The survivors of LG Polymers styrene monomer leak incident still live under fear and many are yet to recover from the trauma, even after two years of the incident.
On May 7, 2020, Styrene monomer vaporised due to intense heat and leaked out of a storage tank vent in the LG Polymers plant located in R. R. Venkatapuram in Visakhapatnam city. The incident happened at around 3 a.m., when people of the city were in deep slumber, primarily affecting the five neighbouring villages of R. R. Venkatapuram, Padmapuram, B. C. Colony, Gopalapatnam and Kamparapalem.
About 12 persons had died, more than 2,000 were affected and about a 1,000 needed hospitalisation. As per a survey conducted by Alluri Sitharamaraju Vignana Kendram and Research Centre, till date more than 30% of the residents in the five villages suffer from anxiety and some psychological issue.
