Bhopal, India

On December 2, 1984, a worker observed a build-up of pressure in a storage tank at the Union Carbide chemical plant near Bhopal, India. The tank contained about 15 tons of methylisocyanate (MIC), a chemical used to make pesticides. It is flammable, and at high concentrations it is deadly. At low concentrations, it causes lung damage and blindness. 

How did water get into the tank The MIC was stored imder a blanket of dry nitrogen. Some experts suggest that the nitrogen was wet. Others guess that a water hose was inadvertently connected to the nitrogen line. A Union Carbide official suggested possible sabotage. 

Even if the incident on December 2, 1984 was an accident, the MIC unit at Bhopal was a disaster waiting to happen. During a press conference, a Union Carbide executive acknowledged that the unit was in a state of sorry disrepair, and that its condition was so poor that it shouldn t have been running. 

Up to 200,000 people were exposed to MIC in Bhopal and surrounding towns. More than 2,500 died. Thousands more suffered permanent lung and/or eye damage. All told, there were 524,000 personal injury claims, 2,800 lost-cattle claims, 4,600 business claims, and 3,400 wrongful death claims. 

Eventually, Union Carbide reached a US 470 million settlement with the Parliament of India. 

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There are three types of TAP emissions continuous, intermittent, and accidental. Both routine emissions associated with a batch process or a continuous process that is operated only occasionally can be intermittent sources. A dramatic example of an accidental emission was the release of methyl isocyanate [624-83-9] in Bhopal, India. As a result of this accident, the U.S. Congress created Tide III, a free-standing statute included in the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986. Title III provides a mechanism by which the pubHc can be informed of the existence, quantities, and releases of toxic substances, and requires the states to develop plans to respond to accidental releases of these substances. Eurther, it requires anyone releasing specific toxic chemicals above a certain threshold amount to aimuaHy submit a toxic chemical release form to EPA. At present, there are 308 specific chemicals subject to Title III regulation (37). 

Briefly describe the lessons learned from die accident in Bhopal, India. 

In Bhopal, India, more than 2500 people died from a release... 

Ironically, despite all this scientific progress, modern fiberoptic cables went into service during a decade of chemical catastrophes more reminiscent of the old Leblanc factories than of optical fibers superpurity. On December 3, 1984, a cloud of deadly methylisocyanate gas leaked from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India the gas killed more than 3000 people and injured up to 25,000. Two years later in Europe, a Sandoz chemical factory spilled 30 tons of chemicals into the Rhine River, killing fish for 120 miles downstream. In North America, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spilled crude oil over 1000 miles of Alaskan coastline in 1989. 

Congress amended CERCLA in 1986 with the enactment of the SARA. These amendments improved the Superfund program and added an important section that focused on strengthening the rights of citizens and communities in the face of potential hazardous substance emergencies. This section, SARA Title III, or the EPCRA, was enacted in response to the more than 2000 deaths caused by the release of a toxic chemical in Bhopal, India. 

Department of Chemistry, M.A. College of Technology, Bhopal, India... 

The study of the accidents in chemical facilities, during transportation, storage and others, the research of the chemical products, which are produced and stored, are important points in the preparation of the defence against chemical terrorism. An example of such an accident is the explosion at the Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing plant (Dec. 3, 1984), which scattered toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) over the city of Bhopal, India. During the first few days up to 4000 people died of painful, harrowing deaths [10],... 

Environmentally hazardous projects are those where the risk of accidents is very high, which can result in a major and sometimes even catastrophic chemical pollution of the environment. Frequently, these disasters take casualties among the plant personnel, as well as among the nearby settlements population, which were the cases with the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster in Ukraine, or with the pesticide plant accident in Bhopal, India. 

Recognizing that the chemical industry is safe, why is there so much concern about chemical plant safety The concern has to do with the industry s potential for many deaths, as, for example, in the Bhopal, India, tragedy. Accident statistics do not include information on the total number of deaths from a single incident. Accident statistics can be somewhat misleading in this respect. For example, consider two separate chemical plants. Both plants have a probability of explosion and complete devastation once every 1000 years. The first plant employs a single operator. When the plant explodes, the operator is the sole fatality. The second plant employs 10 operators. When this plant explodes all 10 operators succumb. In both cases the FAR and OSHA incidence rate are the same the second accident kills more people, but there are a correspondingly larger number of exposed hours. In both cases the risk taken by an individual operator is the same.4... 

The four most cited accidents (Flixborough, England Bhopal, India Seveso, Italy and Pasadena, Texas) are presented here. All these accidents had a significant impact on public perceptions and the chemical engineering profession that added new emphasis and standards in the practice of safety. Chapter 13 presents case histories in considerably more detail. 

The Bhopal, India, accident, on December 3, 1984, has received considerably more attention than the Flixborough accident. This is due to the more than 2000 civilian casualties that resulted. 

Use the Bhopal, India, accident described in chapter 1 to develop an investigation similar to Example 12-1. 

Flixborough, England 23 Bhopal, India 25 Seveso, Italy 26 Pasadena, Texas 27 Suggested Reading 29 Problems 30... 

Another type of activated double bond is found in isocyanates and isothiocyanates. Methylisocyanate was responsible for a disaster in Bhopal, India, in 1984 when approximately 40 tons of the gas were accidentally released leading to the death of thousands of people and injury to many more. Some have called this the worst industrial accident in history. Methylisocyanate reacts with nucleophiles as shown in Figure 8.18—in this case with a thiol. This reaction is reversible, and therefore a glutathione conjugate can act to... 

A toxic gas disaster occurred when 2,300 were killed and 200,000 others injured in a few hours when the gas escaped from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. 

The 1984 methyl isocyanate release in Bhopal, India that resulted in 2000 fatalities... 

On December 4, 1984, approximately 40 metric tons of methyl isocyanate was accidentally released in Bhopal India. The incident resulted in an estimated 2000 deaths within a short period (Lees 1996 A5-1). 

Bhopal, India incident, 4 Castleford, UK incident, 11,156-158 Chemical Incidents Report Center (CIRC), 78... 

Event 5 Toxic Chemical Leak—Methyl isocyanate (MIC). Union Carbide Corporation, Bhopal, India (December 3, 1984). 3,000-7,000 people killed immediately 20,000 cumulative deaths 200,000-500,000 injured post-traumatic stress continued medical consequences (Lees 1996). 

The chemical accident at Bhopal, India, in late 1984, is only the worst example of events that take place almost daily, on a smaller scale, throughout the world. Human beings are not the only potential victims of chemical toxicity - all of life on earth can be affected. Chemicals are ravaging human health and the environment, and conditions are worsening. 

The worst chemical disaster in history occurred on December 3, 1984, in Bhopal, India, a city of some 1.6 million people in the state of Madhya Pradesh. On that date in the middle of the night, a tank at the Union Carbide India Ltd. plant leaked between 25 and 40 tons of methyl isocyanate, a volatile colorless liquid, into the atmosphere of Bhopal. This highly toxic gas settled onto the city and its inhabitants in a silent, if odorous, cloud. The results were horrific some 3800 people died and another 2700 experienced total or partial permanent disability. By some estimates, more than 10% of the population of Bhopal—170,000 people—suffered some adverse effect from the methyl isocyanate leak. 

The accidental release of several tons of MIC in 1984 at Bhopal, India, resulted in a very heavy death toll (approximately 1850) and, in survivors, significant impairment of health. Immediate symptoms were difficulty in breathing, skin and eye irritation, vomiting, and unconsciousness. Only a few deaths were recorded in the first few hours, with the maximum number of fatalities occurring between 24 and 72 hours. The predominant cause of death was cardiac arrest following severe pulmonary edema. Lung function abnormalities have persisted years after exposure. Ophthalmic effects included lacrimation, lid edema, photophobia, and ulceration of the corneal epithelium. A follow-up study 3 years after exposure showed excess irritation, eyelid infection, cataract, and a decrease in visual acuity, but corneal erosion was resolved. ... 

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