#VizagGasLeakVictims: Risk Of Infertility Problems?

Visakhapatnam’s gas leak incident has killed 12 people and left many more sick for days from the happening. The government already handed over the announced ex-gratia and the affected are given the best possible treatment for now. But, it is not over yet. There seem to be more hidden and longterm effects by the Styrene gas on who inhaled it, according to a genetics expert.

Famous genetics experts Paddaiah stresses the possibility of Styrene affecting the healths of victims in the long term and also that it could have a dangerous impact on fertility in humans. The Styrene gas leakage from LG Polymers is expected to cause large but slow damage to the people who inhaled it, for its poisonous characteristics.

The Styrene gas could impact a healthy person’s immunity, but a comparatively large intake of water reduces its effect. The gas, when inhaled, affects the cell center and chromosomes which could only be known by testing ovaries in women and testes in men. This testing process is called ‘Sister Cromotid Exchange’.

Though it is hard to detect the damage caused in ovaries, the tests on testes in men could lead to the amount of damage done. The testing process for three days can reveal how bad the chromosomes were affected and if they are healthy enough for fertility. These tests also yield to results that can predict the long term genetic damages. Acharya Paddaih opined that there will be severe consequences that may not appear right away but the genetic disturbances are sure to surface in years later.

It was eight decades back when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were attacked with atom bombs and there is infertility issue that has been haunting the people there even today. The same is the case with Bhopal gas tragedy and Chernobyl, as the people in both places have been suffering from strange illnesses. The Hindustan Zinc factory is still affecting the lives of Chukkanivaripalem in Visakhapatnam.