Lake Wabarmun, Alberta Oil Spill 2005 - Research Paper Example

The plant in some sources is said to be responsible for the existence of health standards made possible by the use of pesticides. Another source stated that 10% of India’s crop were saved by the use of the pesticides made in Bhopal. MIC is very toxic and only noticed when signs of toxicity appear such as watering of the eyes and nasal passages. It is the most toxic chemical belonging to the isocyanate family and at room temperature it is a colorless liquid (Varma, Roli, and Daya Varma, 2005).

On December 2 a very small amount of water went through the pipes into MIC tank 610. The reaction generated heat which transformed the MIC liquid into a gas. Pressure in the tank increased; this ruptured the disc and the MIC vent began to discharge into the atmosphere. In Bhopal at the time MIC was stored in three tanks and tank 610 was 87% full, above the 60% recommendation for the Bhopal plant and 50% which was recommended for the Connecticut plant. Safety devices which were in place for such an emergency failed or were inadequate.

There was no public warning system in place though a warning signal was activated at 2:30 am,2 hours after the leak was detected. It is estimated the MIC leak lasted from 45-60 minutes in duration. When the siren actually went into effect people had already began noticing the effects of the leak. Most of this was at first ignored as minor leaks were common. Police were unaware of what had actually happened and advised citizens to run which in turn exposed them to higher levels of inhaled MCI.

On the morning of December 3 and subsequent days citizens were running to the hospital and deaths were attributed the first four days especially to pulmonary edema. Only house flies were unaffected by the MCI; presumably because they lie still at low levels. The effect of the MCI was a chemically induced SAR’s with little if any treatment options. It is estimated that 30,000 people were killed by the MCI and 500,000 more injured. The gas leak has had far reaching consequences 25 years later and environmentalist have stated that the site still contains large amounts of chemicals which are toxic which they collected from soil samples at the site (Iyengar, Radhika, And Monisha Bajaj, 2011).

Identified as one of the worst chemical disasters in history yet new attention was spurred by the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Toxic Substances to the dangers of chemicals which are stored as opposed to those on the environment. Water quality was questionable before the incident and during the period of time immediately following large tanks were filled from other parts of the city to supply residents with drinking water. There were over 500,000 registered victims of the Bhopal incident in 1984.

Survivors continue to experience long term effects of the exposure; studies show cases of pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, COPD, emphysema, chest infections and other related conditions as lingering effects of the disaster (Kewal K. Maudar, et al, 2009). Studies were carried out on 80,000 individuals. Rapid industrial growth in India today contributes to the economy but it comes with a price of environmental degradation and increased health risks to the public. Water quality is Bhopal today is under threat of pollution and in May of 2012 the factory was ordered to clean up