Bhopal India disaster Essays

Bhopal India disaster Essays Bhopal India disaster Essay Bhopal India disaster Essay Bhopal India disaster Name: Course: Date: Bhopal India disaster The Bhopal gas leak disaster that happened in India in 1984 was recorded as one of the most disastrous accidents in the world. The location of the accident was the union Carbide pesticide plant in Madhya Pradesh. The gas leak managed to affect over 100,000 people with poisonous methyl-isocyanine particles. The scope of the gas leak was estimated to be about six kilometers from the source of the gas accident. The initial death toll stood at 2,000 people most of who worked at the plant as employees. Much later, the toll rose to 8,000 after an hour. After three days of investigation, the victims of the gas leak were estimated to be over a hundred thousand (Palit, 2010). The exact health implications of the Bhopal gas leak were not fully released until 1994 when parts of the documents were released to the public. Over 500,000 people were labeled as being gas affected with most of the victims suffering from nervous system failure, different types of cancers, kidney and liver failures (Tho mas, 2010). The pesticide plant UCIL was a branch of the Union Carbide Corporation and immediately distanced itself from the gas disaster. Eventually, the Indian government forced them to pay over $400 million in compensation for the deaths and physical injuries. The occurrence of the disaster pointed toward an increased enforcing of international standards in dealing with environmentally hazardous chemicals to avoid similar accidents in the future. The topic of controversy even after the disaster was the fact that the plants’ scientists refused to divulge any information on the nature of the gas. Warren Anderson, the managing director, was accused of homicide, but he was never tried at both the US and Indian trials. Possible causes of the gas leak accident There was a lot of confusion after the plant was closed to outsiders after allegations arose that the plant had not complied with most regulations touching on worker safety, working conditions, emergency procedures and equipment maintenance. The most significant investigation into the cause of the gas leak was done by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and revealed the following results. Water seeped into MIC storage tanks and triggered an exothermal effect that exuded large amounts of toxic gas that broke open the safety valves. There were safety scrubbers that would normally cut off any excess gas, but these were dismantled for repair when the tragedy occurred (Sheehan, 2011). The main cause of the accident was established as negligence of safety procedures. First, no valves were installed to prevent water from seeping into the MIC storage tanks. The company also did a poor job of maintaining the flaring and cooling systems of the machinery and even on the fateful day, they were not in proper working condition. At the factory, coolant units had been drained off for usage in another part of the plant and the gas flare had been off for over three months. The reason given for the low safety standard at Union Carbide branch were financial in nature and involved massive budget cuts to the safety fund. The company had also made massive errors by procuring and installing equipment that had not been approved as safe for handling toxic components (Fact Finding Mission on Bhopal, 2009). Effects of the Bhopal gas leak accident Environmental effects The Dow Chemical Company that took over the control of Union Carbide Company in 2001 reported that there were still large volumes of poisonous waste at the site of the accident. As of 2011, the site was still highly contaminated with residues of mercury and hexachlorobenzene (Sheehan, 2011). Efforts were made to seal some of the toxic wastes into open barrels, but the severe rainfall and flooding washed off the chemicals into domestic water sources such as rivers and still ponds. Research done by environmentalists revealed that the locals consumed water that contained up to 500 times more toxic material than was humanly possible to consume. This has led to mutation and extinction of various species of flora and fauna in the area (Sarangi, 2012). Efforts to mitigate the accident and avoid future similar incidents The Indian Government was highly cooperative with lawmakers to ensure that repeats of such biochemical accidents were outdated. The state passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act as a method of ascertaining that allegations and lawsuits arising from the gas leak accident would be dealt with promptly and fairly. Within the Act, there were clauses that made such cases only adjudicated by the state. Through this act, all cases were removed from US jurisdiction and awarded to Indian courts. The agreement by UCIL to pay the $470 million was one of the results of such adjudication (Sarangi, 2012). Various stakeholders in the chemical industry globally used the Bhopal disaster as the perfect opportunity to plan to reinforce the safety regulations to deter any future lapses that would result in disasters. The Bhopal disaster proved that problems involving industrial hazards are tied to global market changes. Practical and consistent international operating guidelines for hazardous industries were proposed and ratified in international platforms such as the UN General Assembly and the European Union. These policies and norms have worked exceptionally well in measuring performance of hazardous chemical producers in India (Fact Finding Mission on Bhopal, 2009). The Bhopal incident served to change the trend and structure of industrial chemical production in India and the rest of the world. Though many lives were lost and the environment destroyed, the accident served to reinforce the authority of the Ministry of Environment and other stakeholders as well as renewing the world’s commitment at controlling the industrial activity that posed a potential threat to their well-being and that of the environment. References Fact Finding Mission on Bhopal. (2009). The Bhopal gas disaster, impacts, responses, current status, and recommendations for the future: executive summaries of studies. New Delhi: Fact Finding Mission on Bhopal Palit, A., National University of Singapore. (2010). The Bhopal tragedy verdict: Can India handle industrial disasters? Singapore: Institute of South Asian Studies. Sarangi, S. (2012). Compensation to Bhopal gas victims: will justice ever be done? Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, 9, 2 Sheehan, H. E. (2011). The Bhopal gas disaster: focus on community health and environmental effects. Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, 8, 2 Thomas, G. (2010). The Bhopal gas disaster and the poor state of occupational health and safety India. Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, 7, 4