The Bhopal Disaster

As a result of the acquisition, however, Dow has become an international target of protest and media scrutiny. The management s public denials of liability and responsibility are fueling the protest movement. Those denials may also prove to be misleading to investors in light of ongoing efforts to hold Union Carbide liable 

On December 3, 1984, the worst industrial disaster in history began in Bhopal, India. It involved the accidental release of tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) and the death in short order of over 2,000 people with hundreds, possibly thousands more in succeeding months and years. The U.S. EPA Web site indicates a final death toll of about 3,800 with adverse and serious health 

It is certainly difficult to find any redeeming aspect to this story. However, it did lead the Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA) to adopt, in 1988, its Responsible Care program. The first step was the voluntary Community Awareness Emergency Response program. While chemical companies have demonstrated commitment to these values, today there is renewed concern over protecting chemical plants from terrorists. 

For many years Robert F. Furchgott (1916- ), at the SUNY ITealth Science Center in Brooklyn, had investigated the effects of chemicals on relaxation of smooth muscle in vascular tissues. Relaxation of hlood vessels enhances hlood flow. In 1980 he demonstrated that cells from the iimermost layer (the endothelium) in hlood vessels produce a chemical factor necessary to relax the smooth muscles in vascular tissues. Furchgott termed it the endothehum dependent relaxing factor or EDRF. 

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In Delaware, the Regulation for the Management of Extremely Ha2ardous Substances Act, developed in response to the Bhopal disaster and several chemical-release incidents in Delaware, became effective in 1989 (27,28). The regulations Hst 88 toxic substances, 32 flammable substances, and 50 explosive substances. A sufficient quantity is specified for each of these materials, based on potential for a catastrophic event at a distance of 100 m from a potential source of a 1-h release. 

Protection of Employees. In 1986, shortly after the Bhopal disaster, OSHA contracted to develop a federal standard on process ha2ards management. A proposed standard was issued in 1990, and the Process Safety Management of Highly Ha2ardous Chemicals standard was issued and implemented in 1992 (36). 

A plant team working with the Pampa fire department brought the fire under control. The Chemical Manufacturers Association s Community Awareness Emergency Response Program (CARE), developed after the Bhopal disaster was credited with effectiveness of their efforts in putting out the fire. 

Ronald J. Willey, The Bhopal Disaster (New York American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1998). 

Buffer zones separating relatively hazardous operations from neighboring residential, commercial, or industrial properties also are important. The human toll in the Bhopal disaster was magnified by the fact that a town had been allowed to grow up at the plant s boundary. 

From Plant Saponins to 16 -Methyl Intermediates. With the Bhopal disaster in India in mind, the initial program of work with our colleagues in Mexico City was directed at reexamining an alternative process to the existing process using diazomethane as a reagent for the introduction of the 16 p -methyl group (Scheme 9, Routes B and A, respectively). 

Although methylhydrazine has a higher boiling point than methyl isocyanate (88°C versus 39°C), and would therefore be expected to be easier to contain, it is a toxic and hazardous compound (rocket fuel). However, methylhydrazine does not have the emotive baggage associated with the Bhopal disaster caused by methyl isocyanate. On these grounds, work to determine the feasibility of Scheme 20 was considered a worthwhile objective. 

The Bhopal Disaster of 1984 was caused by the accidental release of 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) from a pesticide plant of Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL) located in the heart of the city of Bhopal, India. A total number of victims is estimated as many as 600,0003. The plant was abandoned and remaining toxic chemicals at the site are still discharging into the environment. 

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. 

Studies in animals revealed that methylisocyanate, by reacting with and changing proteins in the body which would then be recognized as foreign by the immune system, caused antibodies to be produced to the altered proteins. This was also found in the human victims of the Bhopal disaster. ... 

An examination of the causes of the Bhopal disaster clearly indicates that the accident would not have occurred if all necessary precautions had been taken in the maintenance and operation of the Union Carbide Pesticide Plant. This required continued and apt maintenance, regular inspection by independent authorities, sufficiently well-trained staff, and location of the plant far away from residential areas and not just within 1 km of the railway station and within 3 km of two major hospitals, as was the case in Bhopal. 

Examination of 500 exposed people within 3 days of the Bhopal disaster identified alveolar edema in 40% and... 

As mentioned before, most of the victims of the disaster belonged to economically disadvantaged groups and lived in poor housing with nonexistent sanitary facilities. They thus suffered from many chronic diseases including bronchitis, tuberculosis, malaria, and so on. The Bhopal disaster certainly worsened these maladies. 

Accidental release of MIC can happen wherever the chemical is stored. A minor leak occurred from the Union Carbide plant in West Virginia only a few months after the Bhopal disaster and a nearby school had to be evacuated. Exposure to MIC at higher concentrations and for a longer duration than happened in Bhopal can also occur and can be fatal to a substantially greater percentage of population regardless of where it happens. The fact that MIC is heavier... 

If animal experiments were solely performed to answer questions relating to the Bhopal disaster, the use of excessively high concentrations of MIC (Dodd et al, 1987 Troup et al, 1987 Fedde et al, 1987 Fowler et al, 1987) and repeated exposures would not have much relevance. However, workers are likely to encounter repeated exposure to MIC indeed, anecdotal reports suggest that the impending disaster was not expected because workers were used to minor leaks and consequently eye irritation in the Union Carbide plant. Although no worker died inside the plant in Bhopal, because MIC spewed outside the factory, an accident worse than Bhopal cannot be ruled out, especially in an enclosed space. 

Studies by the authors quoted in this article were supported by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, McGill University and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. In particular, we thank Sambhavana Trust Clinic, Bhopal, its managing tmstees, Satinath Sarangi, and the entire staff who have been of invaluable help not only in epidemiological research hut also in welcoming our interns who used its facilities for knowledge. This chapter is dedicated to the victims of the Bhopal disaster of 1984. 

Nemery, B. (1996). Late consequences of accidental exposure to inhaled irritants RADS and the Bhopal disaster. Eur. Respir. J. 9 1973-6. 

Nemery, B., Dinsdale, D., Sparrow, S. (1987). Toxicity of inhaled methyl isocyanate in experimental animals a review of studies published less than two years after the Bhopal disaster. Bull. Eur. Physiopathol. Respir. 23 315-22. 

Broughton, E. (2005). The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath a review. Environ. Health 4 6. 

In the aftermath of the Bhopal disaster, OSHA s Process Safety Management (PSM) has come into play and dictates the procedures to minimize the possibility of fire, explosion, or chemical release. If a project contains a regulated hazardous chemical, a process hazards analysis must be conducted to ensure that the likelihood of a fire, explosion, or release of hazardous chemicals is minimized and that equipment and facilities are included to minimize the effects of a fire, explosion, or release, if one does occur. 

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