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Submitted by: Lawrence Reaves
The Bhopal Gas Tragedy is said by many to be the most severe industrial catastrophe to ever occur. On the night of December 2nd and morning of December 3rd 1984 the Union Carbide India Limited Pesticide plant leaked a dangerous combination of methyl isocyante and other gases from its grounds. The plant is located in the highly populated city of Bhopal Madhya Pradesh, India so the leak exposed hundreds of thousands of people to the sometimes deadly gas.
Many factors are said to have led to the disaster. After the tragedy it was reported by some workers that they were regularly punished for refusing to work outside the safety regulations provided by plant designers. The practice of filling containers well beyond their suggested limits with volatile MIC was also a major factor. Poor general maintenance and a lack of disaster planning helped to increase the negative impact of the initial problem. These factors all lead to water entering a large tank where 42 tons of MIC was being stored. When water mixes with MIC it causes an exothermic reaction. The rising temperature inside the large tank caused venting to occur during which the highly toxic gases were released. Strong winds helped to spread the gas across the city.
Serious cut backs in staffing at the plant lead to the deteriorating conditions. Only half the number of staff required to maintain the MIC tanks were employed at the time of the accident. Also the regular instrument readings were taken only every two hours instead of on the hour as required by the plants operating rules. The night of the accident there was no maintenance supervisor scheduled because the management had decided to save money on overnight shifts.
After the investigation showed that the plant had fallen into disrepair before the tragedy the list of problems was published. The reports showed that the MIC tank alarms that should have indicated rising temperatures had not been operational for nearly four years. UCC, the plants operating company, admitted that most of the safety systems required for safe operations were broken or not in use on the night of the accident. In addition, the management of the plant reported that in an attempt to save money on energy costs they were keeping the MIC tanks at a warm 20 degrees Celsius instead of utilizing the full refrigeration to keep them at the recommended 4.5 degrees Celsius.
Immediately following the accident more than 3,000 people lost their lives. Within a few weeks another 8,000 had died due to complications from illnesses caused by the gas. In 2006 the Indian Government signed an affidavit that confirmed 558,125 people sustained some form of illness or injuries as a result of the debilitating gas release.
In 2010 seven plant supervisors and management including the company s former chairman were convicted of causing death by negligence. In India that conviction carries a maximum 2 years in prison and a $2,000 fine. All of the defendants who were convicted were served the maximum sentence. An additional ex-employee was also tried and convicted but died before being given the sentence.
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