Running head: BHOPAL DISASTER IN INDIA 1 BHOPAL DISASTER IN INDIA 2 Bhopal Disaster in India Name Institution Bhopal Disaster in India The Bhopal disaster took place more than thirty years ago in India in a town called Bhopal and it has been the worst ever experienced accident in the industrial sector to date. The disaster involved leakage of several tons of a gas that was highly poisonous known as methyl isocyanate alongside other gases that are poisonous too (Fernandez,2017). According to Taylor (2014), the plant that was into the production of pesticide was surrounded by several shanty towns which lead to the exposure of thousands of people to the lethal gas on that particular day. The gases were near the ground and hence caused the throats as well as eyes of the victims to burn, induced nausea and resulted in a lot of deaths. This paper will discuss the Bhopal disaster in India, including the issues and the mistakes that were made during the response and recovery of the disaster as well as the aftermath of the disaster. On the 3rd of December of the year 1984, around 45 tons of a dangerous gas known as methyl isocyanate leaked from a plant that was into the manufacturing of insecticide which was owned by an Indian based subsidiary of the Union Carbide Corporation which is an American company. The gas spread over the neighbourhoods surrounding the plant which were densely populated killing many people immediately and created panic as several other people tried to run away from the area. The final estimates of the death toll were around 15,000 to 20,000. More than half a million of those that survived suffered other issues such as respiratory problems, blindness and eye irritation, and others gave birth to mentally and physically disabled kids. Many of the victims were awarded a few dollars in compensation for the harm caused. Investigations into the accident revealed that the incident was as a result of safety and operating procedures that were substandard. It was also established that the plant was understaffed (Fernandez,2017). The Indian government had in the 1970s initiated policies which were aimed at encouraging the investment into the local industry by the foreign companies. That is when the Union Carbide Corporation was requested to build a plant that would be used for the manufacturing of sevin which was a pesticide that was mainly used across Asia. The government insisted that the local shareholders held a significant proportion of the investment. The government also held a 22 per cent share in the Union Carbide India Limited which was a subsidiary of the company. Bhopal was chosen as a good site for the construction of the plant because it is centrally located and easy to access transport and other infrastructure. This site was mainly used for light ...

1. Running head: BHOPAL DISASTER IN INDIA
1
BHOPAL DISASTER IN INDIA
2
Bhopal Disaster in India
Name
Institution
Bhopal Disaster in India
The Bhopal disaster took place more than thirty years ago
in India in a town called Bhopal and it has been the worst ever
experienced accident in the industrial sector to date. The
disaster involved leakage of several tons of a gas that was
highly poisonous known as methyl isocyanate alongside other
gases that are poisonous too (Fernandez,2017). According to
Taylor (2014), the plant that was into the production of
pesticide was surrounded by several shanty towns which lead to
the exposure of thousands of people to the lethal gas on that
particular day. The gases were near the ground and hence
caused the throats as well as eyes of the victims to burn,
induced nausea and resulted in a lot of deaths. This paper will

2. discuss the Bhopal disaster in India, including the issues and
the mistakes that were made during the response and recovery
of the disaster as well as the aftermath of the disaster.
On the 3rd of December of the year 1984, around 45 tons
of a dangerous gas known as methyl isocyanate leaked from a
plant that was into the manufacturing of insecticide which was
owned by an Indian based subsidiary of the Union Carbide
Corporation which is an American company. The gas spread
over the neighbourhoods surrounding the plant which were
densely populated killing many people immediately and created
panic as several other people tried to run away from the area.
The final estimates of the death toll were around 15,000 to
20,000. More than half a million of those that survived suffered
other issues such as respiratory problems, blindness and eye
irritation, and others gave birth to mentally and physically
disabled kids. Many of the victims were awarded a few dollars
in compensation for the harm caused. Investigations into the
accident revealed that the incident was as a result of safety and
operating procedures that were substandard. It was also
established that the plant was understaffed (Fernandez,2017).
The Indian government had in the 1970s initiated policies
which were aimed at encouraging the investment into the local
industry by the foreign companies. That is when the Union
Carbide Corporation was requested to build a plant that would
be used for the manufacturing of sevin which was a pesticide
that was mainly used across Asia. The government insisted that
the local shareholders held a significant proportion of the
investment. The government also held a 22 per cent share in the
Union Carbide India Limited which was a subsidiary of the
company. Bhopal was chosen as a good site for the construction
of the plant because it is centrally located and easy to access
transport and other infrastructure. This site was mainly used for
light industrial as well as to be used for commercial activities
and not perilous plants (Broughton,2005).
The factory was at first permitted for the preparation of
insecticides from constituent substances which were brought in

3. from the main corporation in small and manageable amounts.
Nevertheless, as a result of mounting competition in the
industry, the company implemented a backward integration
whereby it began manufacturing raw materials as well as
intermediate products which were used to formulate the end
product in one facility. This was a process that was quite
hazardous and sophisticated. By the year 1984, the plant had
started manufacturing Sevin at a quarter of its capacity of
production as a result of reduced demand for the insecticides.
As a consequence of failures of the crops and scarcity, the
farmers suffered a decrease in capital and increased in
indebtedness which made them reduce their investments in
pesticides (Broughton,2005).
Due to decreased profitability, the managers at the local level
were given directions to close the plant as they awaited its sale
later in the year. When no buyer was found, the company
decided to dismantle the major production units in order to ship
to a different developing country. The facility, however,
continued its operations with procedures that were below the
standards of procedures and safety equipment of the mother
company. The local administration had prior knowledge of the
safety issues but was reluctant about placing substantial
manufacturing safety and contamination control problems on the
industry that was already struggling because it was afraid of the
economic effects that would be involved due to the loss of the
company which was a significant employer, forgetting about the
danger it was subjecting its citizens into (Carlsten,2003).
On the eve of the disaster, one of the plant's operator observed a
tiny leakage of the methyl isocyanate gas and an increase in
pressure in the tank used for storage. A certain safety device
that was designed for the neutralization of noxious release from
the system had been turned off some few weeks ago. A regulator
that was faulty had let the mixing of some amount of the gas
with water used for cleaning the internal pipes. A refrigeration
unit that served as a safety component for cooling the tank
storing the gas had its coolant drained to be used in another area

4. of the plant and pressure from the reactions in the tank were
persistently building up. The gas flare protection system had not
been in action for a couple of months. This negligence and the
substandard operations taking place at the plant led to this
disaster that saw thousands of people lose their lives as well as
their normal body functions. It was a case of great negligence
on the part of the Indian government which was aware of all the
happenings at the plant as well as from the management of the
company (Carlsten,2003).
Soon after the disaster, the mother company in America started
dissociating itself from responsibility for the leakage of the gas.
It intended to shift the entire blame on the Indian subsidiary
claiming that it was built and wholly operated by the subsidiary
in India. There was also a fabrication of scenarios showing
sabotage by some unknown extremist group and dissatisfied
employees claims that were disputed by various sources
(Broughton,2005).
Different lawsuits have since been filed by different parties
starting with a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit that was filed in a
court in the United States by an American Attorney. This
marked the start of several years of legal intrigues which
largely ignored the moral consequences of the disaster and its
effects on the persons living in Bhopal were to a great extent
ignored. The government of India also enacted the “Bhopal Gas
Leak Disaster Act” as a means to ensure that any arising claims
the incident would be handled fast and equally. The enactment
made the Indian administration the main victims’ representative
in the legal proceedings both in India and outside. All cases
were ultimately taken out of the American legal structure and
wholly put under the Indian legal system which was a detriment
to the people that were affected by the disaster
(Broughton,2005).
Years after the accident, tons of industrial waste were still
at the site. The Union Carbide Corporation was bought by the
Dow Chemical Company and neither the company nor the
government had been able to clean the site well. The water and

5. soil in the area still remained contaminated which was said to
be behind various chronic health issues as well as high
incidences of birth defects by the people living around the area.
The court resulted in an order that the state supplied clean water
for drinking to the residents due to the contamination of
groundwater. Later on, all the company’s executives were
convicted with negligence in the handling of the disaster. The
continued mishandling of the disaster by the government and
the company led to various protests by the victims and other
citizens (Dhara & Dhara,2002).
According to Carlsten (2003), awareness of environmental
issues in India increased largely following the disaster. The
government passed the Environment Protection Act and
strengthened their commitment to the environment. The
importance of the integration of environmental strategies into
every plan for industrial development was established in the
country. India has put into place more strategies for disaster
preparedness and come up with more strict rules governing the
manufacture of hazardous products and gases. The Bhopal
disaster was a great lesson for the nation such that it had to be
stricter on foreign companies seeking to establish themselves in
India.
The Bhopal disaster events revealed that the expansion of
industrial development in the underdeveloped nations without
considering safety protocols can have major effects. The
tragedy showed that the issues related to manufacturing perils
as well as toxic contamination which are deemed local have
effects on the dynamics of the global market. The Sevin
producing plant in Bhopal was built for purposes of exploiting
the huge and growing pesticide market in India as opposed to
avoiding environmental regulations. Nevertheless, the project
was executed in a manner that suggested a double standard for
the international companies that operates in the developing
nations (Broughton,2005). National and international
governments and agencies are supposed to focus on the
techniques that are widely applicable to company responsibility

6. and preventing accidents as much as in the developing nations
as in the developed manufacturing nations. Deterrence should
comprise of reduction of risk where a plant is located and
designing of safety laws (Bertazzi,1999).
The Bhopal tragedy will haunt the citizens living and those
that lived in the area for a lifetime. It is believed that the people
suffering from major pulmonary problems are found or are
linked to the area. The disaster will forever remain in the minds
of the citizens. The disaster caused a lot of deaths and did
damages that will last a lifetime and can be erased by almost
nothing. Not even compensations from the government and the
responsible company. The Bhopal incidence and the aftermath
acted as a warning that the industrialization path in the
developing countries like India is a concern for people, the
environment and other economic hazards. Some actions by the
Indian government such as the establishment of the ministry of
environment and the enactment of the EPA are meant to offer
protection to the health of the public from practices by both the
multinational and local industries. Such practices and
enactments would have helped in preventing the Bhopal disaster
and its aftermath.
References
Bertazzi, P. A. (1999). Future prevention and handling of
environmental accidents. Scandinavian journal of work,
environment & health, 580-588.
Broughton, E. (2005). The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: a
review. Environmental Health, 4(1), 6.
Carlsten, C. (2003). The Bhopal disaster: prevention should
have priority now. International journal of occupational and
environmental health, 9(1), 93.
Dhara, V. R., & Dhara, R. (2002). The Union Carbide disaster
in Bhopal: a review of health effects. Archives of
Environmental Health: An International Journal, 57(5), 391-
404.

7. Fernandez, H (2017). The Bhopal Disaster.
Taylor, A. (2014). Bhopal: the world’s worst industrial disaster,
30 years later. The Atlantic.