Andhra Pradesh: two years after styrene gas leak at LG Polymers, survivors still live in fear
The Hindu
Experts flag lack of a mechanism to monitor the health of the affected people
The survivors of styrene monomer leak on the premises of LG Polymers in the city still live in fear, and many are yet to recover from the trauma even two years after the incident.
On May 7, 2020, styrene monomer turned into vapor due to intense heat and leaked out of a storage tank vent in the plant located at R.R. Venkatapuram in the city.
The gas leaked at around 3 a.m. when people were fast asleep and spread across the city, primarily affecting five villages in the vicinity of the company – R.R. Venkatapuram, Padmapuram, BC Colony, Gopalapatnam, and Kamparapalem.
The incident had claimed the lives of 12 persons. While 1,000 people had to be hospitalised, another 2,000 were affected.
As per a survey conducted by the Alluri Sitharamaraju Vignana Kendram and Research Centre (ASVKRC), over 30% of the residents in the five villages still suffer from anxiety and some psychological issues.
What concerns the environmentalists and medical experts is that the health monitoring system has taken a backseat.
“Styrene is possibly carcinogenic and, if inhaled in good quantity or exposed to a longer time, can lead to a number of health issues related to neurological, psychological, skin, eye or lungs,” says D. Raghunadha Rao, Chief Medical Oncologist at KIMS-ICON Hospital.
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