Gas leaked from a chemical plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of May 7 and quickly spread to villages in a five-kilometre radius, killing at least 11 people and impacting about 1,000, many collapsing to the ground as they tried to escape the toxic vapours. 

Hours after the styrene gas leak around 2.30am from the multinational LG Polymers Plant at R.R. Venkatapuram village, scores of people could be seen lying unconscious on sidewalks, near ditches and on the road, raising fears of a major industrial disaster. 

State Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said the LG Polymers unit was supposed to reopen post-lockdown on May 7. As much as 1,800 tonnes of styrene is said to have been in the storage tank when the leakage happened. 

What is styrene?

Styrene is used predominantly in the production of polystyrene plastics, fibreglass, rubber and latex. Styrene is also used as an intermediate in the synthesis of materials used for ion exchange resins and to produce copolymers.

Styrene is a colorless liquid that has a sweet smell. The chemical formula for styrene is C8H8.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that acute (short-term) exposure to styrene in humans results in mucous membrane,  eye irritation and gastrointestinal effects. Chronic (long-term) exposure to styrene in humans results in effects on the central nervous system (CNS), such as headache, fatigue, weakness, depression, hearing loss and peripheral neuropathy. 

Human studies are inconclusive on the reproductive and developmental effects of styrene. Several studies did not report an increase in developmental effects in women who worked in the plastics industry, while an increased frequency of spontaneous abortions and decreased frequency of births were reported in another study.  

Several epidemiologic studies suggest there may be an association between styrene exposure and an increased risk of leukemia and lymphoma. However, the evidence is inconclusive due to confounding factors.

UN chief calls for probe

Among the dead were two children, aged six and nine, a first year medical student and two people who fell into a well while fleeing the vapours from the plant, getting ready to reopen after the lockdown. 

As rescue officers and police personnel rushed to take people to hospital and revive them, many people could be seen gasping for breath as they staggered their way to safety, dazed and disoriented. Some tried to walk but fell to the ground in a faint.

The gas leak needs to be fully investigated by local authorities, a spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said. “We obviously send our condolences to the victims and hope for quick recovery to those who have been impacted. And I think these kinds of incidents need to be fully investigated by the local authorities,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy has ordered a probe into the matter, state DGP D. Gautam Sawang said.

South Korean firm LG Chem, which operates the plant, said it is cooperating with Indian authorities to help residents and employees.

The grim scenes recalled the Bhopal gas leak, the world’s worst industrial disaster in which more than 3,000 people were killed and lakhs affected when methyl isocyanate gas leaked out from a Union Carbide plant on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984.

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