The earliest reference to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy that I can gather, was from our Science textbooks in Secondary School. Obviously, at that time I hadn't realized the magnitude of the problem (what with the text matter limited to a few lines in our textbooks).....but now, reading various articles on the net and in the newspapers have actually opened my eyes to the great disaster that it was.Estimates vary on the death toll; some say around 3,000 and others around 15,000. Others estimate that around 8,000 died within the first few weeks and another 8,000 have since died from gas-related ailments. And the foibles continue, what with epidemiological reports showing eye problems, respiratory difficulties, immunological disorders, neurological disorders, cardiac failure secondary to lung injury, female reproductive difficulties, etc. among those affected and birth defects among children born to affected women.
So what had happened exactly?The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal. It produced the pesticide "Carbaryl" (Sevin). In 1979, a "Methyl Isocyanate" production plant was added to the site. Now, MIC is an extremely toxic gas, which can cause damage by inhalation, ingestion and contact in quantities as low as 0.4 ppm. Proper care must be taken to store MIC because of its ease of exothermically polymerizing and its similar sensitivity to water. MIC, an intermediary in carbaryl production, was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive materials (other manufacturers like Bayer made carbaryl without MIC, though at greater manufacturing costs).
On the night of December 2-3, large amounts of water entered a tank containing 42 tonnes of MIC (during cleaning work; while some claim due to bad maintenance and leaking valves).....causing exothermic reactions and pressure changes leading to a release of large volumes of toxic gases into the atmosphere. The gases flooded the city of Bhopal, causing great panic as people woke up with a burning sensation in their chests. Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and many were trampled in the panic.
Various factors complicated the issue.....Besides the poor maintenance and various "money-saving" approaches adopted at the plant, the problem was made worse by the plant's location near a densely populated area, non-existent disaster-management plans and shortcomings in health-care and socio-economic rehabilitation.
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Over two decades since the tragedy, many civil and criminal cases remain pending in US district court, Manhattan and District Court, Bhopal against UC (now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending against Warren Anderson, CEO of UC at that time. As the UC boss, Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the Bhopal plant which identified thirty major hazards. Rather than fix them in Bhopal, only the Company's identical plant in the US was fixed. Neglecting these hazards in Bhopal caused the deadly explosion.On June 7 2010, seven former employees of UC (all Indian nationals) were convicted of causing death due to negligence and were sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs. 1 lakh (approx $ 2000). All were released on bail (surety of Rs.25,000) shortly after the verdict. APPALLING, to say the least !!!
Surveys and laboratory analyses from water sources around the plant still show contamination of the ground-water (with pesticides). A recent analysis (by BBC) actually showed traces of Carbon Tetrachloride (a liver carcinogen) from a water sample taken from a hand-pump located within a 3-km radius of the plant.
And the main reason why this incident was almost completely ignored for the past two decades is because it had nothing to do with celebrities or well-known politicians or their kith & kin.....but with the "aam-aadmi" (ordinary citizen) of this country.
Kudos to us all!!!!
References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster
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