VIJAYAWADA: Taking a serious view of the gas leakage at LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam that claimed 12 lives, the state government is learnt to have summoned the management of the plant from South Korea along with a team of experts, and told them to cooperate with the inquiry into the mishap.
Sources said the government also directed LG Polymers to take back styrene monomer and other raw materials the company stocked at the Visakhapatnam port and the factory. “With the Group of Ministers and officials led by the Chief Secretary conducting an inquiry from Visakhapatnam, we felt it is unfair for the (LG Polymers) management to appear on video-conference while sitting in Seoul, and have summoned them to Visakhapatnam,” a source associated with the inquiry into the issue told TNIE.
Stating that the management was told to come to Visakhapatnam with its team of experts, sources said pressure is being mounted on the company as the government is taking the issue seriously. “Apart from the four tanks at the factory, we learnt that the company has two tanks of material at the Vizag port, and told them to ship all the material back to where it was brought from,” the source added.
“As the inquiry into the gas leak is ongoing and there are no chances of operating the factory, we cannot let them keep the material, as we have no trust in them following the incident,” the source said. Stating that the temperature of the five remaining tankers is being maintained in the safety zone (20 to 25 degree Celsius), sources said the temperature of the tank from where the gas leaked was brought down to 80 degree Celsius by Saturday evening. Though the temperature should be 20 degree Celsius as per the norms, anything below 100 degree Celsius is considered safe as the boiling point of styrene monomer is between 135 and 145 degree Celsius, he added.
Corona tests for victims
As physical distancing norms were violated after the gas leak, victims and others in the region will be tested for coronavirus within the next two weeks, said Andhra Medical College principal Dr PV Sudhakar