Bhopal , methyl isocyanate release accident

Certainly the most catastrophic accident involving pesticides was the 1984 disaster at the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, India, which is estimated to have killed approximately 15,000 people when a relief valve lifted on a storage tank containing methyl isocyanate, releasing a cloud of toxic gas onto residential areas surrounding the plant. 

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). 

On December 3, 1984, a toxic gas release from a pesticide plant in India killed nearly 3000 people and injured at least 100,000 others. The chemical that leaked was methyl isocyanate, a chemical intermediate that was supposed to be stored in a cooled bunker near the plant s outer boundary. The vapor is highly toxic and causes cellular asphyxiation and rapid death. Despite engineering and procedural provisions to prevent its release, a total system breakdown resulted in the release of 40 tons of the deadly material into the densely populated community of Bhopal. Because of this incident, the plant was dismantled and ultimately the parent corporation. Union Carbide, was forced to make a number of organizational changes. The occurrence is considered by many to have been the most tragic chemical accident in history. 

The first positive step is the remedial action of cleaning up the environment that has already been damaged by the release of chemicals. This includes the restorations following the disastrous accidents of mercury in Minamata Bay, the Flixborough explosion of a vapor cloud, the Bhopal leaking of methyl isocyanate, and the Valdez oil tanker spill. 

Methyl isocyanate was the toxic agent involved in the most catastrophic industrial accident of all time, which took place in Bhopal, India, on December 2, 1984. This accident occurred when water got into a tank of methyl isocyanate, causing an exothermic reaction that built up pressure and ruptured a safety valve. This resulted in the release to the atmosphere of 30 to 40 tons of the compound over an approximately 3-h period. Subsequent exposure of people resulted in approximately 3,500 deaths and almost 100,000 injuries. 

One of the worst industrial accidents occurred in Bhopal, India, on December 2 and 3, 1984. It was due to the leakage of methyl isocyanate (MIC) released from the Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing plant. More than 3,000 people who resided in areas adjacent to the manufacturing plant died within a few hours after exposure to MIC. Death was attributed to severe pulmonary toxicity, followed by... 

On December 3 and 4, 1985, a chemical release causing a massive toxic gas cloud occurred at the Union Carbide India, Ltd, plant in Bhopal, India. (Union Carbide is now a part of The Dow Chemical Company.) The process involved used methyl isocyanate (MIC), an extremely toxic chemical, to make Sevin, a pesticide. According to various authoritative reports, about 1,700-2,700 (possibly more) people were killed, 50,000 people were affected seriously, and 1,000,000 people were affected in some way. The final settlement may involve billions of dollars. It was one of the worst industrial accidents in history. The accident occurred when about 120-240 gallons of water were allowed to contaminate an MIC storage tank. The MIC hydrolyzed, causing heat and pressure, which in turn caused the tank rupture disk to burst. 

Although toxic releases, in general, are not the principal cause of major accidents (relative to fire and explosion) associated with the chemical industry, they are a just cause of "considerable public apprehension" [1327a]. This concern has been compounded by an event which occurred in Bhopal, India in December 1984, in which over 2500 people were killed by a single toxic release of methyl isocyanate. 

Certain chemical disasters have prominent places in medical history. In 1976, a chemical reactor explosion in Seveso, Italy, released 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, which contaminated thousands of acres, killed 100,000 animals, and caused the evacuation of hundreds of people (Melius and Binder 1989). In 1984 in Bhopal, India, a carbamate pesticide plant released 30 tons of methyl isocyanate, causing more than 3,000 deaths and 50,000-300,000 injuries (Melius and Binder 1989). The Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear accidents during the 1980s were the culmination of a string of eight nuclear accidents since 1952 (Melius and Binder 1989). Other chemical disasters severely affected local communities but did not generate widespread attention (De La Paz 1997 Withers 1988). 

OTHER COMMENTS used in organic synthesis used in the manufacture of carbamate insecticides and herbicides an industrial accident during the manufacture of carbaryl in Bhopal, India in December 1984 resulted in the release of an unknown amount of methyl isocyanate into the atmosphere, leading to the deaths of over two thousand people. 

On December 3, 1984, Bhopal, India, experienced a release of approximately 40 metric tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) at the Union Carbide pesticide plant. Over 100,000 were injured and 3000 people were killed, and many more are likely to die from the long-term effects. The accident occurred around 12 40 a.m. local time, when most of the victims were sleeping. The dead included large numbers of infants, children, and older men and women. These age groups are often adversely impacted by toxic exposures. 

The world s worst industrial disaster occurred in Bhopal, India, in 1984 in which nearly 40 metric tons of methyl isocyanate was released from a pesticide plant killing over 3000 people. Most deaths resulted from pulmonary edema within 3 days of accident. Many follow-up studies indicated pulmonary, ophthalmic, neurological, reproductive, immunologic and hematologic toxic effects among the survivors. 

The release of methyl isocyanate (MIC) from the Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, in December 1984 has been called the worst industrial accident in history Conservative estimates point to 2,000 fatalities, 10,000 permanent disabilities (including blindness), and 200,000 injuries [38]. The Indian government blamed the accident on human error—the improper cleaning of a pipe at the plant. A relatively new worker was assigned to wash out some pipes and filters, which were clogged. MIC produces large amounts of heat when in contact with water, and the worker properly closed the valves to isolate the MIC tanks from the pipes and filters being washed. Nobody, however, inserted a required safety disk (called a slip blind) to back up the valves in case they leaked [12]. 

On the night of December 2, 1984, an accident at the Union Carbide plant in downtown Bhopal, India, caused the release of 40 metric tons of the deadly gas methyl Isocyanate. The cloud of gas spread throughout the city of Bhopal,... 

We may all say accidents happen. However, their occurrence may not only take human lives, destroy millions of dollars in property and lost business, they may also cost us our jobs and reputations. The Bhopal, India, accident in 1984 released methyl isocyanate and caused over 2500 fatalities. A petroleum refinery blew up in Houston, Texas, in 1989, killing 23 workers and damaging properly totaling U.S. 750 million, spewing debris from the explosion over an area of 9 km. Many thought that after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in the United States in 1979 and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in Ukraine in 1986, we would finally get a handle on how to prevent accidents. Unfortunately, the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011 proved otherwise (see Picture 2.1). 

In December 1984, following an accident at Bhopal in India in which 30 tons of methyl isocyanate were released, at least 2500... 

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