LG Chem vice chairman may visit India to deal with gas leak aftermath

South Korean chemical and battery firm LG Chem said Sunday that the company is considering ways to help the victims of the recent gas leak in India, including a visit by its vice chairman to oversee the efforts.

After a gas leak at the LG Polymers plant in southern India on Thursday, which left 12 dead and around 1,000 local residents hospitalized, LG Chem has formed a special task force, promising support for victims and bereaved families.

“For a thorough investigation and victim support, LG Chem is considering every possible measure including Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol’s visit to India to facilitate responsible containment of the situation,” a company official said.

The accident occurred at around 3:30 a.m. Thursday when vaporized styrene from the LG Polymers plant in the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh state poisoned neighborhood residents in their sleep, causing nausea, dizziness and death, according to news reports.

The next day, India’s National Green Tribunal directed LG Polymers India to deposit 500 million Indian rupees ($6.6 million) to partly cover the damage caused by the gas leak, according to the Hindu, an Indian English-language newspaper.

LG Chem, which has three plants in India, two in New Delhi and one in Visakhapatnam, declined to say whether it is planning to shut down the facility where the accident occurred or move it to another region. However, it said there has been no official request from the Indian government to close down the facility indefinitely.

“LG Chem will focus on containing the situation first as it is our priority and lay out plans on what to do with the facility later,” the company official said.

Though the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India said LG Polymers began operating its facilities before receiving the environmental clearance it applied for in March last year, LG Chem denied any wrongdoing.

“LG Chem is not required to receive the environmental clearance. The environmental clearance policy, which was introduced in 2006, mandates a company to acquire the clearance under three situations: when a plant expands, when its generation capacity exceeds 500 megawatts and when it manufactures a different product. The three rules do not apply for LG Chem,” the company official said.

“LG Chem had already acquired approvals for installment and operation of its facilities before 2006, so it didn’t need the clearance. However, the company applied for it because the Indian government requested companies to voluntarily register for environmental clearance in 2018. The Indian government is still reviewing LG Chem’s application.”

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)