Case studies Bhopal disaster

The Bhopal disaster was a watershed in the area of environmental policy and legislation worldwide. Suddenly the horror of the industrial model of development became very stark and real. How and where industries were sited and how they dealt with the dangers that they posed to the communities around them became real questions. After the Love Canal saga (see the case study later in this chapter), Bhopal was the one incident that led to worldwide regulation on chemicals and toxicity. Intertwined with all the information was the fact that communities be given information and be included as participants in industry decision making. 

Dhara, R., Dhara, V.R. (1995). Bhopal - a case study of international disaster. Int. J. Occup. Environ. Health 1 58-69. 

Investigations of industrial accidents reveal that most are caused by human error. The twentieth century s worst industrial disasters—Bhopal, Three Mile Island, and Chernobyl—helped clarify the complex chain of system problems that lead to human error. System problems are problems caused by a process system with built in design and operating deficiencies. The accidents provided numerous checklists and case studies for control room and equipment design. A partial list of some of the problems found at the industrial sites mentioned above are ... 

Many people are familiar with the Bhopal disaster in December 1984, and as is usually the case, there were multiple problems and failures leading up to the catastrophic release of methyl isocyanate (MIC). For this case study, we will focus on the organizational issues related to personnel turnover to provide an example of how such changes can contribute to process safety incidents. 

Petersen, M.J., Bhopal Plant Disaster - Situation Summary (Draft), International Dimension of Ethics Education in Science and Engineering Case Study, March 2009. 

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