The Bhopal Gas Tragedy

The Bhopal gas tragedy was the deadliest industrial accident of all time. There are
over 16,000 claimed deaths and over 500,000 people injured because of this
incident. It occurred in the night between 2-3 December 1984. The cause was a leak
of 40 tons of Methyl Isocyanate(MIC, a dangerous chemical used for making
pesticides) in a Union Carbide pesticide plant.
Cause:

On the night of 2nd December 1984, water leaked in tank E610 through a side pipe.
The reaction when water meets MIC is very dangerous, which caused the gas to leak.
The pressure in the tank rocketed to about 55 psi and the temperature to about 25
degrees Celsius. 3 pieces of safety equipment were shut down for maintenance.

1. Refrigeration System- This system was shut down in Jan 1982 and the
refrigerant (freon) was removed in June of 1984. It was meant to cool tanks
containing MIC.
2. Flare tower- The flare tower was supposed to burn the escaping gas before it
reaches the city. A part of it was removed for maintenance, and the system as
a whole was improperly fitted to combat this much gas.
3. Gas scrubbers-A vent gas scrubber, which had been deactivated at the time
and was in 'standby' mode, and similarly had insufficient caustic soda and
power to safely stop a leak of the magnitude produced
The Whole factory was also not computerized due to budgetary cuts during the
construction of the factory.
There are two theories as the cause:-
Corporate Negligence:-This point of view argues that management (and to some
extent, local government) underinvested in safety, which allowed for a dangerous
working environment to develop. Factors cited include the filling of the MIC tanks
beyond recommended levels, poor maintenance after the plant ceased MIC
production at the end of 1984, allowing several safety systems to be inoperable due
to poor maintenance, and switching off safety systems to save money— including the
MIC tank refrigeration system which could have mitigated the disaster severity, and
non-existent catastrophe management plans. Other factors identified by government
inquiries included undersized safety devices and the dependence on manual
operations. Specific plant management deficiencies that were identified include the
lack of skilled operators, reduction of safety management, insufficient maintenance,
and inadequate emergency action plans.

Worker Sabotage:- The UCC claims that the incident was the result of sabotage,
stating that sufficient safety systems were in place and operative to prevent the
intrusion of water.
The Union Carbide-commissioned Arthur D. Little report concluded that it was likely
that a single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water
into the MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the
tank through the metering port.
UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves from
the incident and absolve themselves of blame, and that the Indian government
impeded its investigation and declined to prosecute the employee responsible,
presumably because it would weaken its allegations of negligence by Union Carbide.

Effects:
Short-term Effects:- In the night of 2-3 December, people woke up coughing,
severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation, burning in the respiratory tract,
eye-twitching, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. People awakened by
these symptoms fled from the plant. Those who ran inhaled more than those in
vehicles. Owing to their height, children and other residents of shorter stature
inhaled higher concentrations, as methyl isocyanate gas is approximately twice as
dense as air and, therefore, in an open environment has a
tendency to fall toward the ground.

Long-Term Effects:-

Health Effects:-
A number of clinical studies are performed. The quality varies, but the different
reports support each other.Studied and reported long-term health effects are:
● Eyes: Chronic conjunctivitis, scars on cornea, corneal opacities, early
cataracts
● Respiratory tracts: Obstructive and/or restrictive disease, pulmonary
fibrosis, aggravation of tuberculosis and chronic bronchitis
● Neurological system: Impairment of memory, finer motor skills, numbness,
etc.
● Psychological problems: Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
● Children's health: Peri- and neonatal death rates increased. Failure to
grow, intellectual impairment, etc.

Other:-

There is still ongoing contamination of the water and

air.Chemicals abandoned at the plant continue to leak
and pollute the water and air .Whether the chemicals pose a health hazard is
disputed. Contamination at the site and surrounding area was not caused by the gas
leakage. The area around the plant was used as a dumping ground for hazardous
chemicals and by 1982 water wells in the vicinity of the UCIL factory had to be
abandoned.

Prevention:-

A number of things could have been done in order to fully or partially prevent this
type of accident. Such an accident wouldn’t have happened if the management had
properly enforced safety rules and regulations.During the construction of the factory,
it could have been computerized allowing for greater safety. Such things were
possible at the time. Computerization of the factories was the norm in the US at that
time, but they were avoided here to save money. There was only one manual back-up
system in case of a leak, unlike the 4 stage system in the United States. The
Company avoided spending $1.25 million on safety equipment. The Cheap and
Untrained Workforce was also a problem. The trained professionals were either fired
or their salaries were reduced, forcing them to find work in other places. Cheap
labour was employed just for saving money. In 1982, Safety investigators found 61
hazards, and that even a planned response wouldn’t be effective enough to prevent a
major catastrophe. For this UCC made an action plan, but this was never
implemented. If all of these things were solved there would’ve been a significantly
less chance of such a catastrophe happening.

What were the Litigations and were they Enough?

UCC chairman and CEO Warren Anderson was arrested and released on bail by the
Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on 7 December 1984. Anderson was taken to
UCC's house after which he was released six hours later on $2,100 bail and flown out
on a government plane. These actions were allegedly taken under the direction of
then chief secretary of the state, who was possibly instructed from the chief
minister's office, who himself flew out of Bhopal immediately. Later in 1987, the
Indian government summoned Anderson, eight other executives and two company
affiliates to appear in Indian court on homicide charges. In response, Union Carbide
said the company is not under Indian jurisdiction.
As of 2014, Dow is a named respondent in a number of ongoing cases arising from
Union Carbide's business in Bhopal. Also, the UCC paid 470 million dollars (1055
crore rupees) as settlement to the Indian government, but it meant that each of the
victims’ families would get just $2,200.The injured would get only 25,000 rupes if
they were able to prove if their injuries were beyond reasonable doubt. Free medical
care was only given for a limited time. Along with the 470 million dollar settlement,
UCC was directed by the Supreme Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the
medical care of the survivors. Thus, Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre
(BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 and was obliged to give free care for survivors
for eight years. BMHRC was a 350-bedded super speciality hospital where heart
surgery and hemodialysis were done. There was a dearth of gynaecology, obstetrics
and paediatrics. Eight mini-units (outreach health centres) were started and free
health care for gas victims was to be offered until 2006. The management had also
faced problems with strikes, and the quality of the health care being disputed.
UCC’s CEO, Warren Anderson, was put on house arrest for just 6 hours before
returning to the US. After that, the Indian government tried to get him back but
failed since at that time India did not have an Extradition Treaty with United States.
Many of the victims’ families were either not paid or underpaid. So I think the
Litigations were not enough.