Gas leak a warning as factories restart

A horrific chemical disaster is unfolding in Andhra Pradesh. Leakage of styrene gas from the LG Polymers plant near Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday has claimed the lives of around 13 people, including a child and two senior citizens, so far. The death toll could rise in the coming days as many hundreds are sick after inhaling the toxic gas and being treated in hospitals. Scenes from the disaster are distressing; people were seen falling unconscious on roads and many were breathless and nauseous. Although the LG plant is in a relatively less populated area, the impact is being felt in at least five surrounding villages.

Preliminary information indicates that human negligence may have contributed to the disaster. The plant was probably shut down in a hurry when the central government declared the nationwide lockdown with a four-hour notice. According to police officials, storage tanks were lying unattended for weeks. This could have set off a chemical reaction that produced enormous heat, in turn causing the gas to leak. Authorities at LG Chemicals, the South Korean company that operates the facility at Visakhapatnam, say that maintenance of storage tanks was being done even during the lockdown. A probe must establish responsibility for the disaster. The gas leakage at Visakhapatnam should alert other factories to the importance of safety issues as they begin to re-open. With an economic crisis looming, factory owners will be looking to cut costs, but they must not cut corners on matters of safety.

The gas leak at Visakhapatnam may not be comparable to the Bhopal gas disaster of 1984 in terms of its magnitude. Still, the suffering of each individual victim will be as searing. India must ensure that mistakes made in the months and years following the Bhopal disaster are not repeated. Accountability for the gas leak at the LG Polymers plant must be fixed and the guilty, whether Indian or foreigner, should be brought to justice. LG authorities in South Korea have said that the situation at their Visakhapatnam plant is “under control.” Indeed, the leaking of gas at the facility has been halted. However, its impact on the people who inhaled the gas has only begun to unfold. Styrene gas is known to have long-term implications for the central nervous system. Decades after the Bhopal disaster, its victims still give birth to babies with severe abnormalities. LG Chemicals must work with the Indian government and locals to ensure that long-term financial and medical support for the victims of the disaster is put in place.