The Visakhapatnam gas leak, also referred to as the Vizag gas leak, was an industrial

accident that occurred at the LG Polymers chemical plant in the R. R. Venkatapuram village of

the Gopalapatnam neighbourhood, located at the outskirts of Visakhapatnam, Andhra
Pradesh, India, during the early morning of 7 May 2020.

The plant manufactures polystyrene, co-polymer products,[4] and engineering plastic compounds.

The South Korean parent company, LG Chem, said in its May 2019 affidavit, a part of an application
for environment clearance, that the company did not have a legitimate environmental clearance
issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), after receiving
an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), substantiating the produced quantity and for continuing
operations. However, LG Chem spokesperson Choi Sang-kyu told the Associated Press (AP) that
the company had followed Indian laws and operated based on the officials' guidelines at the state
and federal level. 

The plant was re-opened on 7 May 2020 following the nationwide lockdown implemented as a

response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] The plant stored 2,000 metric tons (1,968 long tons; 2,205
short tons) of styrene in tanks, which were left unattended.[13][14] Styrene monomer must be stored
between 20–22 °C (68–72 °F) because higher temperatures result in rapid vaporization.[15] It is
believed that a computer glitch in the factory's cooling system allowed temperatures in the storage
tanks to exceed safe levels, causing the styrene to vaporize.[16] Between 2:30 a.m. and 3:00 a.m.,
when maintenance activity was in progress, the gas leaked from the plant and spread to nearby
villages

13 fatalties and 1000 exposed to gas