December 3rd, 1984; Bhopal, India : Midnight
cold wind blowing, the stars brilliant as they are in central India, even through the thin pall of cooking-fire smoke that hung above the city. Here and there, braziers were burning to warm those who were obliged to be out late.
From a factory which so many had learned to fear, The Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL), a thin plume of white vapor began streaming from a high structure. Caught by the wind, it became a haze and blew downward to mix with smokes coming from somewhere nearer to the ground. A dense fog formed. Nudged by the wind, it rolled across the road and into the alleys on the other side. Here the houses were packed close, ill-built, with badly-fitting doors and windows. Those within were roused in darkness to the sound of screams with the gases already in their eyes, noses and throats. It burned terribly, it felt like fire.
Death came out of a clear sky, thousands of people in Bhopal, India, were gassed to death after a catastrophic chemical leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant. Till morning, nearly 2385 people were already dead, More than 150,000 people were left severely disabled – of whom 22,000 have since died of their injuries - in a disaster now widely acknowledged as the world’s worst-ever industrial disaster.
he impact of compromised public health infrastructure and systems on health consequences defines and greatly influences the manner in which disasters are observed, planned for, and managed, especially those that are geographically widespread, population dense, and prolonged. What may first result in direct injuries and death may rapidly change to excess indirect illness and subsequent death as essential public health resources are destroyed, deteriorate, or are systematically denied to vulnerable populations. Public health and public health infrastructure and systems in developed and developing countries must be seen as strategic and security issues that deserve... [continues]
cold wind blowing, the stars brilliant as they are in central India, even through the thin pall of cooking-fire smoke that hung above the city. Here and there, braziers were burning to warm those who were obliged to be out late.
From a factory which so many had learned to fear, The Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL), a thin plume of white vapor began streaming from a high structure. Caught by the wind, it became a haze and blew downward to mix with smokes coming from somewhere nearer to the ground. A dense fog formed. Nudged by the wind, it rolled across the road and into the alleys on the other side. Here the houses were packed close, ill-built, with badly-fitting doors and windows. Those within were roused in darkness to the sound of screams with the gases already in their eyes, noses and throats. It burned terribly, it felt like fire.
Death came out of a clear sky, thousands of people in Bhopal, India, were gassed to death after a catastrophic chemical leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant. Till morning, nearly 2385 people were already dead, More than 150,000 people were left severely disabled – of whom 22,000 have since died of their injuries - in a disaster now widely acknowledged as the world’s worst-ever industrial disaster.
he impact of compromised public health infrastructure and systems on health consequences defines and greatly influences the manner in which disasters are observed, planned for, and managed, especially those that are geographically widespread, population dense, and prolonged. What may first result in direct injuries and death may rapidly change to excess indirect illness and subsequent death as essential public health resources are destroyed, deteriorate, or are systematically denied to vulnerable populations. Public health and public health infrastructure and systems in developed and developing countries must be seen as strategic and security issues that deserve... [continues]
Cite This Essay
- APA
-
(2011, 06). Industrial Disasters and Public Health. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 06, 2011, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Industrial-Disasters-And-Public-Health-727764.html
- MLA
-
"Industrial Disasters and Public Health" StudyMode.com. 06 2011. 06 2011 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Industrial-Disasters-And-Public-Health-727764.html>.
- CHICAGO
-
"Industrial Disasters and Public Health." StudyMode.com. 06, 2011. Accessed 06, 2011. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Industrial-Disasters-And-Public-Health-727764.html.
