major accident under MSIHC Rules, 1989.
1.1 About
LG Polymers, Visakhapatnam
Industrial activity at
the current premises of M/s LG Polymers at R.R. Venkatapuram, Visakhapatnam
started in 1961, under the name and style of M/s Sri Rama Mills to manufacture
alcohol from molasses. Later, in 1962 M/s Sri Rama Mills was taken over by M/s
Hindustan Polymers Ltd. In 1967 (as per the Factories Department License), M/s
Hindustan Polymers Ltd. replaced the manufacturing activity of alcohol with
manufacturing activity of Polystyrene & Co-Polymer. Manufacturing of Styrene The monomer was reportedly initiated in 1973. In 1978, M/s Hindustan Polymers Ltd.
merged with McDowell & Co. Ltd of United Breweries Group. The Company
terminated manufacturing of Styrene monomer and started importing it in the
year 1993.
As per the information
provided by the management, the LG Chemicals (South Korea) Ltd set up the LG
Chemicals India Pvt. Ltd., as a 100% subsidiary of LG Chemical, South Korea.
The LG Chemicals India Pvt. Ltd. acquired M/s Hindustan Polymers Ltd in 1997
and renamed the company as M/s LG Polymers India Private Limited,
Visakhapatnam. The LG Polymers is a 100% subsidiary of LG Chemicals India Pvt.
Ltd. After the acquisition, the LG Polymers continued manufacturing of Polystyrene
& Expandable Polystyrene and expanded the manufacturing capacities from
time to time.
At present, LG Polymers
is spread over a total area of 213 Acres and engaged in manufacturing of
Polystyrene used for General Purpose Polystyrene (GPPS) & High Impact
Polystyrene (HIPS) to the tune of 313 Tons per day, Expandable Polystyrene
(EPS) to the tune of 102 Tons per day and Engineering Plastics 36.67 Tons per
day. M/s LG Polymers is storing Styrene, Pentane and other raw materials within
the plant premises.
2. Reasons for the release of Styrene Vapour in
LG Polymers India Pvt. Ltd.
The first term of
reference is to enquire into the reasons for leakage including verifying if the company had adhered to all the safety protocols. The studies reveal that there
are a number of contributory factors that led to the accident as per the
observations received from the various inputs by the committee. During the
deliberations, the following quote of Trevor A. Kletz was noted by the
committee “A case history shows that an accident generally does not have one cause, but many, and that, the deeper we
go, the more causes we find.”
Teja Dakuri M.Tech, Pursuing Industrial Safety at NIFS
1 comment:
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