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Envirotrends Regulatory Update#102 of 2020 - CPCBs Letter Regarding Precautions To Be Followed by Industries

The CPCB issued a letter directing SPCBs and PCCs to ensure industrial units take safety precautions before resuming operations after COVID-19 lockdown, including hazard audits and maintaining pollution control equipment. The letter follows a styrene gas leak at an LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam that killed 11 people.

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Rohit Shukla
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55 views2 pages

Envirotrends Regulatory Update#102 of 2020 - CPCBs Letter Regarding Precautions To Be Followed by Industries

The CPCB issued a letter directing SPCBs and PCCs to ensure industrial units take safety precautions before resuming operations after COVID-19 lockdown, including hazard audits and maintaining pollution control equipment. The letter follows a styrene gas leak at an LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam that killed 11 people.

Uploaded by

Rohit Shukla
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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REGULATORY UPDATE - No.

102: 2020
SUBSCRIPTION FORM

ENVIRONMENT HEALTH & SAFETY SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE CLIMATE CHANGE SUSTAINABILITY

Envirotrends
…the regulatory news & documentation services

CENTRAL POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD’S LETTER REGARDING


SAFETY PRECAUTIONS TO BE UNDERTAKEN BEFORE RESUMING
INDUSTRIAL OPERATIONS AFTER COVID-19 LOCKDOWN
Background: On 7th May 2020, styrene gas1 has leaked from a chemical plant owned by the South
Korean company LG Polymers India Pvt. Ltd. in Visakhapatnam (Vizag), Andhra Pradesh. The
leaked gas killed 11 people and sickened over a 1,000 and also affected flora and fauna in the area.
Several reports and media have compared this incident with the Bhopal gas leak of 1984 but the
incidents differ in their intensity and casualties. However, the incident reminds us to strengthen
India’s Legislative framework for dealing with such industrial accidents.

Further, in times when India is already dealing with COVID-19 pandemic and many Industries/
Facilities/Factories are not operational due to the nationwide lockdown, such incidents worsen the
situation and call for stringent measures and proper safety precautions that should be enforced upon
industrial entities to avoid such recurrences in future.

Now, in this regard, the Central Pollution Control Board, through its Letter#B-29014/IPC-I /
MSIHC/2020 dated 8th May 2020, directs all the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution
Control Committees (PCCs) to ensure compliance of the following:

1. A proper safety and hazard audit should be undertaken by all Units before resuming
operation. The SPCB/PCCs shall direct all the Units that manufacture, store or import
hazardous chemicals to resume their operations after COVID 19 lockdown, only after they
have taken adequate and necessary steps to prevent the occurrence of any chemical
leakage/accident.
2. The SPCBs/PCCs shall ensure that pollution control equipment, connectivity of Online
Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems with CPCB/SPCB servers, Effluent Treatment
Plants including safety equipment and it machineries shall be kept in good operable
conditions before resuming operation in present COVID- 19 situation.
3. The SPCBs/PCCs shall ensure that all the Units shall take utmost care in handling hazardous
chemical by using trained manpower.
4. The SPCBs/PCCs shall closely monitor the situation and ensure that the environmental
Norms are not violated by any Unit.
5. The SPCBs/PCCs will direct all such Units to ensure safety of workers and residents in
vicinity.
6. The SPCBs/PCCs shall ensure that any Unit involved in the Manufacture, Storage and
Import of Hazardous Chemicals shall comply with the stipulated provisions of the

1 Styrene is a chemical compound used to manufacture plastic and rubber. It is toxic to the brain and lungs. Acute exposure to styrene
gas causes dizziness, nausea, vomiting and breathlessness.
www.envirotrends.net MAY 2020 1
REGULATORY UPDATE - No. 102: 2020
SUBSCRIPTION FORM
Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules 19892 and the Chemical Accidents
(Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules 19963 without fail.

If you are interested to know more about specific details provided in the Original Letter, please refer
to the following link for your kind information:
https://cpcb.nic.in/openpdffile.php?id=TGF0ZXN0RmlsZS8yOTRfMTU4ODkzODk1OF9tZWRpY
XBob3RvMTAyNzcuUERG

If you have any queries or need any clarifications or more information on the above,
Please contact our EHS Helpline on +91-11-2627 1433
OR +91-11- 4052 5413 OR Please send query to [email protected]

…striving for Excellence in Service, Quality and Professionalism

2 For more information, please refer to the following link: https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/96640/114246/F-


1994432325/IND96640.pdf.
3 For more information, please refer to the following link: https://parivesh.nic.in/writereaddata/ENV/HSM/rule3.pdf.

www.envirotrends.net MAY 2020 2

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