Vizag gas leak: LG Polymers airlifts 500kg chemical to control further Styrene leakage
By Newsmeter Network Published on 7 May 2020 12:58 PM GMT
Vishakapatnam: LG Polymers India, responsible for the styrene gas leakage in Vishakapatanam, gets a nod from the Indian home ministry to airlift 500 kg of chemicals in order to avoid further unforeseen reaction due to the leakage.
An official communication from the office of Union minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, explained, 'The gas leakage at LG Polymer plant at Gopalapatnam on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam in the early hours of May 7th, has lead to death of 11 people and many people being admitted to hospital for further care. The Central Government has taken stock of the situation and in coordination with the state government of Andhra Pradesh is monitoring the situation and extending all the assistance'.
The office informed, LG Polymers India Pvt. Ltd has requested for airlifting of 500 kg of a chemical that is, 4-Teritiary Butylcatchol (PTBC) from Daman airport to Vishakapatnam which will be useful in avoiding any further unforeseen reaction due to the leakage of Styrene gas. 'On receipt of the request from LG, the issue was taken up by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who in return has instructed the concerned authorities to facilitate the airlifting of the said chemical. It is learnt that the chemical has already been dispatched to Vizag along with movement of chemical handling experts from NDRF unit, Pune' Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a communication from the management of LG Polymers India Ltd claimed that a night shift maintenance worker had discovered the leak from a tank. "Operations at the plant had been suspended because of a nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak and was preparing to resume operations. We are currently assessing the extent of the damage on residents in the town and are taking all necessary measures to protect residents and employees in collaboration with related organizations,” LG Chem, the owner of LG Polymers, said in a statement.
A company spokesman in Seoul added separately a night shift maintenance worker had discovered the leak from a tank. The cause of the leak is being investigated, the spokesman said.
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