BE Bhopal Gas Tragedy

8/6/2019 BE Bhopal Gas Tragedy

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Sumit Sharma

Subham BansalDeepika Tyagi

Surbhi Gupta

Raj shekhar

Kuntal Panja

Akansha Bhatnagar



When I saw the leaves on the trees

curl and turn black and birds fall

dead out of the sky, I knew that

this was Death, come among us as foretold. My regret is that I

survived.

- An anonymous worker at the plant



Background 1970s:

-Indian Government invites UCC(Union Carbide Corporation) to set up

Sevin plant

- Plant built in Bhopal to central location and transport Infrastructure

- Indian Government has 22% stake in UCIL (UCC¶s India Subsidary)

-Plant initially approved for formulation only (built in area zoned for light

industrial use)

-Forced to sell of business after business in order to maintain its coreoperation, Union Carbide was eventually sold to The Dow Chemical

Company in 1999, marking the sad end of a chemical industry pioneer

-Competition forces ³backward integration´. MIC manufactured at Bhopal

site.



Methyl Isocyanate (MIC)-Clear, colourless, b.p. 39oC, odour threshold 2.1 ppm

Effects of 0.4 ppm:

- Coughing

- Chest pain

- Breathing pain (dyspnea)

- Asthma- Eye irritation

-Nose, throat, skin damage

Effects of 21 ppm:

- Lung Oedema

- Emphysema (damage of lung tissue)- hemorrhaging

- bronchial pneumonia

-Death

40,000 kg were released in Bhopal on 3rd December 1984.



What went wrong on t he night of 2-3 December, 1984?



NONE of the safety systems designed to prevent a leak - six in all - were operational on THAT NIG HT:

1. Flare Tower (disconnected)

2. Vent Gas Scrubber (out of caustic soda and inadequate for unsafe volume of gas)

3. Water Curtain (not functional; designed withinadequate height)

4. Pressure Valve (leaking)

5. R un Off Tank (already contained MIC)

6. Mandatory R efrigeration for MIC Unit (shut down for 3 months to save money)



Worst industrial disaster in history

� 2,000 people died on immediate aftermath

� Another 13,000 died in next fifteen years

� 10-15 persons dying every month

� 520,000 diagnosed chemicals in blood causing different healthcomplications

� 120,000 people still suffering from

Cancer

Tuberculosis

Partial or complete blindness,

Post traumatic stress disorders,

Menstrual irregularities

� R ise in spontaneous abortion and still birth



Causes given by Management



However, neither is a root cause.

The root causes were management decisions

A History of Massacre....

�Union Carbide started out as a carbon company in 1886 and diversified togases and chemicals during World War I.

� From the Manhattan project of World War II, until it relinquished its

contract in 1984, Union Carbide was a contractor to the US federal

government's nuclear weapons production.

� Before Bhopal, Union Carbide Corporation caused the largest industrial

disaster in the US. In the construction of the Hawk's Nest Tunnel in West

Virginia in 1934 nearly 2000 company workers, most of them black, died

of Silicosis - an occupational disease caused by hazardous working

conditions.



� At the Cimanggis plant in Indonesia at one point in 1978, 402

employees (more than half the work force of 750), were

suffering from kidney diseases attributable to workplacecontamination according to the company's doctor Dr.Maizar

Syafei.

� S

he was asked by the company not to tell the workers thatthere was mercury in their drinking water or else the workers

"would become anxious."



Obsessed with the Bottomline

� As part of UCC's economy drive, the management at the Bhopal plant

had switched off the refrigeration unit to save about Rs.700 (US $50)

per day.

� Had the refrigeration unit been working, a runaway reaction in the MIC

tank could've been delayed or prevented. Experts prescribed fortnightly

inspection of plants dealing with corrosive chemicals such as MIC.

� At Carbide's Bhopal plant, inspections were rare and replacements

often not made for up to 2 years. Also included in the cost cutting

measures was the reduction in the workforce in the Bhopal factory -

brought down by half from 1980-84.



� The work crew for the MIC plant was cut by half from 12 to 6

workers, the maintenance crew in the same plant reduced from

6 to 2 workers.

� In the control room, there was only 1 operator who was

expected to monitor 70-odd panels, indicators and controllers

on the console.

� The period of safety training to workers in MIC plant was brought down from 6 months to 15 days.



Double Standards at West Virginia, US

� All the vital systems at US plant had back-ups and were

automatically linked to computerised alarms and crises controlsystems.

� The Bhopal plant not only lacked all the above but the sole

manual alarm was also switched off so as not to 'unduly' alarm

people.

Over the Limit

� All over Europe the maximum permissible storage limit for

MIC was half a ton.

� At the Bhopal plant, the US company's management overrode

the wishes of the managers of its Indian subsidiary and kept

the storage capacity hazardously high at over 90 tons. On the

night of the disaster, 67 tons of MIC were stored in two tanks.



Alarmed Management

� The first time the management of the Carbide plant came to know about

the leak was at 11:00 pm. The factory alarm meant for workers wasstarted by a desperate worker at 12:50 pm.

� The management not only turned it off within minutes but also delayed

the sounding of the public siren until as late as 2:00pm by which time all

the gas that could leak had leaked.

Price of a life

� The first suit filed by Melvin Belli claimed damages upto $15 billion.

Later the Indian Government arrogating itself the sole power to

represent all the victims, filed a suit for upwards of $3 billion.

� 4 years after filing the suit and without informing the victims, the

government settled for a sum of $4

70 million, nearly one-seventh of theoriginal claim.



Long History of Violation

� Union Carbide is the first company in the US to violate laws relating to

providing information on chemicals used in a facility. The company

claimed Trade Secrecy Protection in refusing to identify one of the key

chemicals used in its plant at Henderson, Kentucky.

� Using the same cover, UCC continues to withhold vital information

about the exact nature and composition of the leaked gases and its

effects on the human system.

� After 15 years, this is still one of the prime reasons for the absence of a

proper line of medical care for the victims.



Highly Confidential

� In May 1982 the Safety Audit team which reported directly to the UCC

headquarters in Danbury, stated in the inspection report of the Bhopal plant

that there were "a total of 61 hazards, 30 of them major and 11 of them in

the dangerous Phosgene/Methy Isocyanate units."

� This report was marked Business Confidential and only senior officials

were privy to its contents. The company was also forewarned of the

possibility of a runaway reaction involving a MIC storage tank 3 months

prior to the Bhopal leak by its Safety and Health Inspectors based in

Institute W.Virginia.

� Had the warnings in this report be heeded and the suggested action plan

implemented, the Bhopal disaster could've been averted. Union Carbide did

not send the report to the Bhopal plant.



Buying 'Experts¶

�

Within the first week of the disaster 4

'medical experts' came toBhopal on a visit sponsored by UCC. In their interviews to the

media, they stated that the leaked gases would not have any long

term health effects on the exposed population.

� This was in sharp contrast to the subsequent research findings.

� One of these experts was Brian Ballyentine, who was also a

toxicologist for the Pentagon. Another expert, Dr Hans Weil, Prof.

and Chairman of Pulmonary Medicine at the TulaneUniversity

Medical School, New Orleans, has a history of fudging medical data

to minimize liabilities of Corporations (a prime example being thatof Johns Manville Inc. in the Asbestosis case), and had been

reprimanded in the past by a US court for his unethical conduct. He

examined victims in Bhopal and said "they have an encouraging

prognosis and most would recover fully."



A Major Cover Up

� After the disaster Dr. Max Daunderer, a toxicologist from Munich,

demonstrated the efficacy of intravenous sodium thiosulphate

injections in detoxifying the exposed persons and providing substantialrelief in symptoms.

� Through helpful government officials, UC succeeded in undermining

official attempts for large scale administration of sodium thiosulphate.

� The company was quick to realise that the administration of this drug

would establish that its toxins had indeed reached the bloodstream and

caused much more damage than the company would like people to

believe.



UCC: settlement "fair and reasonable´

� In fact, it had escaped extremely lightly.

� The settlement was but a 7th of the $3.3 billion that the Indian govt.had been demanding and less than a 10th of the $5 billion courtaward against Exon Valdez for polluting the Alaskan coast.

� $200 million of the settlement was covered by UCC's insurance andanother $200 million had already been put aside. Out of an annualrevenue of $8 billion a year, the corporation had to find just $70million to close the books on the worst industrial disaster in history.



Homicide

� On Dec. 7th 1984, Warren Anderson, Chairman UCC, and other

Indian officials were arrested on charges of culpable homicide,criminal conspiracy and other serious offences.

� The arrested officials were lodged in the posh guest house of Union

Carbide and Warren Anderson with an annual salary of Rs.10

million, was released on the same day on a bail of Rs.25,000.

� Summons from the Bhopal court drew no response from him and in

January 1992 proclamations were published in Washington Post

directing Anderson to face trial in the Bhopal court.

� In March 1992 the Chief Judicial Magistrate issued a non-bailable

arrest warrant against Warren Anderson.He continues to abscond

criminal justice.



Just wash with water

�

On the night of the disaster when people poured into hospitals bythousands, their eyes and lungs in burning choking agony, and urine and

faeces running down their legs, the doctors called up the Plant Medical

Officer to find out what they ought to do.

� They were told that the gas is like tear gas. "Just wash with water.³ the

Works Manager and Director of H

ealth,S

afety and EnvironmentalAffairs, UCC, continued to refer to the poisonous chemicals as "nothing

more than a potent tear gas.³

Operation Faith

� There were about 15 tons of MIC left behind in the tank after the leak.

� Starting on Dec. 16th 1984, Union Carbide, with the help of the State

Government, began utilising this MIC for production . As a result of

this decision, over 400,000 people left the city in a panic and many

stayed away for over a month.



Death and Disease

� 8000 people died in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

� After 16 years, the death toll has risen to over 20,000 and even in

the 17th year, 10-15 people are dying every month from exposure-

related diseases and their complications. Over 120,000 children,

men and women continue to suffer acutely from a host of exposure

related illnesses and their complications.

� Damage to the respiratory system has led to the prevalence of

pulmonary tuberculosis which has been found to be more than threetimes the national average.



� In the years following the disaster, the stillbirth rate was three

times, perinatal mortality was two times and neonatal mortality

was one and a half times more than the comparative national

figures.

� According to a study by Dr. Daya Varma, Mcgill University,

Canada, 40% of the women pregnant at the time of the disaster

aborted. Another study reported nearly five times increase in therate of spontaneous abortion as a result of the Union Carbide

disaster.



Af termath continues.

� Carbide is still killing in Bhopal. The chemicals in and around their Bhopalf actory have contaminated the drinking water of 20,000 people.

- 20,000 times permissible amount of mercury

- 50 times permissible amount of trichloroethane

� Testing published in a 2002 report revealed poisons such as 1,3,5 trichlorobenzene, dichloromethane, chlorof orm, lead and mercury in thebreast milk of nursing woman living near the f actory.

� UCIL Bhopal site not remediated

� Plant still leaks toxic chemicals



Steps taken till now

ImmediateAf

termath

UCC tries to shif t blame on UCIL, sabotage etc

UCC ref uses to provide chemical composition of gas or

suggest proper medical treatment

Multi-billion dollar lawsuit f iled in US courts by American

attorneys (Dec 7)

1985:

Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act GOI set up as sole representative of

Bhopal victims

All cases transf erred f rom US courts to Indian court



Continues

1989:

� UCC accepts moral responsibility and settles out of court f or $470million (of

the original $3 billion)UCCprovides $2 million f or immediate relief

� UCC provides immediate and continuous medical personnel and equipment

� Provides technical expertise to aid analysis of disaster

� U.S. Supreme court denies right of Bhopal victims f or f ile f urther suits

�

Madhya PradeshS

tate Govt assumes responsibilityf or remediation (1998)



Continues

1991:

Bhopal victims f ile suit to overturn the 1989 settlement

Supreme Court rules 1989 settlement f inal

Reinstates criminal cases against UCC, its CEOWarren Anderson, and

other off icials.



Legal proceedings

� March 1985: Indian Parliament passes Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Actauthorizing government to solely represent Indian plaintiffs in India

� Armed with this power, the Government of India filed its expected suit for compensation and damages against Union Carbide in the United States DistrictCourt for the Southern District of New York.

� In the first pre trial hearing in the consolidated Bhopal litigation in US federalcourts, John F Keenan, asked Carbide as µa matter of fundamental humandecency¶ to provide an interim relief payment of $5 - 10 million.

� Carbide agreed to provide $5 million for this purpose, provided a satisfactory

plan of distribution and accounting of the funds was devised.

� Finally in November 1985-agreement reached - money would be channelledthrough the American Red Cross to the Indian Red Cross



� On December 17, 1987, Judge Deo passed a significant order

directing Union Carbide to pay Rs. 350 crores as interim relief.

�On April 4, Justice S. K. Seth of the High Court reduced theinterim compensation to Rs. 250 crores and it was that order

against which Union Carbide had come in appeal to the

Supreme Court.

� February 14, 1989 the Supreme Court directed Union Carbide

to pay up US $ 470 million in "full and final settlement" of all

claims, rights



� The Bhopal Gas disaster, which left thousands of people dead

and 6,00,000 injured, was settled for a mere US $ 470 million

- which works out to around Rs. 10,000 per victim

� In the same year, an article in the Times of India stated that

approximately US $ 40,000 was spent on the rehabilitation of

every sea otter affected by the Alaska oil spill

� Each sea otter was given rations of lobsters costing

US $ 500/day. So life of an Indian citizen in Bhopal was

clearly much cheaper than that of a sea otter in America.



Marked down lives

� Union Carbide and eight other companies paid US $ 4.2 billion as potential

damages for Silicone Breast Implants to 650,000 claimants. This amount was

9 times more than what the Bhopal victims were given.

�

A quick look at the Indian Railways schedule for compensation (DeathRs.2,00,000 and a minimum of 40,000 for bodily injury), sharply contradicts

Union Carbide's claims that the compensation was "more than generous by

Indian standards. "



On part of the Government

� Government officials refused to recognize the plant as hazardous

and allowed it to come up in a populated locality.

� When some municipal officials in Bhopal objected that the

installation of an MIC production unit in 1978 was a safety

violation, the position of the government was that the state needs the

continued investment of the Bhopal plant, which provides jobs.

�

W.Anderson was arrested but promptly released on orders of theGovernment



� He was given a government plane to fly him to Delhi and then

allowed to fly back to the USA

� Supreme court later on watered down the charges against all accused

from 302 to 304 IPC (causing grievous hurt and the maximum

punishment is only 2 years rigorous imprisonment)

� The Supreme Court judges who gave this verdict including JusticeAM Ahmadi all got proper thank you notes and were well

rehabilitated after they retired.



� Judgement delivered by a lower court on the Bhopal gas tragedy has

shown past governments as well as the Indian judiciary in very poor

and unsavoury light.

� After cross-examining 178 witnesses and browsing through 3,000

documents, the Chief Judicial Magistrate found eight people guilty

and sentenced them to two years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs

25,000

� As they were charged under a bailable offence, all the accused were

promptly allowed to go scot-free.



The Indian Government Must:

� Set up a National Commission on Bhopal with the participation of non-government doctors and scientists and representatives of survivors

�

Take immediate steps to send an amended request for extradition of Warren Anderson and for extradition of the authorized representativeof the Union Carbide Corporation.

� Set up a special prosecution cell in the Central Bureau of Investigationto expedite the pending criminal case against the Indian subsidiary andIndian officials of Union Carbide.



� Ensure Dow¶s liability for on-site and off-site cleanup and payment of compensation for damage to health and property.Submit an amicus brief in US court in support in support of the

plaintiffs.

� Set up a panel of scientists for independent and expert assessmentof soil and groundwater contamination.

� Declare December 3rd as a National Day of Mourning for thevictims of industrial disasters.

� The disaster in Bhopal must be made part of textbooks in schooland university education in the country.



The State Government of Madhya Pradesh

Must:

� Supply safe drinking water through Kolar Pipeline in communities affected by Union Carbide¶s contamination.

� Not send chemical wastes from the Union Carbide factory for landfilling or for incineration.

� Ensure free treatment of patients from communities affected by groundwater contamination and persons born to exposed parents in gas rahathospitals.

� Not build a memorial without proper cleanup of the Union Carbide factorysite.

� Present a White Paper on expenditures made, programs carried out andresults obtained in the last twenty years with regard to the relief andrehabilitation of the survivors.



� 1-6 Sumit

� 7- 10 raj

�11-15 Subham

� 16-20 Akansha

� 21-24 Surbhi

� 25-31 deepika� 32-37 Kuntal

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BE Bhopal Gas Tragedy