Peculiarities of Bhopal Accident - Case Study Example

The Running Head: Bhopal Accident Your name:   Course name:          Professors’ name: Date: Outline Introduction The Accident Causes of Accident Conditions in the factory Health Effects Environmental Effects Conclusion Works Cited Introduction “The Bhopal gas leak of 1984: a factory used to produce cheap pesticides for farms in developing nations, meant to encourage the ‘green revolution’ programs in developing nations” (Banerjee 23), in turn, intended to encourage farmers in developing nations to increase food sufficient in their respective countries, but it killed approximately eight thousand people instead, apart from injuring at least four hundred thousand, most of them for the rest of their lives. The guilty person was the owner of pesticide factory, which was Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide, which was responsible in leaking methyl isocyanate- unstable chemical- at around 6 AM of December 3, 1984. This disaster was one of the worst industrial accidents to have happen to the world. Rasheed Bee who was among the survivor of gas leak, can remember that day as if it was yesterday, he recalled “when he saw smoke coming from the plant, he ran for about a mile, he sat down but his eyes were so inflamed the feeling was like being pierced by a needles, while he felt his lungs as if they were filled with hot pepper. What he could see at that moment was dead body of people all over the place. “It is know that the pesticide company (Union Carbide) was established in 1969 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, and this was upon an invitation of India government” (Rahman 28). This was due to the raise in international cost of buying pesticides and “Green Revolution” programs that were happening in developing nations. The aim of India government was to save dollar reserves, instead of importing pesticide from other countries which produce pesticides; they were able to domestically produce the same pesticides because they had the raw material need in the production of MIC, while at same time creating employment in the country. Since 1969, the company had been producing MIC in India. The major chemical used manufacture pesticides was unstable MIC; the chemical is lighter than water but twice as much heavier as air. This was the cause why the chemical was able to leak from the tank, the chemical was able to stay for long near the ground level, and return more people were injured when they inhaled the gas. “This report tries to examine how Third World countries are vulnerable to chemical accidents, most of these countries lack sufficient know how to implement modern technology in their countries” (Banerjee 23), but at same time they want to set up modern industries. In many cases the local communities in which these industries are being set are not well-informed on the projects and the country doesn’t have enough manpower to address the environmental impacts of these industries in the local community. “In order to cut on cost involved in setting up of these dangerous industries in Third World Nations, most of these companies take advantage of those facts- impact assessment” (Banerjee 34), and the safety measures, that includes environmental protections are not given first priority. The Accident “The gas leak which caused the disaster in Bhopal was from a company which manufactures pesticide by the name Union Carbide. The name of the pesticide was carabaryl (sevin), and was widely used in cotton plants” (Banerjee 23). During night time, the water entered a tank which contained approximately 42 tons of MIC. The temperature in the tank increased to over 200 degrees centigrade, due to exothermic reaction between the water and MIC. This resulted in the increase in pressure inside the tank, and as a result of those toxic gases from the tank was released into the atmosphere. The toxic gases were then blown by the wind into the local communities around Bhopal. Causes of Accident There are many theories which have been brought forward of how the water entered the tank. The first theory was, the factory workers were removing clogs inside the pipes with water and that was about 400 feet away from the tank which contained MIC. The workers believed that due to poor maintenance of the factory equipments and leaking valves of the tank, the water leak into the tank containing MIC. This theory was opposed by the investigators in charge of this disaster because the route which the water entered the tank which contained MIC was not reproduced. It is believed it was an act of sabotage, water was directly poured into the tank by disgruntled factory workers and this was through a missing pressure gauge in the tank which contained MIC. The investigation was largely controlled by the government of India and the UCC investigators that were sent to do their investigations were not given any access to interview the workers who were working at the time the disaster occurred or access to the tank which caused the disaster. A year later i.e. 1985 the government of India gave the following factors as the causes of the gas leak disaster: The tank which stored MIC chemical was filled beyond it recommended levels at that time, second reason; the factory maintenance was poor even after the factory stop producing MIC (1984), third reason; lack of safety equipments and those that existed were poorly maintained, fourth reason; the safety systems were switched off to save money as a results of high cost of electricity and this included the MIC tank refrigeration which could have reduced the severity of the gas leak disaster. Lastly, the magnitude of the disaster increased because there was encroachment of slums near the factory, government lack of catastrophe plans, and lack of proper healthcare facilities and socio-economic rehabilitation facilities for the victims. “Other factors which were identified by investigators were lack of skilled manpower and the chemical process that used to manufacture carbaryl (final product) was different from MIC free process used elsewhere in other part of the world” (Eckerman 51). Conditions in the factory “The effect of reducing expenses in a factory usually affects its workers and their conditions in that company” (Teets 78). “Kurzman says; “cuts in expenses in a factory, means less quality control and this leads to looser safety rules in the same company” (Teets 79). According to the report presented to the Indian government, there was a pipe leaked, the employees were told but they ignored replacing it. The factory workers needed more training on how to handle appropriately the chemicals which was manufactured, the company ignored due to expenses involved in training. “The workers promotion in the company was halted and this had a serious implication on the workers morale and majority of the skilled workers were driven elsewhere. “English manuals were forced to be used in the company by the management” (Teets 79), even though few workers who operate the machines knew little of the English language” (Menon 61). By 1984, the number of employees working as a operator were six as compare to twelve the initial workers at the start for the company, also the number of supervisors working at the factory was cut by a half. The maintenance supervisors at the factory did not work on the night shifts and the reading of instruments was reduced to two hours, rather than the initial one hour. The workers tried to raise these issues through their trade union, but the company ignored them. A point in case, a worker was fired from his job after going on hunger strike for more than two weeks, while 70 per cent of the workers in the company were fined before the gas leak disaster because they refused to deviate from proper safety requirement under the pressure from the company management. Health Effects Many studies were conducted during and after the occurrence of the gas leak, many scientists believe this was the worst disaster in the history of mankind because between 2500 to 2600 people died and over two hundred people were debilitated. People in villages which were affected were exposed to different degrees and half a million people registered in those areas survived the tragedy. When MIC is mixed with water, it irritates the skin, eyes and the respiratory tract of the person who comes into contact with the mixture. “The mixture has the capability of penetrating the human skin which then interacts with the protein that is found in the human body” (Menon 71). Approximately more than two hundred thousand people were exposed to the gas leak, the death toll in the first week of the disaster was over two thousand five hundred people, but by 1994 the death toll was estimated to be over eight thousand, this is according to department of Relief and Rehabilitation in the Madhya Pradesh State. The morbidity in the affected area was high in areas which were exposed by the gas leak (26 per cent) as compared to areas which was controlled by the authority after the gas leak (18 per cent). The clinical studies conducted over the years to the survivors after the tragedy have shown chronic diseases such as emphysema keep recurring to the survivors. For those women who were exposed to the tragedy in the first trimester of the pregnancy has to end to a miscarriage of the baby, this behavior has been linked to the organic exposure of the gas leaks during the tragedy. MIC one of properties has an irritating effect on the cornea in the eye, and this resulted in severe ocular burning, pain and photophobia of eyes of the affected person in the tragedy. Many follow up tests were performed to survivors many months later after the accident has occurred. It was found more than 20,000 people who were exposed to gas leak were found to be blind. The reproductive health of most women were affected, in a report which was published in 1985 stated that menstrual cycle of the women exposed to the gas leak was disrupted and others were found to be suffering from leucorrhea and dysmenorrheal. A study which was conducted showed that loss of pregnancy and child mortality to be high in areas where women were exposed to gas leak. 43 per cent of those women did not give birth to a live baby, while 14 per cent of women their babies died in the first 30 days and lastly 3 per cent of the women, their babies died after only 2 years. The same gas was exposed to pregnant mice by inhalation and it was found to have a fetoxic effect in the mice. Environmental Effects The MIC chemicals which was left behind after the tragedy has continue to leak and pollute the ground water and this has continue to be a health hazard those who are using ground water. Before the gas leak contamination at the factory site and areas around the factory was not as a result of gas leak tragedy, but even before that disaster the company used to dumb their hazardous waste products in these areas. In 1982, the wells in those areas were abandoned by the local community, while 1991 the authority in that area declared over 100 wells unfit to be used by the local community. The laboratory tests conducted in 1989 by UCC shown that the soil and water collected site and its environs were highly contaminated and cannot allow marine life such as fish to survive. While studies conducted by Greenpeace showed that the water and soil in those affected areas were highly polluted by heavy metals and chemical compounds. An inquiry instituted in 2002 found that a number of deadly toxins still exist such as mercury and lead; in other women these toxins were found in breast milk. The mercury levels were 20,000 times higher than the accepted level, and this was higher than those heavy metals and organochlorines found in the same soil. A number of this heavy chemicals found in the affected area has been link to cause various forms of cancer in the area, while trichloroethene has been known to impair the development of the unborn children in pregnant women. In 2009, on the 25th anniversary of the gas leak disaster, a study was conducted by a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab, in their findings shows that the groundwater in the affected area even 3 km from the affected area were still contaminated with heavy metals. Some sample of water were taken by the BBC in wells which were frequently used, those samples were tested in the United Kingdom (UK), some shocking results were found because the water 1000 times tetrachloride, this was higher than the recommended maximum permitted by WHO. Environmental activists in India have warned the people that the contamination that are found in water and soil may lead to many years of slow poisoning and diseases to the local population; nervous systems, liver and kidney in people around the area will increase if the government doesn’t take action on time. According to the same environmental activists have noted the increased rates of cancer and other ailments in that region the disaster occurred. After the gas leak disaster environmental awareness and activism increased considerably. The government of India enacted an Environment Protection Act (1986) with the aim of protecting the environment. After the Act was formulated, some environmental rehabilitation were initiated by both the company which were responsible for this disaster and the government too. For example, plantation of new trees in area affected by the disaster, treatment of water and water supply to the affected people was improved, road constructions was initiated and lastly proper disposal of wastes is mandatory for industries nowadays. Conclusion The gas leak disaster continue to be a warning sign that was once ignored and heeded by the government of India and other developing nations. The aftermath of this disaster was a warning that a path to industrialization in third world nations and particularly in India is burden to people, the community environment and economic threats. There some laws which were formulated to deal with environment, has helped the government of India to protect to some extend the public’s health from harmful practices of companies; both local companies and multinational companies. Interestingly, the gas leak that happens in Bhopal was at a time when multinational companies were seeking freedom from liability through the World Trade Organization (WTO). Since the occurrence of this tragedy there have been massive injustices for Bhopal gas leak victims, this is because the payout compensation money was partly 12,000 India rupees (approximately 250 dollars) to each victim, but the requirement for Nuclear Liability Bill states that when there have been an accident of that kind in anywhere in the world, the paid out compensation should me not be less that 100 million dollars on private operations. There are many lessons that the world can draw from this disaster and other disasters that have happened in other parts of the world. The first lesson is that these multinational companies in the world introduce hazardous technologies like pesticides and GMOs for profits to developing nations, and second lesson is related to trade which the same multinational companies seek to expand their markets and as a result of that, “they usually relocated hazardous and environmentally costly technologies to Third world countries where protection of environment is not seriously protected” (Rahman 27). “Most of these multinational companies seek to globalize their products but in return they do not want to globalize justice and rights to the same people when they are affected as result of accidents caused by the same multinational companies” (Rahman 28). There is difference in treatments in accidents that has happen in third world country and in already developed countries like United States. “Take for instant the oil spillage that happened a few months ago in the Gulf of Mexico has showed how apartheid is being created in between countries that are still developing and already develop nations” (Rahman 28). Since the wages in developing nations are low, multinational companies have been attracted with these incentives, Jobs in Third World countries are being created but economic costs of pollution has created increase in illness and death in same Third World countries. The disaster that has happened in Bhopal must teach the people in the world to reclaim our universe back for the better of every human being and build an Earth Democracy where every human being will be equal irrespective of color, race and our belief. According to Chemical Engineering code of Ethics, the ethics can be summarized into three main concepts; safety, responsibility and improvement. These three concepts can be easy to follow on paper, but when it’s comes to practical, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to implement these concepts that are stated in the code; especially those that touches on safety and responsibility. The case of Union Carbide administration only cares about the bottom line and the authority on charge of that company were willing to save costs. Ethics usually plays a big role in engineer’s life; it will bring discipline to a company that deals with end products and processes and this is essential to the safety and success of the company and people working in that company; but in the case of Union Carbide Company they did not consider the ethics. In Engineering Chemicals Ethics Code consists of the following: The safety and health issues of the workers in a company should be protected. Secondly, the company should be told if their operations will cause consequence or the health of an employee is jeopardized. The company did not consider this because they were told the danger the factory was posing to its workers and general population but they ignored, instead they started lying off workers. Thirdly, any company should accept any responsibility if they cause accident to its workers or the general population. Fourthly, they are supposed to issues statements that are in objective and truthful manner that are acceptable to the general people; they are not suppose to hide the details. In the case of Union Carbide company was different because they tried to cover what caused the accident. Fifthly, The company should conduct itself fairly and honorable towards it employees and the general population; after the accident the company did not act honorable towards the victims of the accident, because many victims are still suffering and the compensation given at that time was insufficient to the victims. Lastly, the company should not harass its employees; in the case of this company it was harassing its employees. Works Cited Banerjee, Brojendra. Bhopal gas tragedy: accident or experiment. New Delhi: Paribus Publishers and Distributors, 1989. Print. Eckerman, Ingrid. The Bhopal saga: causes and consequences of the world's largest industrial. New York: Penguin Books, 1990.Print. Menon, Madhava. Documents and court opinions on Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster case: for course on tort-II (industrial and mass torts). Bombay: National Law School of Indian University, 1991. Print. Rahman, Kalil. Professional Ethics and Human Values. New York: Penguin Books, 2009.Print. Teets, Robert. Profitable management for the subcontractor. London: Sage Publisher, 2002. Print.   Read More