The Indian government is amending and updating some of its existing chemicals rules to prevent accidents following the styrene gas leak in Andhra Pradesh state on 7 May.
The changes would attempt to plug regulatory loopholes exposed as plants readied to resume operations ahead of a relaxation in the nationwide coronavirus Covid-19 lockdown.
It will update and amend two rules that were framed soon after the Bhopal gas disaster in 1984:
- the Manufacture, Storage, Import of Hazardous Chemicals 1989 (MSIHC) Rules, which govern industrial chemicals; and
- the Chemical Accident (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response [CAEPPR]), 1996 Rules.
According to an official from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), one amendment will be what services are considered ‘essential’ in a time of national emergency.
While the government has designated some manufacturing plants essential, such as those for pharmaceuticals, this has not been the case for the chemicals or petrochemicals industry. The revised rules would allow some chemical plants to continue to operate under emergency situations.
Another change would ensure that, if plants are not in operation, chemicals, raw materials and hazardous chemicals used in them must not be left unchecked and unmonitored at sites.
They will also seek to establish firming monitoring guidelines and protocols for the process of shutting down chemical plants or for resuming operations.
Expedited action
The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, which sits under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, has finalised a draft in consultation with other ministries. Because the changes do not require parliamentary approval, the draft is already before the Union Cabinet – India’s supreme decision-making body. If the Cabinet approves it, the changes will be officially notified and come into effect, the MoEFCC official told Chemical Watch.
He could not provide a definitive timeline for the completion of the process because of limited manpower at government offices and ministries during the lockdown, but he insisted it would be done "at the earliest" opportunity.
"The amendments ... aim to minimise the risk of accidents and also to establish standard response protocols," the official said.
He added that the MoEFCC made attempts to amend and upgrade both the MSIHC and the CAEPPR rules in 2016, but this did not progress because the draft rules were forwarded to an expert committee, which failed to submit its recommendations.
"The changes have become more urgent and critical in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the national lockdown, when chemical industries have had to shut down and resume operations. This needs standardised protocols and monitoring," he said.
The move comes as the government works to finalise an overarching chemicals law that will eventually supersede both the MSIHC and CAEPPR rules.
Nationwide warning
As the country continues to relax its lockdown, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued an advisory to their state counterparts on the safety advice they should issue to companies before restarting plants.
The CPCB is advising that:
- all units undertaken proper safety and hazard audits before resuming operations;
- state boards direct all units that manufacture, store or import hazardous chemicals to resume operations after the lockdown only after taking adequate and necessary steps to prevent any leaks or accidents;
- companies take utmost care in handling hazardous chemicals with trained manpower; and
- companies ensure total compliance with the MSIHC and CAEPPR rules.