Christoper JSS

Ethics in Bhopal
COMPANY PROFILE
Union Carbide Corporation is a chemical and polymers company with over 2,400
employees. The company possesses some of the industry's most advanced process and
catalyst technologies, and operates some of the most cost-efficient, large-scale production
facilities in the world.
Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more
further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some of these materials are
high-volume commodities, while others are specialty products meeting the needs of smaller
market niches. The end-uses served include paints and coatings, packaging, wire and cable,
household products, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive, textiles, agriculture and oil
and gas.
Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) was a chemical company established in 1934,
eventually expanding to employ 9,000 people working at 14 plants in five divisions.[1] UCIL
was 51% owned by Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 49% by Indian investors
including the Government of India. UCIL produced batteries, carbon products, welding
equipment, plastics, industrial chemicals, pesticides, and marine products.
In 1970 UCIL built a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, which gained worldwide
attention as a result of the Bhopal disaster. On December 3, 1984, a release of Methyl
Isocyanate (MIC) gas immediately killed about three thousand people and lead to the death of
more than fifteen thousands in subsequent weeks and months. The death rate is currently
about 2 or 3 people per week. At the time of the disaster UCIL was ranked twenty-first in size
among companies operating in India. It had revenues of Rs 2 billion (then equivalent to
US$170 million). In November 1994, UCC completed the sale of its interest in UCIL to
McLeod Russel Ltd. of Calcutta. UCIL was subsequently renamed Eveready Industries India
Ltd.

Christoper JSS

CHRONOLOGY OF THE EVENT

Indian market for fertilizers and pesticides is expanding as government adopts a range
of policies, including efforts to increase yields and reduce post-harvest losses of crops to
pests, to make India self-sufficient in food. UCIL establishes a new Agricultural Products
Division in India to take advantage from that growing. Government of India approves UCIL

Christoper JSS

plans to build fertilizer/pesticide formulation plant in Bhopal. At that time, the area around
plant is relatively unpopulated. UCIL begins develop a method of producing alpha-napthol at
large scale so that UCIL can anticipate if suddenly demands are increasing, but later UCIL
reconsidering that its plan turns out to be more challenging than it anticipated.
In 1973, Indian Government approves UCC-UCIL Design Transfer Agreement and
Technical Services Agreement under which UCC will provide the basic process design of a
plant capable of producing SEVIN and training for Indian operators of plant. Engineers
employed by UCIL who will be involved in plant design, visit UCC Technical Center (West
Virginia) to learn US plant specifications and start process of adapting them to Indias
conditions. At 1975, new master plan for City of Bhopal establishes a separate district for
hazardous industry in an open area 15 miles from center of town. Unfortunately, Madhya
Pradesh Town and Country Planning Board classifies UCIL plant as general industry so the
plant can stay in its established location rather than move to the hazardous industry zone.
In 1978, UCIL decided to shift Bhopal plant to MIC process to produce SEVIN
because UCC regarded this process as more economical and efficient. When pre-startup
inspection was held, UCC engineers sent to India reported multiple deficiencies in safety
measures at Bhopal plant. They also advise UCIL management of need to develop
contingency plan for alerting and evacuating nearby population in event of major gas leak.
UCIL management reports it had developed such plans, but later city and state government
officials claimed that they were not aware of any such plans.
In 1981, UCC wants UCIL to import MIC from UCC plant in West Virginia (because
the variable costs to produce it in India higher than in US) but Government of India refuses
because it wants the making of MIC undertaken in India. In addition, Bhopal plant is
operating at less than half capacity because of weak market for its products (farmers shift to
less expensive and safer pesticides). In May 1982, UCIL management reports to UCC that it
will accomplish all measures which recommended but dont act on the recommendation to
increase the range of the firewater spraying system so it can reach the top of the MIC vent
pipe.
After a series of accidents since 1978 to 1982, labor unions complain to Madhya
Pradesh Ministry of Labor about conditions in plant. Madhya Pradesh state labor ministry
inspectors then inspect the plant but they are mechanical engineers with limited competence
to assess safety of chemical plants, so the result is UCIL plant declared safe. When Madhya

Christoper JSS

Pradesh State Pollution Control Board requires companies to declare what they are emitting
into the air, UCIL declared carbon dioxide only, not the other gasses (including phosgene and
MIC) that occasionally leak.
Bhopal plant continues to experience losses since 1980 that results in personnel
successive reductions (only 1 supervisor and 6 workers are present on each shift in the MIC
unit while company guidelines state that MIC unit should have 3 supervisors and 12 workers
on each shift). Training of supervisors and workers has become less rigorous and make things
worse, experienced workers leave and are replaced by less experienced workers. In fact, UCC
considers idea of dismantling Bhopal plant and shipping equipment to Brazil or Indonesia.
Remaining phosgene and methylamine stocks at Bhopal plant are used up in making a last
batch of MIC (42 tons are put into Tank E610, 20 tons into Tank E611). In November 1984,
the position of second-shift maintenance supervisor was eliminated. At the day of accident,
the condition of plant safety systems at start of second-shift :

Vent gas scrubber: on standby

Flare
: insufficient capacity to for large volumes
Refrigeration system
: shut down and coolant drained for use elsewhere in plant
Firewater spray pipes
: functional but insufficient height to reach top of vent sack
Safety valve : operational; designed to hold MIC in at normal
pressures and release it if pressure too high

The chronology of the accidents:

MIC plant supervisor is required to flush several pipes running from the phosgene
system to the scrubber via the MIC storage tanks. The MIC unit workers were apparently
not aware that installation for inserting the slip bind into pipe above the water washing is
as required safety procedure, and slip bind isnt installed first.
After water washing begins, one bleeder valve downstream from the flushing was
blocked so water didnt come out as it was supposed to. A worker shut off the water flow
but the plant supervisor ordered that the washing resume.
Water has flowed from the relief valve pipe through the jumper pipe into the process
pipe. Water gets through an open blow-down valve that is part of the nitrogen
pressurization system and then flows into tank E610.
Third shift control room operator notices that Tank E610 pressure is 10 psi. This is
within the normal 2-25 psi range, so arouses no concern. Unfortunately, the tank
temperature isnt observed.

Christoper JSS

Workers then find MIC and dirty water coming out a branch of the relief valve pipe on
the downstream side of the safety valve. They set up a water spray to neutralize the
leaking MIC and inform control room personnel of situation and their actions.
About 12.30 am, control room operator notices that needle on pressure indicator for Tank
E610 is pinned to the maximum reading of 55 psi. Unfortunately, caustic soda doesnt
flow as it should. A cloud of gas escapes from the scrubber stack.
Plant supervisor suspends operation of the MIC plant and turns on the sirens but soon
stopped after a few minutes. Operators then turn on the fire sprayers but water cannot
reach the gas cloud forming at the top of the scrubber stack.
Efforts to cool Tank E610 with the refrigeration system fail because the Freon had been
drained. Tank E619, the designated spare, isnt empty so workers cannot relieve the
pressure in E610 by transferring any MIC to E619.
About 01.00 am, gas smell obvious outside the plant, cause panic for residents, police,
and medical personnel. Before 08.00 am Madhya Pradesh governor orders closure of
plant plus arrest of plant manager and 4 other employees.
In July 1985, Bhopal plant closed.
Although there is an issue of sabotage in this incident, but responses about the
conditions of safety systems from the supervisors and workers are the same. They also admit
that inadequacy of contingency plans for in-plant response and evacuation of neighboring
settlements, the poor communication about hazards with city and state authorities, or the
insufficiency of warnings to surrounding settlements made things worse when the gas cloud
formed.

LEGAL, ECONOMY, SOCIAL ASPECTS

The Legal/Regulatory System
Western European Policy on Information about Chemical Plant Hazards, 1982With respect to strategy, most European countries, unlike the United States, require
that a license be granted for a chemical plant to start operating. A licensing system tends to
shift the burden of proof on safety to an early point in time, namely to a moment before
operations have started. Debate on the acceptability of a plants effects on its employees or its
environment become part of the process of starting up the plant
The second difference between Europe and the United States is related to the
accidents that have influenced policy. The major accidents, most notably Bhopal, that helped

Christoper JSS

shape risk management in other parts of the world were not nearly so important in Europe.
The 1976 Seveso accident stands out as most important from the standpoint of risk regulation
in Europe. At Seveso in northern Italy, gasses including Dioxin escaped from a chemical
plant and contaminated fields, killed animals and injured people for two weeks before local
authorities understood the full extent of hazard and ordered a temporary evacuation of the
area around the plant.
More generally, the 1970s were a period in which a number of European governments
became sensitized to chemical hazards, partly because of disasters but partly also because of
a climate that favored a certain amount of industrial regulation, especially with respect to
safety at work. Council Directive 82/501/EEC (generally known as the Seveso Directive)
was the first community law requiring environmental information to be provided and
exchanged across national frontiers, both among governments and between governments and
the public.
The first principle aim is to reduce the likelihood of a major accident by requiring
industry to incorporate preventive measures into the design of a plant or a manufacturing
process from the beginning. The second is to ensure that if an accident occurs, it does not
escalate into a disaster. The Directive requires chemical-plant managers to install control and
safety measures and prepare emergency plans. Thus described, the aims of the Directive
focus on risk management.
When a license was filed, people were informed of this fact, which meant they could
inform themselves using the available material if they so chose. In the Netherlands people
could in principle freely look through the files of a plant, but in practice this material was not
easily accessible: it was highly technical in character and often filled many file cabinets.
Some measures were adopted to facilitate public access to licenses and their contents.
European legislation, in contrast to that in the United States, interprets the publics relation to
information as a need to know rather than a right to know. The former implies a right of
access only to that information which is needed for a specific purpose, such as selfprotection.
United States Policy on Information about Chemical Plant Hazards, 1987
The complex interplay between public access to information and participatory
institutions is illustrated in the law passed as part of the United States response to the Bhopal
accident. One part of the law, which has proved relatively ineffective, established new

Christoper JSS

institutions intended to bring diverse interests together to develop community emergencyresponse plant.
Bhopal or any other disastrous event depend very strongly on the existing institutions
and political context. Societies, like people, only learn when they are ready.During debates
about responses to the Bhopal disaster, the Senate Environmental and Public Works
Committee adopted a suggestion by Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey that provisions
of his Bhopal-inspired bill be incorporated into the Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act. Thus two different environmental issues, hazardous waste disposal and
emergency response to toxic chemicals, became closely tied. This linkage further complicated
an already complex issue. Drawing on experiences in their own states or listening to demands
from constituents, members of Congress developed four policy responses to Bhopal:
emergency planning and response, emergency notification, right to know, and an emissions
inventory.
This linkage further complicated an already complex issue. Drawing on experiences
in their own states or listening to demands from constituents, members of Congress
developed four policy responses to Bhopal: emergency planning and response, emergency
notification, right to know, and an emissions inventory.
Section 313 of Title III requires manufacturing facilities to report their emissions of
about 350 hazardous chemicals. The data are entered, by law, into an electronic database, so
that citizens and regulators can identify emissions problems by region, company, facility, or
chemical. Publicized by the media and environmental groups, the data have stimulated
considerable participation by citizens at every level of government.
Once citizens do acquire data through the TRI, they must interpret it, determine
whether risks are a cause for concern, and, if they are, persuade manufacturers to reduce their
emissions. Title III does not grant citizens access to the supplementary information needed to
interpret the data, although EPA and many private groups are providing such assistance. In
short, access to date is but the first step in a complex process of analysis, risk assessment, and
mobilizing political participation.
With less than six years experience in implementing SARA Title III, we can already
abstract some important lessons. While information remains an essential component of
political power, information alone does not empower the recipients. Local Emergency
Preparedness Committees (LEPCs) provided an unusual opportunity for a wide range of
interests to work together, but their focus on emergency response limited their utility to
communities where a spill had recently occurred. Recently, people in some localities have

Christoper JSS

begun to talk about extending the purview of the LEPC to environmental issues other than
hazardous materials, a development that would surely increase their vitality and salience.
Economy
At independence, all educated Indians agreed that result of colonial-era policies
generally caused Indias current lack of industrialization and economic development. India
needs to be on the path to industrialization. Therefore, British Labor Party and Indian
political elite agreed that India had to use a mixed economy by establishing state-owned
enterprise and powerful state agencies (set traditional social interests aside, provide the
service of welfare state, and collect the tax revenues). Then the new Indian leadership
immediately began to reverse the long dependence on outside industry and capital by
strengthening the powers of the Union Government (in creating administrative regulations)
and creating 1948 Resolution on Industrial Policy (dealing with foreign companies and
investors). Through its Five Year Plan, India wants to be self-reliance in the technological
sense.
During the last three decades, the chemical process industry in India has shown
remarkable growth. This growth is supported by spectacular capabilities in design and plant
engineering. This industry is now producing an increasing range of new chemicals, which
still have recently been imported.
Increased range of products would involve increased safety hazards. This would
demand a concurrent growth in safety consciousness and application of safety measures.
Education and training facilities of safety engineering are not adequate. Unfortunately, there
were some problems:
-

Complex requirements of safety and occupational health in Indian chemical industry that
produces a large number of small volume with high value chemicals and sophisticated
technology

India chemical industry cannot afford the adequate safety equipment and the trained
safety personnel.

Level education and safety consciousness of Indian workers at the shop level is poor.
Accidents in this industry is mainly caused by poor design, fabrication, or
operation of the plant along with failure in maintaining good housekeeping, improper
storage of combustible substances, and inadequate discharge or prevention of static
charge.

Christoper JSS

Internal Social
The technical expertise, scientist and engineers, and their managers are both agree that
the designs, facilities, production processes and products they create should be safe and
effective. But, there are times they face conflict. The engineers face conflict between
engineering ethics and the norms of firm which the managers have special obligation to
protect the financial well-being and public reputation of the firm.
The engineering codes of ethics stipulate that engineers have special duty to use their
knowledge and skill to protect the health and safety of the public. In this case, some of the
engineers are aware that there are something wrong in the plant that can cause harm to them.
They try to persuade their managers about the danger are real and it need actions to avoid the
danger, but unfortunately the managers dont do anything.
These conflicts make some of the expertise choose to resign and some become
whistleblowers. This condition make the firm lost many of their experience expertise.
LITIGATION CHRONOLOGY
UCC and Government of India conclude that runaway chemical reaction causing MIC
gas cloud was caused by water getting into Tank E610. Union Carbide proposes a settlement
amount of $350 million. Government rejects this offer as insufficient. Indian and foreign
activist groups supporting victims have already estimated the damages that at least $3 billion.
Bhopal District court orders UCC to hold $3 billion in unencumbered assets as collateral
while lawsuit pending. UCC only offers $50 million, then $80 million in compensation.
Amounts widely criticized, viewed as insulting by victim groups, rejected by Government of
India.
State of Madhya Pradesh files criminal charges against Warren Anderson (CEO of
UCC) and several UCIL executives or plant supervisors for their roles in causing the disaster.
Under prodding by Indian Supreme Court, UCC and Government of India agree to a $470
million settlement of all Bhopal gas leak-related claims. 2 groups of victims file class action
suits in Texas alleging that India failed to represent them adequately because of government
agencies ownership of UCIL stock, and therefore didnt secure them sufficient
compensation.
In October 1991, Indian Supreme Court confirms compensation settlement, issues the
UCC establishment of a trust fund to support a new hospital in Bhopal to treat victims
ongoing health problems and revoking immunities from criminal charges. In March 2000,

Christoper JSS

class action suit (Bano case), filed in US Federal Courts. Suit seeks compensation for gasleak related injuries and for further harm from exposure to contaminants afterward under US
Alien Tort Claims Act. Unfortunately, US District Court dismisses that case. In Nov 2004,
Indian nationals file JankiBaiSahu case in US Federal District Court. Suit seeks
compensation for personal injuries claimed to be result of exposure to contaminated water
and remediation work at former UCIL plant after the gas leak. Again, US Federal District
Court dismisses 2 of the 3 compensation claims raised in the JankiBaiSahu case. The rest of
compensation once proposed again for approval but denied.
In March 2007, JagarnathSahu case was filed in US Federal Court. Suit seeks
compensation for damage to 6 individual properties allegedly polluted by contaminants from
the Bhopal plant, as well as the remediation of property in 16 colonies adjoining the plant.
The District Court issues a stay of proceedings pending resolution of appeal in JankiBaiSahu
case as the issues in litigation are so similar.
From this litigation chronology, we can conclude that the litigation process had
consumed much time so the compensations for the victims came late. Rather than having the
litigation in US, Bhopal case litigation should be held in India. It can save much time and
cost so the compensation wont late. Furthermore, many claimed may be approved because
the Government of India has more power in India.

ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT
Environmental ethics is the discipline in philosophy that studies the moral relationship of
human beings to, and also the value and moral status of, the environment and its nonhuman
contents. This entry covers many things but if we connect environmental ethics with Bhopal
disaster, we can conclude this with:

Deep ecology
Company should respect and care the natural environment as part of their needs. The
relationship between the company and the environment should be seen as the
mutualism. Deep satisfaction that we receive from identification with nature and close
partnership with other forms of life in nature contributes significantly to our life

Christoper JSS

quality. In the Bhopal case, we can see that UCIL didnt pay attention to this aspect.
They polluted the lake near the plant so the animals which drink from that lake died.
Unfortunately, theres no any response from the Government of India to this action.
They also didnt pay attention to safety system at the plant, although had been warned

many times, so the leak happened.

Feminism
Emphasizing the importance of feminism to the environmental movement and various
other liberation movementsargue that the domination of women by men is historically
the original form of domination in human society, from which all other hierarchies -of rank, class, and political power -- flow. Feminism represents a radical challenge for
environmental thinking, politics, and traditional social ethical perspectives. It
promises to link environmental questions with wider social problems concerning
various kinds of discrimination and exploitation, and fundamental investigations of
human psychology. In the Bhopal case, we can connect this principle with hierarchical
organization inside the UCIL. Domination from the managers made the suggestion
from the engineers become weak. The engineers had warned the managers about some
problems in the plant that need fast reaction, but the managers didnt pay attention on
it and assumed that the information not important. The managers think that they know
everything about the plant. In fact, the engineers suggestion should be listened and

considered because they have more information about what happen in the field.
MIC leak bring death to people and affect their next generation.
It also polluted environment (land, trees, air, water) which give long-term damage to
mother of nature. Land become infertile, water and air became poisonous, animal
which drink or inhale the poisonous water and air become sick and could be died.

CONCLUSION
UCILs regulation about safety and waste is inappropriate. They didnt pay attention
to the written provision.
UCIL did not use feature of Union Carbides plant in West Virginia that has the best
safety standard in chemical industry.
Poor communication between plant production and maintenance staff had worsen the
plants maintenance. Workers lack instruction on what to do in event of runaway
reaction.
UC only prioritize the profit, not the sustainability of the environment.

Christoper JSS

The Government of India didnt have a rigid regulation about the environment and the
punishment for the defendants.
SUGGESTIONS
-

They should respect the nature and prevent it from dacay by making a good code of

business condact that consist value of respecting the nature in it

The firm should make instructions and regulations for the employess and the people
who live in the plants area about what to do when any problems happen in the fields

and thread their life

The firm principals should respect their technical expertise by listening their

suggestion about the problem in the field and do fast solution for it
The goverment should make a rigid regulations about the environtment and the

punishment for the defendants to protect their people from danger

Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) should use feature of Union Carbides plant in
West Virginia that has the best safety standard in chemical industry. UCIL does not
have to prioritize in minimizing cost only, but it should also consider the environment.