Officials also said the five villages which had been evacuated following the leak are now safe for residents to return
The Andhra Pradesh government on May 11 said it would be sending back to South Korea the remaining stock of styrene gas at the LG Polymers factory days after a gas leak at the compound in Vizag killed 12 people.
According to a report by The Indian Express, B Satyanarayana, the Andhra Pradesh minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development, said 13,000 tonnes of styrene will be sent back to LG Chemicals, the owners of LG Polymers.
"The CM suggested during a meeting that the state should be cleared of hazardous units and asked officials to make arrangements to send the remaining stock of styrene at LG Polymers to South Korea," Satyanarayana said.
"About 8,500 tonnes of styrene, which was at a storage facility at the Visakhapatnam port, has already been pumped into a ship. Where the company takes it is their decision, but the styrene came from South Korea, so we have asked the management to take it back," the minister added.
Satyanarayana said the remaining styrene would be taken back in the next few days. Another official in the state government, Industries Minister M Goutham Reddy, said strict action would be taken against the company after the investigation into the leak is completed and a report is submitted by a government-appointed committee.
Reddy also said a statewide drive would be taken up to identify hazardous factories and units across the state.
According to the report, officials also said the five villages which had been evacuated following the leak are now safe for residents to return. The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams have declared them open through verification, according to the newspaper.Special Offer: Subscribe to Moneycontrol PRO’s annual plan for ₹1/- per day for the first year and claim exclusive benefits worth ₹20,000. Coupon code: PRO365
