[INJAXN]

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/75590112.cms

https://www.financialexpress.com/ind...dates/1950663/

Around 70 people have been admitted to the King George Hospital. The administration has deployed heavy contingent of police in the area. Besides fire tenders and ambulances have been pressed into service. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also rushed to the spot. Reports said that the gas leak has been contained. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has enquired about the incident and directed the Visakhapatnam district collector to ensure proper medical care for the affected people.

[srini1785]

Sad to hear this news. I hope that its not a lock down related issue with some maintenance guy not able to reach the factory to monitor the safety issues. Any update on the gas which leaked?. I hope it is not a repeat of the union carbide episode. I have been to the plant once and they make polystyrene. The symptoms are similar to methane inhalation.

[_chikku]

Originally Posted by srini1785

Sad to hear this news. I hope that its not a lock down related issue with some maintenance guy not able to reach the factory to monitor the safety issues. Any update on the gas which leaked?. I hope it is not a repeat of the union carbide episode. I have been to the plant once and they make polystyrene. The symptoms are similar to methane inhalation.

As per this link it is Styrene gas. It seems it has spread widely in villages.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...es-lg-polymers

I am receiving very disturbing video clips in messaging platforms, people are falling unconscious on the road. Hope these are fake.

[Miyata]

"It was left there because of the lockdown. It led to a chemical reaction and heat was produced inside the tanks, and the gas leaked because of that," Rani, an assistant commissioner, told AFP news agency.


If this cause is to be believed, that makes it sadder still - absolutely avoidable. That is also the reason hiring of people has to be done on the basis of their technical competence. If one cannot find such people, they need to be trained really well in safety and relevant technical aspects of their job - handling of chemicals in this case.

It is really common sense for anyone working with any chemical material to first have a good understanding and reading of a Safety Data Sheet

If the reported news is true, this is sheer negligence. You have got to train your staff better both for their own safety as well of those around them. In addition to proper training, there needs to be better supervision and a loop of accountability that is immune to potential mutual-kickbacks.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Miyata

It was left there because of the lockdown. It led to a chemical reaction and heat was produced inside the tanks, and the gas leaked because of that," Rani, an assistant commissioner, told AFP news agency.

Originally Posted by Miyata

If the reported news is true, this is sheer negligence. You have got to train your staff better both for their own safety as well of those around them. In addition to proper training, there needs to be better supervision and a loop of accountability that is immune to potential mutual-kickbacks.

Totally tragic and sad event. However, I'm not sure it can be called a training lapse or negligence.

A 1.5 month lockdown is something never seen earlier and may not have been part of the training schedule in any industry. Hence the scenario was something they were not trained or previously prepared for. No industry is prepared for this case scenario and all are learning as they go.

Hope all other companies learn from this and do immediate calculations and checks on the chemicals and raw materials they have in storage since the lockdown started.

[StarrySky]

I think we should wait for investigation to be complete and not go by the first comments of police officers. Meanwhile, this is what the company said:

LG Chem confirmed the plant was not operating because of the lockdown, but said there were maintenance staff at the facility. "While it's true that the factory wasn't operating as it was under lockdown, there were maintenance workers inside," a company spokesman told AFP in Seoul. "A worker on night shift discovered the leak and reported it."

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

I think we should wait for investigation to be complete and not go by the first comments of police officers. Meanwhile, this is what the company said:

Hopefully this is just a mechanical accident and not human error. I hope LG’s insurance cover pays up for everyone affected.

[jayguar]

Originally Posted by _chikku

...
I am receiving very disturbing video clips in messaging platforms, people are falling unconscious on the road. Hope these are fake.

News channels did show people falling down unconscious on the road and people including children lying on the ground.

[alpha1]

To be frank, in India due to lax governance and a joke called justice no manufacturer really wants to setup a comprehensive people safety detection and mitigation systems and incur a large capex and significant opex (understandably so).
The only reason why they do it because the insurance companies ask them, otherwise the premiums are high.

So the manufacturers look at ways to optimize (=offer the bare basic system which complies with the requirements in paper, but may not work properly in real life).
Styrene, though carcinogenic, would not result in immediate death. At large concentrations may cause asphyxia. I have a hunch that might be the guiding principle at LG Polymers.

And I am pretty sure that a detailed Hazop would've been done before the establishment of the plant, that covers such scenarios.

[Thermodynamics]

I would wait for the investigation to complete. First of all Styrene is not a gas. It boils at 145 C much higher than water. So the level of Styrene in open atmosphere would have been significantly lower to cause such a disaster. Secondly, it was a leak and not explosion or fire. I suspect it could be some other chemical much more volatile than Styrene. As such Styrene is not that toxic to cause immediate death by inhalation, but may be because this occurred in wee hours, a long term inhalation could have led to such complications.

However, Safety shouldn't have been compromised even during lockdown. Not sure, if the lapse is with the industry, or perhaps with the Government which IMO should have given more flexibility to chemical industries to take care of essential safety before abruptly announcing the lockdown.

[srishiva]

They didnt have sensors that could detect the leak ? I dont think a human should detect and report poisonous gases.
Not sure what the govt mandates were on safety and if there was an issue following those. Hope the reason will be known with right investigation. Sad loss of life.

[Sutripta]

Contributory factors might be hasty unplanned shutdown, and then neglected/ unattended for 6 weeks.

Regards
Sutripta

[SJQIL87]

I was really shocked to hear this news. The plant which was shutdown for many days created this problem once it is operated again. There should have been some kind of detectors or safety measures to identify this leakage issue. It was disheartening to hear that little children too are among those who are dead.

[Thermodynamics]

Originally Posted by srishiva

They didnt have sensors that could detect the leak ? I dont think a human should detect and report poisonous gases.

Multi layer safety interlock exists in all chemical plants. But still, leaks happen, there is no industry without a chemical spill in an year. The thing is corrective action cannot be mostly automated because you never know the details of leak unless it gets inspected. In a running plant they can shut off lines but when the plant isn't running, there isn't much that can be done. So, human intervention is needed to check if it is a false alarm, analyze severity and alert security or initiate emergency protocols. All that requires employees working on site.

[fordday]

There is news about another gas leak in Chattisgarh, though not of same severity as the one in Vizag.

Link

Is there a pattern after opening of these factories after lockdown?