The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) filed a reply affidavit in the LG Polymers gas leak case in the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Thursday.
The matter was posted for further hearing by Chief Justice J.K. Maheswari and Justice K. Lalitha Kumari to May 29.
Key rules
A senior scientist at the regional office of the MoEFCC in Chennai stated in the affidavit that key responsibilities were assigned to various Central / State government departments under the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989 (MSIHC), and Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules, 1996 (CAEPPR), to prevent major chemical accidents arising from industrial activities, and limiting the effects of such accidents on human health and environment.
To complement the provisions of the above rules, a four-tier Crisis Management System was created at the Central, State, district and local levels, and a Central Crisis Group (CCG) constituted under the chairmanship of the Secretary (Environment, Forest and Climate Change) of the Government of India.
The Red Book
Besides, a CCG Alert System, i.e. Red Book, was brought out in compliance with the above rules. It (the Red Book) contains names, addresses and contact details of Central and State nodal authorities and relevant national agencies/institutions pertaining to chemical (industrial) disaster management.
The affidavit mentioned that the Red Book was hosted on the website of the MoEFCC, and it was last updated in November 2019. A virtual crisis control room was also set up to coordinate with the State authorities during chemical accidents.
Styrene has been recognised as a hazardous chemical and its polymerization process as an ‘industrial activity’.
Among all authorities, the State Chief Inspector of Factories (CIFs) has been designated as the nodal agency in line with the mandatory obligations under the Factories Act, 1948, and Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) was tasked with approving the sites of industrial installations and isolated storages as per the MSIHC.
The PESO and CIFs are expected to ensure preparation of on-site emergency plans, safety reports by the industrial units and implementation of the Standard Operating Procedures.
It was further stated that the unit has the A.P. Pollution Control Board’s Consent to Operate, which is valid up to December 31, 2021, while the company applied for Environmental Clearance (EC) in 2018 under violation category to the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority as it (LG Polymers) falls under the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification of 2006.
The Central Pollution Control Board stated in its report on the gas leak that LG Polymers is an old Category-A industry, and its application for EC under the violation window is under the consideration of the MoEFCC.
