Industrial accidents Bhopal disaster

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... 

Following major industrial accidents such as those in Bhopal, Seveso and Mexico City, the ILO has unrfertaken a series of activities for the prevention of such disasters. In addition to the develr Mnent of major hazard control systems in a number of developing countries, the Office published a manual on major hazard control [31] and a Code of Practice on the prevention of major industrial accidents [32]. A new Convention... 

Thus far, discussion has centered on chemical compounds with a military application. Other highly toxic industrial chemicals also pose a potential risk to the military. The disaster in Bhopal, India, in December 1984, when an estimated 8,000 persons died and another 30,000 were injured from breathing methylisocyanate and chlorine released in an industrial accident, is just one of many examples of the devastating effect of poisonous gases.26... 

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 ... 

Turning to the hazards and the impact of industrial processes. Many disasters such as Flixborough, Seveso and Bhopal (see section 1.6) have ably illustrated the environmental impact of human errors and the need for rigorous safety controls. The capacities and productivity of chemical plants are driven upwards as are the magnitudes of losses in terms of economic cost and fatalities. Analysis of the major causes of accidents in the U.S. chemical industry in the 1978-1980 period highlighted that ... 

Sason The cause of this accident and the Bhopal disaster was human error, which is a whitewashed expression for negligence. The Web is laden with similar industrial accidents, and Figure 10.1 provides a list of some of the chemical accidents that have occurred between the years 1974 and 1993. This list is similar to one that appeared in Chemical Engineering News in 1993. 

Major Accidents like Flixborough (UK), 1974 Seveso (IT), 1976 Bhopal (India), 1984 Basel Mexico 1986 made people think of brining the legislature to prevent/ reduce accident in process Industries dealing with hazardous material. TUI now Seveso II Directive 96 2/EC is in effect The directive was named after Seveso disaster -an industrial accident that occurred around on July 10,1976, in a small chemical manufacturing plant near Milan in Italy. 

Industrial disasters have played a major part in generating the fascination for studying human faults and human errors. Without the nuclear industry and its disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, and more recently at Fukushima, without the aviation industry and the accident in Tenerife, and without the Bhopal disaster in the chemical industry, very little progress would have been made towards theories on error, safety and human reliability. 

The accident involving the generation of heat and the leakage of methyl isocyanate (MIC) that happened in Bhopal, India, from midnight of December 2 through Dec. 3, 1984, developed into the greatest industrial disaster in history. The death toll was reportedly 2,500, and it was said that more than 10,000 people suffered health-disorders as after-effects. Approximately 200,000 people in total were affected by the leaked gas. 

There have been numerous discussions about this accident, which produced the most casualties in the history of industrial disasters. Some arguments revolve around the direct cause of the accident. As is generally known, many major accidents have been caused by combinations of small accidents. The accident in Bhopal also happened as the result of a combination of serious mistakes the mixing of water with MIC caused by neglecting to put the metal sheet in place to separate reactive components, and the failures in operation of the exhaust gas scrubber and the flare stack. Such cases are frequently found where a safety device is temporarily removed because the device is troublesome. It is necessary to educate people that the reliability of a safety device should be tested and that the failure of a safety device can lead to unexpectedly terrible results. 

As discussed earlier, nuclear accidents liave not been die only accidents to occur in recent times. Other disasters at chemical plants have been responsible for a much greater loss of life. Tlie worst disaster in the recent history of the chemical industry occurred in Bhopal, in central India, on December 3, 1984. A leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) from a chemical pkint, where it was used as an intermediate in the manufacture of a pesticide, spread into tlie adjacent city and caused the poisoning dcatli of more tlian 2500 people apja-oximately 20,000 others were injured. 

AIChE created the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) in 1985 after the chemical disasters in Mexico City, Mexico, and Bhopal, India. The CCPS is chartered to develop and disseminate technical information for use in the prevention of major chemical accidents. The center is supported by more than 100 chemical process industry sponsors that provide the necessary funding and professional guidance to its technical committees. The major product of CCPS activities has been a series of guidelines to assist those implementing various elements of a process safety and risk management system. This book is part of that series. 

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. 

In addition to terrorist actions, accidents will occur as manufacturing with potent industrial chemicals becomes widespread. Although industrial compounds are not traditionally classified as chemical agents, they are lethal and potent (eg, the disaster in Bhopal, India, which is discussed later in this chapter). Poor economic conditions may also promote theft of agents and their chemical precursors and illegal transfer of weapons—not only by international brokers but also by industrial workers. 

The Bhopal Accident This is probably the site of one of the greatest industrial disasters in history. Between 1977 and 1984, United Carbide India Limited, located within a crowded working class neighborhood in Bhopal, was licensed by the Madhya Pradesh State government to manufacture phosgene, monomethylamine, methylisocyanate, and the pesticide carbaryl, also known as Sevin. 

Past experiences indicate that industries such as petroleum and chemical that handle hazardous substances are more prone to major accidents. Maintenance can play a major role in the occurrence of such accidents. Some examples of the major accidents in the area of oil and gas industrial sector in which maintenance, directly or indirectly, has played a major role are Piper Alpha Disaster, Texas City Refinery Explosion, Sodegaura Refinery Disaster, and the Bhopal Gas Tragedy [1]. 

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