ASSIGNMENT 1 TITLE:BHOPAL DISASTER DATE: 30 NOVEMBER 2009 1. Abstract The night of 3rd December marked an industrial disaster when more than 40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal‚ India that instantly led to the death of approximately 3‚800 people and causing permanent injuries for thousands more. The company involved shamelessly tried to avoid its legal responsibility. Nonetheless‚ a sum of $470 million was paid as compensation‚ a considerably small amount in
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR THE BHOPAL TRAGEDY HISTORY AND BACKGROUND Bhopal is the capital city of Madhya Pradesh‚ the largest and one of the most economically depressed states in the nation. At 1970s‚ the public health infrastructure‚ sewage and waste system in Bhopal are still in very poor condition . Besides‚ mass casualty emergency response system also lacking in Bhopal. Union Carbide Corporation is one of the largest chemical and polymer companies in the united state. In 1984‚ Union Carbide operated
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The plant was located in Bhopal‚ India. It was partly run by the parent corporation in Danbury‚ Connecticut. In early years‚ the plant was managed by employees from Connecticut. It provided protection from damage to crops‚ losses in food storage‚ and toxic mold growth in food supplies which would cause loss of life from starvation and food poisoning. Famine in India during the 1980’s had indebted farmers and squashed expected growth in demand (Pg.1‚ 2001 Fortun). The Bhopal plant supplied pesticides
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Bhopal Gas Tragedy Product - Brand name Sevin (Union Carbide) - Third most used insecticide in US - Not fatal to people Carbaryl - Does not cause cancer Chemistry TLV = 0.02 ppm Methyl isocyanate 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
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BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY At 11.00 PM on December 2 1984‚ while most of the one million residents of Bhopal slept‚ an operator at the plant noticed a small leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and increasing pressure inside a storage tank. The vent-gas scrubber‚ a safety device designer to neutralize toxic discharge from the MIC system‚ had been turned off three weeks prior . Apparently a faulty valve had allowed one ton of water for cleaning internal pipes to mix with forty tons of MIC. A 30 ton refrigeration
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The Bhopal disaster (commonly referred to as Bhopal gas tragedy) was a gas leak incident in India‚ considered one of the world’s worst industrial catastrophes.[1] It occurred on the night of December 2–3‚ 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) 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 of thousands of people. Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was
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The Bhopal disaster‚ also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy‚ was a gas leak incident in India‚ considered the world’s worst industrial disaster.[1] It occurred on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal‚ Madhya Pradesh. Over 500‚000 people were exposed tomethyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals. The toxic substance made its way in and around the shantytowns located near the plant.[2] Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate
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The Union Carbide plant was established in Bhopal in 1969 and it began to produce the insecticide Carbaryl. methyl isocanyte is an ingredient of carbaryl‚ and on the morning of December 3‚ 1984‚ a holding tank containing 43 tons of methyl isocyanate overheated and released the toxic gas. Because methyl isocyanate is heavier than air‚ it traveled over the ground through the Bhopal city center. The transportation system collapsed‚ and many people were trampled to death in a mad rush to flee the visible
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The Bhopal disaster‚ also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy‚ was a gas leak incident in India‚ considered the world’s worst industrial disaster.[1] It occurred on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal‚ Madhya Pradesh. Over 500‚000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals. The toxic substance made its way in and around the shanty towns located near the plant.[2] Estimates vary on the death toll. The official
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Q1} The bhopal gas tragedy is a catastrophe that has no parallel in industrial history. Bring out the ethical issues involved in the case. do you think the GOI and the madhya pradesh government were equally responsible for the disaster ? explain with reasons. Ans 1]} In 1985 the Indian government enacted the Bhopal Claims Act and took away from victims the right to represent them and vested itself with the exclusive right to represent victims. In return for a modest and arbitrarily determined
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