Centre for Disaster Management and Law, NLUO

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The selected articles of the 1st Article Writing Competition have been published here. Please check it out.

Centre for Disaster Management and Law - NLUO ABOUT US Centre for Disaster Management and Law (CDML) is the research centre of the National Law University Odisha, Cuttack. The Centre was established in the year 2020 with a motive to understand the disaster and laws regulating it. The … Continue reading →

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Finally, the results are out!
Please visit the link for complete list.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QSt81tj5GY_U8LDTNr9e1Q5aPErqwipT/view?usp=sharing
Congratulations to all Participants!

The results of 1st Article Writing Competition on the topic, ' Legal Aspect of Coronavirus Pandemic' will be declared today.
The number of selections has been increased to 20 articles.

Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) for movement of Indian nationals stranded outside the country and of specific persons to travel abroad.

Greetings!
Hope you all are safe and healthy. Due to extension of submission deadline, we have postponed the date of result declaration of NLU ODISHA, Centre for Disaster Management and Law's 1st Article writing competition.
The results will be out on June 18, 2020.

Regards,
Centre for Disaster Management & Law

In a devastating incident today, vast amounts of toxic gas leaked from a chemical factory in Vizag owned by the South Korean JV company LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam casuing the death of atleast ten people as of now and causing illness to above a hundred people. This lethal gas, known as 'Styrene', has affected over hundreds in the 3-mile radius that it rapidly spread to. While rescue operations in the area are ongoing, and the situation is being monitored, here is all you need to know about the toxic compound that has caused this incident.

What is Styrene gas'

Styrene, also known as ethenylbenzene, vinylbenzene, and phenylethene, is an organic compound - a derivative of benzene with the chemical formula C6H5CH=CH2. Styrene is largely colourless and has a rapid evaporation potency. It's oily in nature and can sometimes appear yellowish in colour. The toxic compound produces a sweet smell, however, if present in large amounts, it produces a less pleasant odour.

Side-effects of Styrene gas

Styrene gas is highly toxic and is regarded as a "known carcinogen". The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has described styrene to be "a suspected toxin to the gastrointestinal tract, kidney, and respiratory system, among others"

Immediate effects of inhalation of styrene gas can cause breathing difficulties, nausea and sore eyes. The inhalation affects the respiratory system in a matter of minutes and can cause vomiting, burning sensation and rashes on skin, unconsciousness and can even result in death in a matter of minutes.

Even the ones who manage to overcome lethal exposure of Styrene may have to live with after-effects for life which include subclinical complications like colour vision loss, hearing impairments and dermatitis.

Treatment and precautions

The only way to treat the effects of the gas is to wash the skin and eyes with copious amounts of water and provide breathing support in case of ingestion.

After the gas leak incident in Vizag, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation advised people to use a wet cloth as a mask to cover nose and mouth to prevent inhalation of the gas. The GVMC has also asked its officials to try to reduce the impact of the gas leak by spraying water. Public address systems are being used to ask people to wear masks.
(Source : https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.republicworld.com/amp/india-news/accidents-and-disasters/vizag-gas-leak-what-is-styrene-gas-symptoms-side-effects-and-detail.html)

Major toxic gas leak occurs at the LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Thursday, taking away the lives of at least ten people and caused illness to hundreds in about 20 villages in a five kilometre range around it. Death toll count mount as the condition of several of those hospitalised are reported to be serious.