Vizag gas leak: LG Polymer CEO, 11 others arrested; key state officials suspended

In response to the findings of the high-level committee looking into the developments that led to the Vizag gas leak at the LG Polymers plant on May 7, key officials of the company, including Sunkey Jeong, managing director and CEO of the company and 11 others have been arrested and a few state government officials suspended. These include officials from the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board - R Lakshmi Narayana (environmental engineer in the Vizag zonal office) and P Prasad Rao (environmental engineer in the regional office).

Confirming this to BusinessToday.In, R Karikal Valaven, the state special chief secretary (industries and commerce), says, "This is an important message to the 89-odd units across the state that handle hazardous materials."

ALSO READ: Vizag gas leak no exception; India sees 30 industrial accidents, 75 deaths post-lockdown

He further says that the key focus now will be on industrial planning, which will be aligned with the town planning. Some of this, he feels, will find reflection in the new industrial policy of the state.

Since industrial units with risk of pollution cannot be in residential areas, he says, it would be best if those can be situated in an industrial park with its necessary pollution and environmental clearances.

As for the LG Polymers plant, the land belongs to the company but it cannot be used for the current operations, which will have to be shifted to a new location and the company could use the land for any other activity where there is no risk of environmental pollution.

ALSO READ: Vizag gas leak: Panel blames LG Polymers' negligence, poor maintenance for mishap

In a long list of failures by the concerned people leading to the gas leak that led to the death of 11 people and leaving several hospitalised, a note issued by the state government says the arrests were made based on the investigations that had revealed that the "incident at M6 styrene storage tank had taken place due to negligence" of these people. The investigations, it says, had also pointed to the poor design of the M6 storage tank, inadequate refrigeration and cooling systems, absence of circulation systems, inadequate measurement parameters, weak safety protocol, poor safety awareness , inadequate risk assessment and response, poor management, insufficient knowledge among staff coupled with insufficient understanding of the chemical properties of styrene, especially during storage under idle conditions and a finally, a complete breakdown of the emergency response procedures. The state officials who have been suspended have been accused of negligence.

ALSO READ: Unions raise alarm as industrial accidents rise in India post lockdown