After the Deadly Gas leak, LG Polymers Ordered to Ship Stored SM Volumes Out of India

South Korean LG Chem’s Indian subsidiary, LG Polymers, was ordered to immediately release its stored Styrene Monomer (SM) volumes out of its Visakhapatnam plant in Andhra Pradesh which recently made headlines due to a toxic Styrene gas leak at its plant that killed 12 people and hospitalized 400 people on 7^th of this month. The Andhra Pradesh government wanted to ensure that all the stored cargoes of the key feedstock for the company's 118 KTPA Polystyrene (PS) plant are removed from the site within three to four days starting 11^th May. As per the recent interviews by a Visakhapatnam’s district Collector V Vinay Chand, the plant has shipped about 8,000 tonnes of Styrene on Monday and another slot of container vessel will carry the remaining 5,000 in the next couple of days. The decision was taken after National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) found out that the plant did not meet required safety and technical standards. It is being said that the company may send the chemical back to its parent in South Korea. To investigate into the prime cause of the deadly gas leak, the South Korean giant has sent a team of eight delegates on Wednesday led by its petrochemicals business head. The company is assuring brief support measures to the affected families and schedule a meeting with Indian government officials.