Bhopal, India Chemical Accident, 1984 - 2731 Words

Just after midnight on December 3, 1984, a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India had a chemical leak accident. The chemical that was released into the air is called methyl isocyanate, or MIC, used to make pesticides. This chemical is tremendously harmful and fatal to humans, livestock, and crops. Only a short-term exposure may cause death or unfavorable health effects. The slums of Bhopal and its residents that surrounded the plant which were mostly affected by the gas suffered dearly. An estimated 8,000 people dead and about 300,000 more suffering from its effects. Bloated carcasses of cattle dotted the streets. Tree and plant leaves were yellow and brittle. Corpses littered the streets and discovered behind locked doors, trapped in private†¦show more content†¦The overwhelming population in Bhopal means very few jobs that are out there for the public. Â…Even a meager, low-paying job is welcomed as a way to avoid abject poverty (15). The bottom class of society, workers and j ob seekers take any job they can find if they are fortunate. If they are lucky, they will be found in such places as small industries around the city like the glue factory, the bone mills, the tannery center, the distillery, the slaughterhouse, and the straw products factory. Otherwise, these people work as sidewalk vendors who shine shoes, give haircuts or clean ears (15). They can also find jobs as street cleaners or in communal sewing centers. In addition to these unofficial social classes, Hindus in Bhopal and throughout India adhere to a rigid caste system that further separates people into classes (15). It is very hard to change caste to a higher standard of living and converse with a higher class. But if some individuals have the desire to change caste, they can through immense effort, talent, and luck; Â…one may change caste by gaining prominence in a certain occupation (17). The caste system offers little flexibility in village life, politics, and in marriage. Religion a lso plays a part in this caste; only Hindus can have caste. In the midst of the poverty and chaos in Bhopal, Union carbide opened its chemical plant in 1969 (17). The plant is located at the city limitsShow MoreRelatedEssay on Bhopal, India Chemical accident, 19842698 Words   |  11 Pages Just after midnight on December 3, 1984, a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India had a chemical leak accident. The chemical that was released into the air is called methyl isocyanate, or MIC, used to make pesticides. This chemical is tremendously harmful and fatal to humans, livestock, and crops. Only a short-term exposure may cause death or unfavorable health effects. The slums of Bhopal and its residents that surrounded the plant which were mostly affected by the gas suffered dearly. An estimated 8Read MoreUnion Carbides Bhopal Disaster1301 Words   |  6 PagesUnion Carbide s Bhopal Disaster In 1984, as if in a nightmare, a cloud of poison gas reached out and snuffed the lives of thousands of people in the sleeping city of Bhopal, India. The residents awoke to a terrible disaster, a chemical explosion whose memory could never be erased. At the center of the tragedy was the Union Carbide pesticide plant, and surrounding the accident were doubts and accusations of negligence and unethical practices. The Disaster On December 3, 1984, one of the worldRead MoreComparing and Contrast the Chemical Disasters at Bhopal in India and Seveso in Italy1362 Words   |  6 Pagesmore mistakes will be going on, because some technologies, such as weed killer and liquid cleaners are chemicals. With no doubt, chemicals are really harmful for human beings. 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It was the night that at least 30 tons of the highly toxic gas, methyl isocyanate, was released from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, India. It has been recorded as the world’s worst industrial disaster. But how did such a disaster take place? The Union Carbide plant dated back to 1969 where it was a formulations plant. The original purpose ofRead MoreThe Tragedy Of The Bhopal Chemical Leak1034 Words   |  5 Pagesabsolutely detrimental. Chemical leaks are a rather harmful accident, especially in industrialized factories. This was the case in 1984 when Union Carbide’s safety mechanism failed to detain three tanks of Methyl Isocyanate (MCI for short). As a repercussion, a massive chemical leak of white fog polluted the city of Bhopal’s atmosphere within a moment. The tragedy of the Bhopal Chemical Leak leads to the world’s curiosity of what happened on that day, why exactly chemicals– such as Methyl IsocyanateRead MoreThe Bhopal Disaster of 19846444 Words   |  26 PagesBulletin of Science, Technology Society http://bst.sagepub.com/ The Bhopal Disaster of 1984 Roli Varma and Daya R. Varma Bulletin of Science Technology Society 2005 25: 37 DOI: 10.1177/0270467604273822 The online version of this article can be found at: http://bst.sagepub.com/content/25/1/37 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of: National Association for Science, Technology Society Additional services and information for Bulletin of Science, Technology Read MoreBhopal Gas Disaster Of 19841247 Words   |  5 PagesThe Bhopal Gas Disaster of 1984 INTRODUCTION On the Night of December 2, 1984, there was a horrific accident at the Union Carbide Pesticide Chemical Factory in Bhopal, India. The factory produced a chemical called methyl isocyanate (MIC) also know by Union Carbide as â€Å"Liquid Dynamite†. It is an organic compound with the molecular formula CH3NCO MIC is a highly reactive intermediate chemical used to manufacture various pesticides. This chemical reacts exothermically with water and produces a poisonousRead MoreEssay about Bhopal Ethical Issues1307 Words   |  6 Pages1. Introduction: In the morning of December 3, 1984 a tragic event occurred in the city of Bhopal, the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It has been known as the worlds worst industrial disaster. A Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL)s plant released 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas which instantly killed over 3,000 people and carrying on causing the death of more than 20,000. This tragic event involved not only the technical, safety issues at the time, but also ethical issues on the responsibility