Vizag gas leak: Company would be asked to explain, says AP Industries Minister

Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister M Goutham Reddy on Thursday said the state government is airlifting 500 kg of inhibitors as a foolproof safety measure to neutralize the chemical substances in the Visakhapatnam gas leak incident.

The company would be asked to explain what went wrong, even as the leak was contained within an hour, he said.

Though the Minister had earlier said the government was airlifting 500 tons of inhibitors, his office later clarified it was 500 kg.

The substance in one of the storage tanks became vapours due to heat and leaked and not because the plant was running, he said.

"Immediately after the leak what we have done is, we have neutralised that compound at that time itself.

We applied inhibitors and neutralised that liquid compound," Reddy, who was in Hyderabad, told PTI, when asked about the government's response.

The liquid compound converted into vapours and leaked through one of the chimneys, he added.

The administration responded immediately after receiving information about the incident.

The minister said inhibitors were used to neutralise the impact of the leak and that more of them were being sourced.

The administration is taking precautionary measures like watering the entire area.

Such industries which fall under 'red' category have to maintain safety protocols 24x7 as they deal with hazardous chemicals and materials, he said.

The government has laid out norms for such industries to be doubly careful against contamination of air, soil and towards value of life and environment, according to him.

The management should have been proactive in ensuring that such incidents do not happen and the company will be asked to explain to the government about the leak, he said.

The state government is also in touch with the Korean embassy, he added.

The LG Polymers unit was supposed to reopen post-lockdown on Thursday.

"We are trying to reach out to the top management of the (South Korean) company...our immediate priority is to arrest the leak and ensure proper medicare to the affected people," the minister had earlier said.

Meanwhile, a senior official said inhibitors were being used to neutralise the vapours.

"Slowly the vapours are reducing. It was not arrested fully. They are using neutralisers such as TBC (4-tert- Butylcatechol (TBC)," Joint Chief Inspector of Factories, Visakhapatnam, J Siva Sankar Reddy told PTI.

A major early morning chemical leak from a polymer plant near Visakhapatnam impacted villages in a five-km radius, leaving eight people dead and scores of citizens suffering from breathlessness and other problems, as the AP government ordered a probe into the issue.