BHOPAL GAS

TRAGEDY
CASE PRESENTATION
VENUGOPAL SHAH (S3) AND SHANTANU GAURH (S4)

INTRODUCTION

The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy,

was a gas leak incident in India, considered the world's worst
industrial disaster.

It occurred on the night of 23 December 1984 at the Union

Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya
Pradesh. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl
isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals. The toxic substance
made its way into and around the shanty towns located near the
plant.

Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was
2,259. The government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787
deaths related to the gas release. A government affidavit in 2006 stated
that the leak caused 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial
injuries and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling
injuries. Others estimate that 8,000 died within two weeks, and another
8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases.

The cause of the disaster remains under debate. The Indian government
and local activists argue that slack management and deferred maintenance
created a situation where routine pipe maintenance caused a backflow of
water into a MIC tank triggering the disaster. Union Carbide Corporation
(UCC) contends water entered the tank through an act of sabotage.

SOME FACTS

1. From 1982-84, Bhopal based journalist Rajkumar Keswani

published four articles (Please Save This City, Bhopal Sitting On
Top Of A Volcano, If You Dont Understand This Youll Be Wiped
Out & Bhopal On Brink Of Disaster) warning people about the
Dangers.

2. In 1999, reports found that the mercury levels when the gas
leak took place were between 20,000 to 6 million.

The Government recorded 5,295 deaths while activists claim that

25,000 people have died from the aftermath in the following
years.

The next generation of children are born with conditions like brain
damage, twisted limbs and musculoskeletal disorders.

The cooling system of tanks were non-operational, tower of

neutralization of gases when theres over pressure was non-functional
and the turn needed to burn gases in the event of over pressure was
non-operational when the gas leak took place.

Activists have proved that since the site wasnt cleaned; the
groundwater so extracted has toxic chemical waste making the water
contaminated for more than 20,000 people in the area.

In 2007, 1,029,517 cases were registered and decided. Cases awarded were
5,74,304 while 4,55,213 were rejected. Total compensation awarded was US
$250 million.

The main accused Warren Anderson was arrested and released on bail of
$2100 by Madhya Pradesh police. He was flown out of the country in a
Government place.

More than 2000 animals were dead from the effect of the gas and were
disposed of all together in the nearby river.

In 2009, Narains Organization made a report stating that the found samples
from around the site contained chlorinated benzene compounds and
organochlorine pesticides which were 561 times higher than the national
standard.

CASE ANALYSIS
Background:

A large numbers of subjects were exposed to the aerosol of

methyl isocyanate (MIC) during Bhopal gas disaster and lung was
one of the most commonly affected organs. The aim of the
present study was to analyze retrospectively the lung function
abnormalities among the surviving MIC exposed population (gas
victims) and to compare it with the non-MIC exposed (non gas
exposed) population.

Methods:

The data of both gas victims and non gas exposed population
who attended the Bhopal Memorial Hospital & Research Centre
for evaluation of their respiratory complaints from August 2001
to December 2009, were retrospectively evaluated and
compared.

Results:

A total 4782 gas victims and 1190 non gas exposed individuals performed
spirometry during the study period. Among the gas victims, obstructive
pattern was the commonest (50.8%) spirometric abnormality followed by
restrictive pattern (13.3%).

The increased relative risk of developing restrictive abnormality among gas

victims was observed in 20-29 yr age group only (adjusted relative risk:
2.94, P<0.001).

Male gas victims were more affected by severe airflow obstruction than
females and the overall increased relative risk (1.33 to 1.45, P<0.001) of
developing obstructive pattern among gas victims was observed.

Interpretation & conclusions:

The present study showed that the relative risk for pulmonary
function abnormalities in gas victims was significantly more
among those who were young at the time of disaster.

Increased smoking habit among gas victims might have played

an additive effect on predominance of obstructive pattern in
spirometry.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

LEARNINGS, POINTS TO REMEMBER

AND LESSONS FOR FUTURE

The first and foremost step that needs to be taken to prevent a

disaster of such a magnitude in the future is that during the
signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the
Company and the Government, it should be made clear to the
company concerned that incase any mishap occurs then the
responsibility will be bared by the company concerned if there is
any security lapse on their part and it should also be made clear
that incase an incident does occur then the company should pay
at least half of the compensation to the aggrieved people and the
govt. with which they signed the memorandum of understanding.

The next point that has to be kept in mind is that when the plant
is built at that time the locals should be informed of the escape
routes possible in case a disaster does take place and it is here
that the role of the newly formed Disaster Management
Committee comes into play. They should work together with the
company management and then spread awareness regarding the
possible escape routes.

The last but not the least important point is that there should be
some kind of witness protection act so that even if there is
political or any other kind of pressure from the company then
they are not forced to change their point of view leading to the
escape of the culprits as has happened with many cases
including this one.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.youthkiawaaz.com/

www.wikipedia.org

www.academia.edu

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

www.youtube.com

THANK YOU

Be sure to watch the movie

Venugopal Shah

Shantanu Gaurh