KOCHI: The Community Vulnerability Assessment study conducted by leading risk and safety expert and former UN Environment Programme consultant Sagar Dhara of Hyderabad-based Cerana Foundation has found that risk posed by IOCL’s proposed LPG Import Terminal at Puthuvype is significantly higher than the computation made by the company.
The study also revealed that densely populated urban settlements and tourism hotspots like Fort Kochi and Fort Vypeen fall under the threat one zone. Therefore, the IOCL project endangers lives and property way beyond Puthuvype.“The maximum threat one is a 3.5-km radius zone rather than the 600 - 700 m radius claimed by IOCL. The glaring omission in the PDIL study is not considering the possibility of a leak from the 2.8-km-long pipeline from the jetty to the IOCL LPG terminal,” reads the report revealed by Sagar Dhara, former head of state government’s Disaster Management Centre.
He also said IOCL’s project consultant should be blacklisted and fined a sum of Rs 10 crore for criminal negligence of public safety. The study was conducted using ALOHA (Areal Locations of Hazardous Atmospheres version 5.4.7), an advanced hazard modelling software used by the world’s top organisations. “The sad truth is that only when punitive action is taken do companies and project consultants take interest in matters that concern the environment or public safety. Moreover, when it comes to these matters, there is not much difference between the public sector and privately owned corporations,” Sagar told media persons here.