Cabinet Secretary takes stock of Vizag gas leak incident

New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) The Andra Pradesh government on Friday said that all efforts are being made to prevent any further toxic emissions from the tanks of a plant in Vishakapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh.

On Thursday, a leak of chemical vapour from LG Polymers on the outskirts of the coastal city killed 11 people and over 350 people who inhaled the toxic gas are in the hospital.

Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh briefed the National Crisis Management Committee on the ground situation as well as the actions taken by them after the incident to evacuate people and to contain the leakage in the plant.

The Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh joined the meeting through video conferencing along with officials of the Vishakhapatnam district.

The committee, under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary, Rajiv Gauba met for the second successive day to review the situation arising out of the gas leak.

During the video conference, issues related to the long-term impact of the gas on health and on the quality of water and air were also discussed.

The Cabinet Secretary took stock of the current situation, preparedness, rescue and relief operations and directed that all assistance, as maybe required by the state, be provided to mitigate the situation.

Consultations between national and international experts on chemical safety and industrial processes and the officials on site would be carried out through video conferencing, and a team of such experts would also be flown in as per requirements.

Similar consultations between medical experts would also be arranged on the medical protocol to be followed. Requirement of assistance by way of dispatch of inhibitor chemicals is also to be ensured.

Secretaries of Ministries of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chemicals and Petrochemicals and Pharmaceuticals, DGs of NDRF and Health Services, Director of AIIMS and officers from MHA and Central Pollution Control Board were present in the meeting.

–IANS

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