A LONG AND TOXIC SHADOW

Dark memories of Bhopal gas tragedy came first to our minds when news of gas leak from a chemical plant at Visakhapatnam reached us. At a time when the nation is struggling to cope with COVID-19, such tragedy was least expected to hit people of Visakhapatnam. Around 1,000 people living in the 3-4 km vicinity of that plant will be worst affected and many of them who are in a critical may not survive from this dangerous gas. Since 1997, when LG took over this company, it was running fine and regular audits would have taken place The question here is whether restarting the plant after 44 days of lockdown would not merit a thorough safety audit?. It is known that Styrene has to be stored under 20 degrees Celsius to keep it stable. During the 44 days of lockdown period during which this company was shut, it is possible that some gas accumulated at the ceiling of the storage tank and its temperature rose beyond 20 degrees. It is also possible that subsequently, the Styrene started vaporizing and escaped. But all this is simple speculation and the exact cause for this tragedy and the precise sequence of events can only be ascertained post inquiry. But even if things are unclear at the moment, one thing is absolutely certain. The CEO of LG Chemicals must not escape scrutiny and culpability in this tragic case. We live in a world where higher-ups, more often than not, escape major culpability charges in industrial accidents through influence and use of legal loopholes. If responsibility and power lie with the person at the top of the pyramid, then this is where we must rest the blame for this tragedy as well. It is high time for the law to take its course without any bias with regard to industrial safety standards and we must put a stop to all these chemical accidents resulting from cost-cutting and laxness.

..... BAL GOVIND, NOIDA via email