Union Carbide India Limited

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. 

Chandra, H., Saraf, A.K., Jadhav, R.K., Rao, R.K., Sharma, V.K., Sriramachari, S., Vairamani, M. (1994). Isolation of an unknown compound from both blood of Bhopal aerosol disaster victims and residue of Tank E-610 of Union Carbide India Limited - chemical characterization of the structure. Med. Sci. Law 34 106-10. 

In November 1994, Union Carbide sold its interest in Union Carbide India Limited (renamed Eveready Industries India Ltd, or EIIL) to MacLeod Russell (India) Ltd. of Calcutta. As a consequence of that sale, Union Carbide asserted that it retained no interest in or liability for the Bhopal site.51 However, the Chief Judicial Magistrate for Bhopal has held that Union Carbide Corp. s transfer of shares was not bona fide because it was done to evade potential liabilities arising out of the ongoing criminal case in Bhopal. As a result, 74 million in Union Carbide assets were attached pending appearance of Union Carbide in the criminal case.52... 

Methyl isocyanate (MIC), the smallest, most reactive, and most toxic member of the isocyanate family, was unheard of until December 2-3, 1984, when nearly 40 metric tons of this deadly chemical leaked out of the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant at Bhopal within a period of 45-60 min. Bhopal became a "city of death," in the words of India Today (December 30, 1984). The journal Nature (Opinion, 1984) wrote ". the anguish vividly carried round the world by the television cameras seems not to have matured into the anger, even hysteria, there would have been had the accident occurred on the edge of a European city—or in Connecticut [site of Union Carbide s U.S. headquarters]."... 

Johnson, S., Sahu, R., Jadon, N., et al, 2009. Contamination of soil and water inside and outside the Union Carbide India Limited, Bhopal Report by Centre for Science and Environment. (accessed on 24.02.14). 

A number of chemicals, fortunately a limited number, become dangerous either when they are used wrongly, or when they are accidentally set free. Thalidomide, put on the market in 1957 by the German company Chemie Gruenenthal, was indeed a powerful sedative. But it took three years to perceive that when prescribed to pregnant women, it dramatically crippled the newborn children. The synthetic intermediate for insecticides, methyl isocyanate, which Union Carbide has used for years without incident in its West Virginia Institute plant, caused over 2,000 deaths when it escaped in 1984 from a storage tank in Union Carbide s Bhopal plant in India. 

In Bhopal, India, a Union Carbide storage tank containing methyl isocyanate (CH3NCO, a component used for the production of insecticide) leaked, resulting in injury and death to thousands of people. The American Occupational Saftey rules specify that workplace conditions are to be limited to concentrations less than 0.02 ppm of this compound. Assume ideal gas behavior. What is this concentration in mg/m at 20 C and atmospheric pressure ... 

In 1984, one of the most notable process incidents occurred in Bhopal, India, at a plant owned by Union Carbide. On December 3, 1984, methyl isocyanate (MIC) was vented to the atmosphere from a vent gas scrubber after a run away reaction overwhelmed the scrubber. It is reported that more than 2500 people died and 20,000 people were injured as a result of exposure to MIC. The subsequent investigation showed that the run away reaction occurred in the MIC tanks after water was reportedly intentionally added to the tank. The safety systems, a pressure relief valve, a vent gas scrubber, and a flare were reportedly poorly maintained. The relief valve worked to vent the pressure, but the scrubber was overwhelmed, and the flare was down for maintenance. This incident highlighted several loss prevention areas that needed improvement. The first was mechanical integrity. No strong preventive maintenance effort appeared to be in place. The second was emergency preparedness and response. It appears that while the plant was built 1.5 miles away from the community, zoning problems allowed the community to expand to the plant limits. It does not appear that much effort was made to work with the community on commimication/notification or evacuation needs. ... 

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