The Bhopal Gas Tragedy or Bhopal disaster is the world’s worst ever industrial catastrophes. It was occurred on the night of December 3, 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. At that time, UCIL was the Indian subsidiary of the U.S. company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), which is now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company. Around midnight on the intervening night of horror December 2–3, 1984, there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant, resulting in the exposure of over 5 lakh people. More than 15,ooo were died due to the gas release.
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 in Bhopal. It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin). In 1979 a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site. During the night of December 2–3, 1984, large amounts of water entered tank 610, containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate. The resulting exothermic reaction increased the temperature inside the tank to over 200°C, raising the pressure to a level the tank was not designed to withstand. This forced the emergency venting of pressure from the MIC holding tank, releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere. The gases flooded the city of Bhopal, causing great panic. The effects of exposure were burning in the respiratory tract, severe eye irritation, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. The causes of deaths were choking and reflexogenic circulatory collapse. Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and many were trampled in the panic. 1, 70,000 people were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries. There were mass funerals and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada River.
It is estimated that 20,000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases. Another 1, 00,000 to 2, 00,000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries. Reported and studied symptoms are eye problems, respiratory difficulties, immune and neurological disorders, cardiac failure secondary to lung injury, female reproductive difficulties and birth defects among children born to affected women.
Over 25 years since the tragedy, certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States District Court and the District Court of Bhopal against Union Carbide. An Indian arrest warrant is also pending against Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster. It is said that Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the Bhopal plant, which identified 30 major hazards. These were not fixed in Bhopal but were fixed at the company’s identical plant in the US. In June 2010, 7 ex-employees, including the former chairman of UCIL, were convicted in Bhopal of causing death by negligence and sentenced to 2 years imprisonment and a fine of about $2,000 each.