Human Rights

Case Study :Union Carbide

Amongst the worst Industrial Disasters of its time.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy

• Occurrence: 3rd December 1984.• Place of occurrence: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.• Company: Union Carbide Corporation.• Chemical: Methyl Isocyanate (45 tons) • What happened: 45 tons of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas escaped

from two underground storage tanks at a Union Carbide pesticide plant.

Government and People’s Support For Plant :

The country needed pesticides to protect her agricultural production .

MIC is used to produce pesticides that control insects which would in turn, help increase

production of food as a part of India’s GREEN REVOLUTION.

Initially, India imported the MIC from the United States.

In an attempt to achieve industrial self-sufficiency, India invited Union Carbide to set up

a plant in the state of Madhya Pradesh to produce methyl isocyanate.

To the people of the city of Bhopal, Union Carbide was a highly respected , technically

advanced Western company.

This coupled with political power and scientific expertise worked together to change the

people’s perception of what was dangerous and more importantly what was safe.

Background

Indian Government invites UCC to set up Sevin plant- Plant built in Bhopal at 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)

1970s

Competition forces “backward integration”. MMIC manufactured at Bhopal site.- Drought causes drop in market demand for Sevin – safety and maintenance lax- 6 minor accidents involving MIC between 1981 and 1984- Plant conformed to much laxer standards than sister plant US

Late 1970s and early 1980s

What is Methyl Isocyanate?

Clear, colorless, sharp smelling liquid Highly flammable Extremely toxic Volatile reaction with water in about 10 minutes Union Carbide used MIC to produce a insecticide called Carbaryl. MIC reacts with 1-naphthol in a hydrolysis process to produce

Carbaryl.

Effects on Human Health

Respiratory Disorders – Irritation to the lungs, causing coughing and/or shortness of breathing. Higher exposure caused build up of fluids (pulmonary edema). Caused Asthama.

Cancer Hazard – Caused mutation (genetic changes). It caused cancer.

Reproductive Hazard – Association between exposure to Methyl Isocyanate and miscarriages. It may damage the growing fetus.May also affect fertility in men and women.

Traces of many toxins were found in the Brest Milk of mothers and were inturn transmitted to the recepient babies.

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

The Disaster (3rd Dec 1984)

6 safety systemsfailed!

Equipment and Safety Regulations

The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years..

There was only one manual back-up system, compared to a four-stage system used in the US.

The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months before the disaster.

To reduce energy costs, the refrigeration system was idle. The MIC was kept

at 20 degrees Celsius, not the 4.5 degrees advised by the manual.

The steam boiler, intended to clean the pipes, was out of action for unknown reasons.

Repercussions of the disaster?

Among the 500,000 people exposed to the gas:

◦ 20,000 have died till date

◦ 120,000 continue to suffer (15-20 die each month)

Out of every 3 children born after the Bhopal disaster, only 1 survived.

7000 animals killed and 7000 injured

The Bhopal Disaster

•Medical staff was unprepared for the thousands of casualties.

•Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methos for MIC gas inhalation. They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to their patients.

•The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees. Within a few days, all the leaves fell off.

•2,000 bloated animal carcass had to be disposed of.

•"Operation Faith": On December 16, the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the remaining MIC. This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal.

•Complaints of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread.

Aftermath

Aftermath

•UCC tries to shift blame on UCIL, sabotage etc• UCC refuses to provide chemical composition of gas or suggest proper medical treatment• Multi-billion dollar lawsuit filed in US courts by American attorneys (Dec 7)

•Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act – GOI set up as sole representative of Bhopal victims• All cases transferred from US courts to Indian

UCC accepts moral responsibility and settles out of court for $470 million (of the original $3 billion)• UCC share rises $2 (i.e. up 7%)

Immediate

1985

1989

Blame Game

Lapses :By Government

The Madhya Pradesh State government had not mandated any safety standards.

Lax Government controls, poor training , no emergency preparation.

No audits and Inspections. Union Carbide failed to implement its own safety rules.

The Bhopal plant experienced six accidents between 1981 and 1984, at least three of which involved MIC or phosgene.

Lapses: By Union Carbide

Improper design of chimneys (without consideration of weather conditions in all seasons)

Improper design and maintenance of safety equipment.

Not following safety regulations as that followed by UCC plants in USA.

Inadequate emergency planning and community awareness.

Lack of awareness of the potential impact of MIC on the community by the people operating the plant.

Inadequate community planning, allowing a large population to live near a hazardous manufacturing plant.

Working Conditions

Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factory's employees and their conditions.

Promotions were halted, seriously affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled ... elsewhere".

Workers were forced to use English manuals, even though only a few had a grasp of the language.

No maintenance supervisor was placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours, rather than the previous and required one-hour readings.

Workers made complaints about the cuts through their union but were ignored by management.

Current Situation

•UCC shrunk to 1/6th its size since the disaster• Still operates as subsidiary of Dow Chemicals• Believes that the Bhopal disaster was a result of sabotage (Arthur D. Little report)

• UCIL Bhopal site not remediated• Plant still leaks toxic chemicals• 1999 analysis of groundwater shows- 20,000 times permissible amount of mercury- 50 times permissible amount of trichloroethane• 2002 tests show chlorinated organics, lead and mercury in breast milk of nursing mothers

Question

Many people have heard about Bhopal and Union carbide’s connection to that incident .Not many people , however know of Hawk Nest Tunnel incident. What is your Impression of union carbide when you think about both events together ?

Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster

• Construction of the Hawks Nest Tunnel near Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, as part of a hydroelectric project.

Involved injuries and deaths of more 700 workers .

This project is considered to be one of the worst industrial disasters in American history.

Hawk Nest Tunnel incident

The incident revolves around the contraction of silicosis while constructing a new hydroelectric power plant. \

Silicosis is a disease that infects the lungs and gradually causes the cells to digest themselves.

The most common symptom exhibited by infected persons was shortness of breath.

Silicosis was contracted through inhaling rock dust that contained silica dust.

Blasting away at the rock in order to build a tunnel produced the dust.

UNION CARBIDES AMERICAN PLANT

Dr. Paul Shrivastava, an Associate Professor of Business in New York University conducted studies that revealed that Bhopal was neither an isolated incident nor the first of its kind in the corporation.

There had been many accidents of similar nature in UCC's American plants prior to the Bhopal accident.

He found that 28 major MIC leaks had occurred in UCC’s West Virginia plant during the five years preceding the Bhopal incident, the last one occurring only a month before.

Remediation Process

Bhopal continues to suffer the environmental contamination produced by the release of MIC

Donations and medical/volunteer assistance has been provided

Union Carbide accepted responsibility and agreed to a $470 million settlement

What compounded the tragedy was that the victims failed to get adequate compensation and the generation that followed continued to suffer from health complications.

Thank You