Bhopal Disaster: Causes and Consequences of the Disaster and Role of Union Carbide - Report Example

Research paper about the Bhopal disaster, causes and consequences of the disaster and role of Union Carbide The world’s most destructive chemical accident from leakage that was recorded took place in Bhopal, India on December the 3rd, 1984. An Indian chemical pesticide factory in Bhopal owned by a US firm, Union Carbide, leaked an extremely poisonous gas, methyl isocyanate (MIC), from a storage tank. Local residents who witnessed the incident described it as a mushroom shaped cloud of gas coming out of the factory and then coming down onto the city. Methyl isocyanate is a very poisonous gas with severe side effects such as causing damage to vision and inducing blindness, and disturbing the circulation of blood by deposition of isocyanate into the bloodstream. Causalities reached up to 1,200 deaths within a span of a few days and over 10,000 people were injured. The managing director of Union Carbide in India stated that the leakage was caused due to a valve of an underground storage tank giving way under the high pressure of the gas. (Bhopal Disaster | Greenpeace) There were severe consequences of the isocyanate leakage. The doctors had no idea how to treat the patients. And the victims who suffered the most damage were the ones living in slums surrounding the factory. The doctors were lost as to how to treat the patients as they had mediocre knowledge about industrial poisoning and were afraid to give medicine that could react adversely inside the body on reaction with the cyanide and prove fatal. The doctors were hopelessly expecting for instructions and proper guidance from Union Carbide as to how to treat the patients of the gas leak and which drugs to use on them. They accused Union Carbide of not coming up to fulfill their moral and ethical duties as the factory belonged to them. The doctors were completely baffled. Patients who showed no ill symptoms when they reported to the hospital for check up, died unexpectedly leaving the doctors frantic. There were not enough doctors available to tend to the colossal number of casualty. The number of people who were affected by the leak exceeded 10,000. The owners of the factory were questioned about the safety and maintenance of the storage tank. They assured everyone that the equipment was the top of the line and the tank was extremely secure. Nonetheless, Indian politicians demanded to know why the standards of safety in third world countries such as India were not as high as in the countries to which Union Carbide belonged, that is, the United States of America. They also claimed that the Western corporations sold low quality equipment to India and did not bother upgrading and keeping a check of its maintenance. Union Carbide stopped making methyl isocyanate (MIC) the next day after the incident in Bhopal in the factories situated in the United States of America and investigation was started right away to find the root cause of the leakage. Within a week- by the next Monday, December the 10th- 800 more people succumbed to death from the poisonous gas which had entered their bloodstream. Union Carbide was faced with lawsuits from American lawyers representing the families that had been torn apart by the accident. Union Carbide was sued with a fine of $12,500 million. Union Carbide offered $1 million as humanitarian aid which enraged the lawyers and the Indian government because that was much lesser than the amount of money American victims would receive. It was not much later that the community discovered that there was no protocol arranged in cases of emergency. The plant managers were of the opinion that the gas was not in enough quantity to cause damage and affect the workers and other people. They assumed that the safety measurements were sufficient and did not need to be improvised. Union Carbide was at loss of words to explain why the company which was not even six years old, did not have latest equipment and was equipped with machinery and technology which was used in the out of date plants in the United States of America. For example, in case of gas leakage, the workers had to employ security measures manually, while in the United States, a computer would detect the leakage and carry out the operation automatically. It was not the first time in the history of the plant that a gas leakage had occurred. Minor leakages had taken place in the past, one proving to be fatal. After that accident, union officials put up signs all over Bhopal saying that the lives of the citizens were endangered and that they will have to protect themselves from the gas as there were no efficient safety measures implied in the factory. The press and media were accused of not taking the problems seriously and not giving enough coverage to the issue, which were discarded by the press saying they had published many articles regarding that problem including one which caught attention many, named ‘Bhopal on the brink of a volcano’. The press claimed it was the duty of the government to check that the officers in charge of security keep a strict check on it and not allow a community to live beside the plant. It turned out that the security officers did not have any experience or training relevant to the jobs they were assigned and were not familiar with the American machinery hence were not aware of the danger that came along with them. They just accepted to work so that they have jobs. The United States’ spokesman of Union Carbide amazed the American press and journalists by being unaware of these problems. An official from Union Carbide confessed that there was a serious lack of communication between the American and Indian plants. Warren Anderson, the chairman of Union Carbide, however, did not accept these faults and continue to hold his company in great esteem. He refused to accept that the Indian plant was not equipped wit new machinery and was working on old equipment. He said that all the machinery belonging to Union Carbide was up to date and the safety record of the company was clean. Due to the tragedy, the share prices of Union Carbide dropped significantly. The share holders were afraid that the company will not be able reimburse the fine. The company’s ratings dropped and it became harder for the company to borrow money. But Mr. Anderson was positive that the company will not suffer greatly from the incident. He assured everyone that the company was insured and was in a good financial shape. As predicted by Mr. Anderson, the company was operating fully by August and the shares had risen again and the annual output of the company did not falter. As of now, more than 20,000 people are still in the danger zone surrounding the factory and are exposed to poisonous chemicals through water and air. Everyday people get sick from being contaminated from these toxic chemicals and newborns are born with congenital disorders. (BBC ON THIS DAY) References BBC ON THIS DAY | 3 | 1984: Hundreds die in Bhopal chemical accident. BBC News - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. Read More