Bhopal Mass Poisoning In India

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy was one of the world's worst industrial catastrophes, occurring on the night of December 2, 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Almost thirty years later, cases are still pending in the United States District Court, Manhattan, and the District Court of Bhopal India over proceedings at the time of the poisoning. Eight former employees were convicted of causing death by negligence and then sentenced in June 2010 to the maximum sentence of two years imprisonment and a $2000 fine.

The UCIL factory was build in 1969 by the Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) in order to produce the pesticide carbaryl. Their brand name Sevin used methyl isocyanate as an intermediate in the process. On the night of the disaster, water entered one of the tanks, producing an exothermic reaction that increased the temperature of the tank to over 200 degrees Celsius. This increased pressure caused the tank to release toxic gases into the atmosphere, which were spread over Bhopal by the wind.

It is not clear how the water that started this reaction entered into the tank. One theory supposes that bad maintenance and leaky valves caused the leak into the tank. At the time of the event, workers had been cleaning out a clogged water pipe 400 feet from the tank, but the company denied this connection and the alleged entry route was indistinguishable. UCC still alleges that the water entered the tank due to an intentional act by a disgruntled worker. There was a missing pressure gauge at the top of the tank, but no other connections to this theory exist or have been proven.

Regardless of the final instigator of the gas leak, there were a number of faults in the plant leading up to the event. The plant had been storing methyl isocyanate in large tanks and filling them beyond recommended levels. UCC also used a dangerous method of pesticide manufacturing and relied on manual operations. Poor maintenance in general led to the failure of the safety systems in place. In particular, the methyl isocyanate tank refrigeration system had been switched off in order to save money, which would have drastically lessened the extent of the gas leak if it had been used properly. Other safety devices had been intentionally deactivated in order to save money.

The immediate death toll of the disaster was estimated at 2,259, but other reports allege 3,000 died within weeks and an additional 8,000 died from gas-related injuries since then. In 2006, a further report claimed the leak caused a total of 558,125 injuries. The deaths were so monumental because the surrounding area of the plant had undergone a mushrooming effect of slums and dense housing. There were no catastrophe plans in place for the city, so recovery was also stalled and added to the number of deaths.