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

Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister M Goutham Reddy on Thursday said the state government is airlifting 500 tons of inhibitors, as a foolproof safety measure, to neutralize the chemical substances in the Visakhapatnam gas leak incident and that the company would be asked to explain what went wrong. The leak was contained within an hour, he said. Maintaining that the administration was taking all precautionary steps, the minister said the factory was not being operated, but personnel were trying to get it to readiness.

The substance in one of the storage tanks became vapours due to heat and got leaked and not because they were running the plant, he said. "Immediately after the leak what we have done is, we have neutralized that compound at that time itself.

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We applied inhibitors and neutralized 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 thechimneys, he said.

The administration responded immediately after receiving information about the incident, he said.

"We had 1500 tons of inhibitors.We pumped it and neutralized it.But, to make it foolproof further more, we are airlifting 500 tons.. We will fill the whole factory with this inhibitors," Reddy said.

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 incidents do not happen and the company will be asked to explain to the government about the incident, 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 earlier said. "The officials are using inhibitors 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 earlier 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.