LG Polymers, Visakhapatnam: the styrene gas leak

In the early hours of 7 May 2020, styrene vapour leaked from the LG Polymers India plant at R.R. Venkatapuram village in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The company is South Korean-owned. Villages within about five kilometres were affected. At least 11 people died, and about 1,000 people were exposed, many with breathing problems.

The National Green Tribunal took up the case on its own. It imposed an interim penalty of ₹50 crore, to be used for compensation and environmental restoration, and later held that the company had "absolute liability" for the loss of life and harm to public health. The tribunal found that the plant had been allowed to operate without the required statutory clearances, and asked the state's Chief Secretary to act against those responsible for that failure.

It set up committees to assess final compensation and prepare a restoration plan, and asked the Environment Ministry to form an expert committee on better monitoring of facilities that handle hazardous chemicals. Criminal and other legal proceedings continued separately.

• Operation without all required environmental clearances.
• A plant storing hazardous chemicals close to densely populated villages.
• Weak regulatory monitoring of hazardous chemical facilities, which the tribunal itself pointed to.
• For investors in the parent, little public information on the safety systems of overseas subsidiaries.

• Process safety at chemical plants is a material ESG issue: one failure can cause deaths, plant closure, penalties and lasting damage to reputation.
• Indian law applies absolute liability to hazardous industries: the company is liable for harm whether or not it was negligent.
• Check environmental clearance status and regulator orders, not just safety policies.
• Community proximity raises both the human cost and the financial cost of an accident.