Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Introduction:-The Bhopal Disaster which is commonly referred to as Bhopal Gas Tragedy was a gas leak incident in India, considered one of the world’s worst industrial catastrophes.

It occurred on the night of December 2-3,1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited, a pesticide plant in Bhopal , Madhya Pradesh , India.

A leak of methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals from the plant resulted in the exposure of hundreds and thousands of people.

Union Carbide India LimitedUCIL was the Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), with Indian Government controlled banks and the Indian public holding a 49.1 percent stake.

It started in 1969 at the northern state of India.

Phosgene, Monomethlyamine, Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) and the pesticide Carbaryl, also known as Sevin were manufactured here.

UCC produced carbaryl using MIC as an intermediate.

After the Bhopal plant was built, other manufacturers including Bayer produced carbaryl without MIC, though at a greater manufacturing cost.

However, Bayer also uses the UCC process at the chemical plant once owned by UCC at Institute, West Virginia, USA and many other states.

Plant Production Process

Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)

Plant Production Process

Causes:- According to one theory:

Water leaked into tank from valves while workers were cleaning the clogged pipe which is 400 feet above it.

According to theory of UCC:

Water was directly introduced into tank intentionally by a worker via a missing pressure gauge .

It resulted in exothermic reaction and finally to a explosion.

Cause Of Bhopal Disaster

Other Causes:-Use of a more dangerous pesticide manufacturing method for decreasing generation cost.Plant location close to a densely populated area.

Plant management deficiencies like :Lack of skilled operators, Reduction of safety management. Insufficient maintenance and

inadequate emergency action plans.

Contribution to Negligence

UCIL didn’t maintained safety rules....... • A pipe leaked? Don't replace it.• MIC workers needed more training. They

could do with less.• The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four

years.• 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.

• Carbon steel valves were used at the factory, even though they corrode when exposed to acid.

• According to the operators the MIC tank pressure gauge had been malfunctioning for roughly a week

• UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems were not functioning on the night of December 3, 1984.

UCIL Plant After Disaster

Effects after disaster:-• It is estimated that total deaths

are about 20,000 upto 20 years after disaster.

• It is estimated 1,00,000 to 2,00,000 people have permanent injuries.

• Reported symptoms are eye problems , respiratory difficulties, immune and neurological disorders, cardiac failure secondary to lung injury, birth defects among children born to affected women. Dead bodies of victims of that

massacre

Aftermath of the TragedyMedical staff were unprepared for the

thousands of casualties.

Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods 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 carcasses 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.

Rehabilitation:-Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy.

Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period and ration cards were distributed.

Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200/per month (later Rs 750) was provided.

One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1,500 to families with monthly income Rs 500 or less was decided.

2,486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the "Widows colony" outside Bhopal. The water did not reach the upper floors. It was not possible to keep cattle. Infrastructure like buses, schools, etc. were missing for at least a decade.

Support of Government to Culprits :-Indian government closed plant to outsiders and failed in making the data public.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) were forbidden to publish their data on health effects until after 1994

The Indian Government and UCC deny permanent injuries were caused by MIC

UCIL paid a token of $470 million even though asked a total compensation of $3.3billion.But the government said nothing

The government sent safely Mr. Anderson the CEO of UCIL at the time of massacre, to US

Civil and criminal cases are still pending in United States District Court, Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal, India, involving UCC, UCIL employees, and Warren Anderson

Pratik.D.Wadekar

Std- XB

Roll no-57

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