HPC finds fault with LG company of Visakhapatnam for gas leak, submits report to CM

The High Power committee instated to probe extensively into unfortunate Vizag gas leak has submitted a comprehensive 4000 page report to the Hon’ble CM , YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The High Power committee instated to probe extensively into unfortunate ‘ Vizag gas leak’ has submitted a comprehensive 4000 ( including annexures ) page report to the Hon’ble CM , YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Members of the committee

– Neerabh Kumar Prasad , Chairman , Special CS EFS & T , GoAP
– Karikal Valaven, Special CS Industry and Commerce , GoAP
– V.Vinay Chand , Collector , Visakhapatnam.

The high power company said, “The accident occured due to uncontrolled Styrene vapour release from the M6 tank , qualifies as a major accident as per the definition under MSIHC rules”.

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Uncontrolled styrene vapor release from the N6 tank of LG polymers
Major accident – MHIC rules

The temperature in the tank rose substantially. The rise in the temperature caused the styrene liquid to eventually vaporize and increase the pressure; it was a tank with small vents.

ROOT CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT

– Poor design of the tank
– Inadequate refrigeration and faulty cooling system
– Absence of circulation and mixing systems
– Inadequate measures and parameters
-Poor safety protocol
-Poor safety awareness
– Inadequate risk assessment response
-Poor process safety management system
– Slackness of Management
– Insufficient knowledge among staff
– Insufficient knowledge of the chemical properties of styrene, especially during storage conditions
– Total breakdown of the emergency response of the procedures
– The safety protocol was not followed by the authorities during the lockdown period

Apart from the above mentioned conclusions, the committee has also observed that the alarm system was not used despite there being a total of 36 activation points , including one at the factory gate. Using the alarm could’ve alerted the people in the vicinity.

– The committee also observed that the factory has absolutely no stocks of inhibitors and negligible stocks of terminators which could’ve been used to minimise the impact of the accident if not neutralise it.

The Hon’ble accepted the report submitted by the Chairman and ordered the following :

– Report should be placed in public domain for people to access
– Inform respective authorities to take necessary legal action against those responsible under relevant sections.

IMPORTANT : The committee had invited citizens to pose questions. Over 1200 queries , 180 calls and 250 emails were received by the committee. The committed hereby informed the CM that almost all the question which could be answered at this point of time have been answered with an exception of questions which only could be answered in the long run and depend of variables.

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