Bhopal - an industrial accident

The following information may help year 10 complete their homework on the Bhopal industrial incident in India in December 1984:

The factory was owned by Union Carbide, a U.S. owned multinational company. The factory produced pesticides (Sevin) which were needed by India to help increase food supplies for a rapidly growing population.

On the 3rd December 1984 a series of events led to a chemical reaction and escaping MIC gas which killed and maimed thousands.

There were several failures in the safety procedures which led to the disaster. If any of these had been in place, the disaster may have been prevented, or the effects may have been reduced:
 Sections of pipelines being cleaned should have been isolated – this was not done
 Gauges in the central control room were not working properly (cost-cutting by the company?)
 For 6 weeks prior to the accident the pressure gauge for the MIC tank was showing ‘no pressure’. This was ignored as a faulty gauge but in fact there was a leaky tank (and if air could get out then water could get in!)
 MIC (the chemical) needs to be kept cool. The cooling system had been switched off (under orders from the Senior Management) since May 1984.
 The vent gas scrubber, which neutralises toxic gases before they are released into the atmosphere, was switched off for maintenance.

The disaster occurred because water used to flush out some pipes found its way through the main pipeline system and into the MIC tanks. Here it mixed with the MIC and the resulting chemical reaction led to the leaking of the toxic gas cloud over Bhopal.

Who was to blame?
You decide……
 Was it Union Carbide for failing to have adequate safety procedures in place?
 Was it the local people for building shanty settlements so close to the factory? (Something that wouldn’t have been allowed with planning restrictions in a MEDC)
 Was it the Indian government for failing to check that safety procedures were in place?
 Was it a disgruntled former Union Carbide employee who sabotaged the plant? (as the company claimed?)

What were the effects?
Death, blindness, breathing problems, birth defects….. and more. Use the information given in class and any additional information from websites to find out more about the effects, including numbers of people estimated to have been killed and injured.

Websites
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bhopal/default.stm is a good starting point.