Long-term health impact of styrene less: AIIMS director

Experts rule out parallels between Bhopal gas leak, Vizag

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 7

Experts today ruled out parallels between Bhopal gas leak and Visakhapatnam tragedy saying there was no evidence to suggest long-term health impact of styrene, the compound that leaked today.

“Chances of long-term impact of styrene are less because this compound gets flushed out of the body after metabolising. This is an acute exposure rather than a chronic exposure. We will have to follow up and see, but as of now data doesn’t suggest a significant long-term impact,” Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi, said when asked if styrene could leave long-term impacts as seen after methyl isocynate gas leak in Bhopal.

Guleria, who is leading the medical response to Andhra Pradesh gas leak, said styrene was an alkaline benzene compound which could impact the human body at two levels depending on the degree of exposure — respiratory distress and damage to the central nervous system mainly the brain. He said benzene illness by and large was not universally fatal.

“In most people there is good recovery. The compound mostly irritates the respiratory airways. Those with very close exposure can have severe effects. In such cases styrene can lead to coma, pulmonary edema and sometimes irregular heart beat. The gas does not stay for a very long time. Avoiding exposure is the best. Eyes can be washed to avoid irritation and skin can be cleaned with absorbents like towels to remove styrene deposition,” Guleria said.

He said there was no definitive medicine to reverse the effect of styrene.

“So far as treatment goes, there is no specific antidote for styrene compound and treatment is mainly supportive. People need to be removed from the contaminated areas, which has been done. Clothes need to be removed as they could be contaminated. Exposed eyes should be washed so also the skin. All affected people have to be monitored for breathing difficulty and drowsiness as styrene can affect both lungs and brain,” Guleria added.

Medically, he said, the main treatment was to watch out for breathing difficulty in airway management.

Some affected individuals could need a ventilator while many would just require oxygen therapy.

“We have to monitor the oxygen, respiratory rate and CNS depression of patients. In case of acute lung injury, steroids have also been given as per data,” he said.

Styrene can cause harm to humans by inhalation and ingestion and impacts the skin and eyes. Medical symptoms include irritation in the throat and airways, which can lead to breathing difficulties, wheezing sound in the chest. Absorption of styrene can cause central nervous system depression by impacting the brain leading to headache, nausea, fatigue and unsteady gait as was seen today with many people falling unconscious.