Background

Bhopal is the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, it is the administrative
headquarters of Bhopal district, and it is the 16 th largest city in India and 231 st largest city in
the world. During 1984 when the Incident occurred, Bhopal had a population of approximately
900 000 people. The Union Carbide plant was situated close to established working class
settlements taking advantage of the Bhopal Ujain rail line for transportation. Despite of its
location, it was licensed by the M.P. Government to produce phosgene, monomethylamine,
methyl isocyanate (MIC) and the pesticide Carbaryl also known as Seven.

Incident
According to Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), the incident occurred in the early hours of
December 3, 1984, when 40 tons of Methylisocyanate gas (MIC) leaked into the central city of
Bhopal. The cause of the leakage, according to UCC, is owed to an itroduction of a large amount
of water into the MIC tank, this caused an exothermic chemical reaction that produced large
amounts of heat and pressure. The vessle was not designed for the amounts of pressure and
heat produced and therefore forced a pressure release valve to open and allow the gass to leak.
The water entered the MIC tank in spite of the fact that the system was designed to keep out
even trace amounts of water (Bhopal, 2001).
UCC concluded after two and a half years, that the incident was caused by the direct entry of
water into the MIC tank through a hose connected to the tank, and that it was as a result of
sabotage (Bhopal, 2001).
The ICFAI (The Bhopal Gas Tragedy, 2002) estimates that as many as 10 000 people may have
died, whereas The Times of India states that the death toll is still not clear and that official
numbers go as high as 16 000 people (Saxema, 2011).
More than 20 000 people still live in the vicinity of the plant and are exposed to toxic chemicals
through groundwater and soil contamination, a whole new generation continues to get sick,
from cancer and birth defects to everyday impacts since Union Carbide refuses to assume
liabilities or clean up the toxic poisons left behind (Bhopal Disaster, 2012).

Chemical Reaction
Methyl isocyanate reacts with water to form 1,3-dimethylurea and carbon dioxide in a
exothermic reaction producing 325 cal/g MIC reacted.

References
1. Bhopal

Disaster.

2012.

[Online].

Available:

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/toxics/justice-for-bhopal/
[2015,February,22].
2. Saxena, D. 2011. Bhopal gas tragedy: 27 years on, death toll still unknown [Online].
Available:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/Bhopal-gas-tragedy-27-years-

on-death-toll-still-unknown/articleshow/10532402.cms [2015,February,22].

3. The

Bhopal

Gas

Tragedy.

2002.

[Online].

Available:

http://www.econ.upf.edu/~lemenestrel/IMG/pdf/bhopal_gas_tragedy_dutta.pdf
[2015,February,22].

4. Bhopal Gas Tragedy Information. 2001. [Online]. Available: http://www.bhopal.com/

[22,February,2015].