The National Green Tribunal (NGT) said on Wednesday that LG Polymers has absolute liability for the loss of life in the recent gas leak incident at its Visakhapatnam plant, and directed the Rs 50 crore penalty imposed on it to be used as compensation to the victims and for environment restoration.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed 30 employees of LG Polymers India Ltd to supervise "round-the-clock safety measures" at its sealed plant in Visakhapatnam, where a gas leak early this month killed 12 people.
The High Court has sought an explanation from the Andhra Pradesh government that why was the styrene monomer permitted to be transported to South Korea, about a week after the incident.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a plea by LG Polymers seeking stay on the order passed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which formed a five-member committee to assess the damage and conduct a probe into the Vizag gas leak.
Vizag gas leak: LG Chemicals' spokesman Choi Sang-kyu said that the company had always followed laws and had operated the plant based on the guidance of the officials, both at the state and federal levels. He said the affidavit was a pledge to comply with the law in the future and not an admission of any violations.
LG Polymers India Ltd on Saturday blamed leaking vapour from a storage tank for the leakage of deadly styrene monomer gas at its Visakhapatnam plant that killed at least 11 people and forced the evacuation of thousands.
Over 60 per cent of the styrene vapour that leaked from a tank in LG Polymers near Visakhapatnam on Thursday, killing at least 11 people, has polymerized so far and all chemical tanks in the plant are safe, District Collector V Vinay Chand said on Friday.
"There are some rumours and media reports about a second leakage. I categorically clarify that it is not true," NDRF Director-General SN Pradhan said in a video message.
A day after gas leak incident in its Visakhapatnam plant, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed LG Polymers to forthwith deposit an initial amount of Rs. 50 crore with Visakhapatnam district magistrate.
Vizag gas leak: The fresh incident in Visakhapatnam was reported late on Thursday. Fumes were seen billowing out of the chemical plant, where the gas leakage in the early hours of the day affected over 300 others.
The gas leak from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam, which killed at least 11 people and impacted about 1,000, needs to be fully investigated by local authorities, a spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday.
The National Green Tribunal on Thursday took cognisance on its own about the Visakhapatnam gas leak incident killing at least 11 people and impacting about 1,000, many collapsing to the ground as they tried to escape the toxic vapours.
The technical glitch caused the temperature in the chemical storage tank to rise above the safety level of 20 degrees, leading to gasification and consequent evaporation of styrene.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs one crore each to the kin of those killed in the styrene gas leak incident at LG Polymers Limited near Visakhapatnam.
Andhra Pradesh government will airlift 500 kg of Para-tertiary butyl catechol (PTBC) chemical from Daman to neutralize the gas leakage in Visakhapatnam plant, Secretary to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Ashwani Kumar said on Thursday.
Andhra Pradesh's Industry Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy on Thursday said the negligence by LG Polymers led to gas leak from its plant in Visakhapatnam, resulting in the death of eight people and affecting many others.
Unconscious children being carried by parents in their arms, people laying on roads, health workers scrambling to attend to those affected by the styrene vapour leak and residents fleeing were some of the scenes that played out near here on Thursday, bringing back grim memories of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
"I thought I would die. I don't know how I survived." This was how a gas leak survivor in Visakhapatnam shared her experience. "Nobody knew what was happening and all were running to save themselves," said the woman undergoing treatment at King George Hospital (KGH), where most of the gas victims were brought for treatment.
More than 1,000 others were taken to the hospital after they complained of health issues following the gas leak, reported at the LG Polymers industry in RR Venkatapuram village, Visakhapatnam.
While speaking to ANI, the Police Commissioner of Visakhapatnam City, Rajeev Kumar Meena said, "Gas has been neutralized. NDRF team has reached the spot. Maximum impact was in about 1-1.5 kms but smell was till 2-2.5 kms.
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