Visakhapatnam: The state police on Tuesday night arrested the CEO and two directors besides nine other officials of LG Polymers in connection with the styrene vapour leak incident in which 12 people were killed and 585 fell sick on May 7.
According to reports, the arrests were made a day after the High-Power Committee, appointed by the state government to probe the vapour leak, submitted its report to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, blaming multiple inadequacies on part of LG and slackness of management over poor safety protocols and total breakdown of the emergency response procedures in the plant that resulted in the tragedy.
The Gopalapatnam police registered a case on May 7 against LG Polymers at R R Venkatapuram, under various IPC Sections including 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health).
Exactly two months later, the arrests were made.
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The HPC, headed by Environment and Forests Special Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad, submitted a 4000-page report to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy here on Monday. "The accident occurred due to uncontrolled release of styrene vapour from the M6 tank at the LG plant, which qualifies as a major accident under the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989.
Poor design of the tank, inadequate refrigeration and faulty cooling system, absence of circulation and mixing system, poor process safety management system and total breakdown of the emergency response of the procedures were the root causes of the accident," the HPC said in its report.
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The HPC also observed that the factory has "absolutely no stocks of inhibitors and negligible stocks of terminators, which could have been used to minimise the impact of the accident, if not neutralise it.
The committee also observed that the alarm system (at the plant) was not used despite there being a total of 36 activation points, including one at the factory gate. Using the alarm could have alerted the people in the vicinity (from the impending danger), it added.
At least 12 people had lost their lives and hundreds were admitted to hospitals after styrene gas leak took place at LG Polymers industry in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam on the morning of May 7.
(With inputs from agencies)
