Interesting, Non Political News

The styrene gas leak at the LG Polymers plant in Andhra Pradesh left 12 dead and hundreds hospitalised. A prelliminary enquriy by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in New Delhi noted that the styrene gas was not being stored at the appropriate temperature and added that the container used to store the gas was old and not properly maintained.

This non-maintenance of the facility resulted in the leakage of 3 tonnes of styrene into the surrounding areas,” the CSE had said in a statement earlier this month.

Two young children, a boy and a girl, are seen lying semi-unconscious on the road. The four-year-old boy is desperately attempting to stand up, but fails, wobbling back and forth until he eventually collapses. In another video, a woman is seen stuck inside a car. Having walked into the car barely conscious, she appears to have collapsed inside. A man rushes her to rescue, breaking the window open. Stumbling out of the car, the visibly weak mother then attempts to lift her son and take him to safety.

These are the harrowing scenes from that fateful morning on May 7 when toxic styrene fumes from the LG Polymers plant in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam left 12 dead and hundreds with neurological effects. The gas leak prompted authorities to evacuate five villages in the vicinity. Many survivors of the deadly gas leak from the South Korean company are recovering at the King George Hospital while some are slowly returning home.

Over a week after the leak, residents are now attempting to piece together the events of that day with the help of the CCTV footage from various houses in the area.

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With just minutes to spare in this year's legislative session, a bill repealing the state's helmet requirement passed out of the Missouri House of Representatives Friday to go to Governor Mike Parson's desk. The bill allows motorcycle riders to ride without a helmet if they're 26-years-old or older. They have to have health insurance or a policy that pays medical benefits, as well as proof of financial responsibility.

Not everyone is thrilled.

"We're disappointed this got through at the very last minute," said Brandon Koch, the Executive Director of the Missouri Insurance Coalition. Koch said the cost of car insurance is likely going to go up if the bill is signed into law, because accidents with a car and motorcycle could be much worse. "When you peel off the helmet, now they could have severe head injuries or brain trauma, which is going to be a lot more expensive," Koch said.

If Governor Parson signs the bill into law, it'll go into effect on August 28.

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Snakebites can be painful and scary. But they may seem like weak nips after the hospital’s billing department sinks their teeth in.

Emergency treatment for a copperhead bite in a 9-year-old Indiana girl last summer cost a jaw-dropping $142,938, according to a report by Kaiser Health News. The bill includes $67,957 for four vials of antivenin. That works out to $16,989.25 for each vial—more than five times the average list price of $3,198. The bill also included $55,577.64 for air-ambulance transportation.

The girl, now 10, was away at summer camp last July, hiking in Illinois. When she went to step over a cluster of rocks on the trail, she got a bite on a toe on her right foot. Her camp counselors suspected it was a copperhead snake that bit her and rushed to get her medical treatment. She arrived at St. Vincent Evansville hospital in Indiana by air ambulance where doctors gave her four vials of an antivenin called CroFab. She was then transferred to Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis for recovery. All in all, she was released within 24 hours of the bite

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When KHN questioned St. Vincent Evansville hospital on its charges for Crofab, the hospital noted that the snake-bitten girl’s family wasn’t on the hook for the bill. Insurance covered the price of the antivenin. And, in the end, the family’s insurer negotiated the $67,957 antivenin bill to $44,092.87.

But, as KHN notes, such outlays by insurers help drive up the price of premiums and healthcare costs overall. The outlet also noted that the hospital has since dropped its charge for Crofab. It's now $5,096.76 per vial, down from the earlier $16,989.25. The price change comes amid the US release of a Mexican antivenin product in October, called Anavip, which has a list price of $1,220 per vial.

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