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* Safety systems being switched off to save money— including the MIC tank refrigeration system which could have mitigated the disaster severity
* Safety systems being switched off to save money— including the MIC tank refrigeration system which could have mitigated the disaster severity


The problem was made worse by the mushrooming of slums in the vicinity of the plant, non-existent catastrophe plans, and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic rehabilitation.<ref name="Eckerman2005" /><ref name="Eckerman2001" />
The situation was worsened by the mushrooming of slums in the vicinity of the plant, non-existent catastrophe plans, and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic rehabilitation.<ref name="Eckerman2005" /><ref name="Eckerman2001" />


===Public information===
===Public information===

Revision as of 12:17, 27 August 2012

23°16′51″N 77°24′38″E / 23.28083°N 77.41056°E / 23.28083; 77.41056

Bhopal memorial for those killed and disabled by the 1984 toxic gas release.

The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident in India, considered one of the world's worst industrial disasters.[1] It occurred on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. A leak of methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals from the plant resulted in the exposure of hundreds of thousands of people. The toxic substance made its way in and around the shantytowns located near the plant.[2] Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release.[3] Others estimate 8,000 died within two weeks and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases.[4][5] A government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries.[6]

UCIL was the Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), with Indian Government controlled banks and the Indian public holding a 49.1 percent stake. In 1994, the Supreme Court of India allowed UCC to sell its 50.9 percent share. Union Carbide sold UCIL, the Bhopal plant operator, to Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994. The Bhopal plant was later sold to McLeod Russel (India) Ltd. Dow Chemical Company purchased UCC in 2001.

Civil and criminal cases are pending in the United States District Court, Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal, India, involving UCC, UCIL employees, and Warren Anderson, UCC CEO at the time of the disaster.[7][8] In June 2010, seven ex-employees, including the former UCIL chairman, were convicted in Bhopal of causing death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2,000 each, the maximum punishment allowed by law. An eighth former employee was also convicted, but died before the judgment was passed.[1]

Background

The UCIL factory was built in 1969 to produce the pesticide Sevin (UCC's brand name for carbaryl) using methyl isocyanate (MIC) as an intermediate.[5] An MIC production plant was added in 1979.[9][10][11]

During the night of 2–3 December 1984, water entered Tank E610 containing 42 tons of MIC. The resulting exothermic reaction increased the temperature inside the tank to over 200 °C (392 °F) and raised the pressure. About 30 metric tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) escaped from the tank into the atmosphere in 45 to 60 minutes.[2] The gases were blown in southeastern direction over Bhopal.[5][12]

Theories differ as to how the water entered the tank. At the time, workers were cleaning out a clogged pipe with water about 400 feet from the tank. The operators assumed that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves, it was possible for the water to leak into the tank.[13] However, this water entry route could not be reproduced.[14] UCC also maintains that this route was not possible, but instead alleges water was introduced directly into the tank as an act of sabotage by a disgruntled worker via a connection to a missing pressure gauge on the top of the tank. Early the next morning, a UCIL manager asked the instrument engineer to replace the gauge. UCIL's investigation team found no evidence of the necessary connection; however, the investigation was totally controlled by the government, denying UCC investigators access to the tank or interviews with the operators.[15][16] The 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and how it developed, although they differ in details.[16][17][18]

Factors leading to the magnitude of the gas leak include:

  • Storing MIC in large tanks and filling beyond recommended levels
  • Poor maintenance after the plant ceased MIC production at the end of 1984
  • Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance)
  • Safety systems being switched off to save money— including the MIC tank refrigeration system which could have mitigated the disaster severity

The situation was worsened by the mushrooming of slums in the vicinity of the plant, non-existent catastrophe plans, and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic rehabilitation.[5][4]

Public information

Much speculation arose in the aftermath. The closing of the plant to outsiders (including UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the confusion. The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Central Bureau of Investigation. CSIR was forbidden to publish health effect data until 1994.[5]

Plant production process

Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)

After the Bhopal plant was built, other manufacturers including Bayer produced carbaryl without MIC, though at a greater manufacturing cost.[19] However, Bayer also uses the UCC process at the chemical plant once owned by UCC at Institute, West Virginia, USA and many other states.

Contributing factors

Other factors identified by the inquiry included: use of a more dangerous pesticide manufacturing method, large-scale MIC storage, plant location close to a densely populated area, undersized safety devices, and the dependence on manual operations.[5]

Plant management deficiencies were also identified – lack of skilled operators, reduction of safety management, insufficient maintenance, and inadequate emergency action plans.[5][20]

The chemical process employed in the Bhopal plant had methylamine reacting with phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate), which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to form the final product, carbaryl. This "route" differed from the MIC-free routes used elsewhere, in which the same raw materials were combined in a different manufacturing order, with phosgene first reacting with naphthol to form a chloroformate ester, which was then reacted with methyl amine. In the early 1980s, the demand for pesticides had fallen, but production continued, leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC.[5][19]

See also: Carbaryl § Production

Work conditions

Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factory's employees and their conditions. Kurzman argues that "cuts...meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety rules. A pipe leaked? Don't replace it, employees said they were told ... MIC workers needed more training? They could do with less. Promotions were halted, seriously affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled ... elsewhere".[21] Workers were forced to use English manuals, even though only a few had a grasp of the language.[13][22]

By 1984, only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the number of supervisory personnel was also halved. No maintenance supervisor was placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours, rather than the previous and required one-hour readings.[13][21] Workers made complaints about the cuts through their union but were ignored. One employee was fired after going on a 15-day hunger strike. 70% of the plant's employees were fined before the disaster for refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from the management.[13][21]

In addition, some observers, such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database (TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University, have pointed to "serious communication problems and management gaps between Union Carbide and its Indian operation", characterized by "the parent companies [sic] hands-off approach to its overseas operation" and "cross-cultural barriers".[23]

Equipment and safety regulations

Union Carbide MIC plant
  • In 1998, during civil action suits in India, it emerged that the plant was not prepared for problems. No action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude. This included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals used and manufactured at Bhopal.[4][5][13][19]
  • The MIC tank alarms had not been working for four years.[4][5][13][24]
  • There was only one manual back-up system, compared to a four-stage system used in the United States.[4][5][13][24]
  • The flare tower and several vent gas scrubbers had been out of service for five months before the disaster. Only one gas scrubber was operating: it could not treat such a large amount of MIC with sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), which would have brought the concentration down to a safe level.[24] The flare tower could only handle a quarter of the gas that leaked in 1984, and moreover it was out of order at the time of the incident.[4][5][13][25]
  • To reduce energy costs, the refrigeration system was idle. The MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius, not the 4.5 degrees advised by the manual.[4][5][13][24]
  • The steam boiler, intended to clean the pipes, was inoperational for unknown reasons.[4][5][13][24]
  • Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed. Their installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist.[4][5][13]
  • The water pressure was too weak to spray the escaping gases from the stack. They could not spray high enough to reduce the concentration of escaping gas.[4][5][13][24]
  • According to the operators, the MIC tank pressure gauge had been malfunctioning for roughly a week. Other tanks were used, rather than repairing the gauge. The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the magnitude of the gas release.[4][5][13][24] UCC investigation studies have disputed this hypothesis.
  • Carbon steel valves were used at the factory, even though they were known to corrode when exposed to acid.[19]
  • UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems were not functioning on the night of 3 December 1984.[17]
  • The design of the MIC plant, following government guidelines, was "Indianized" by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products. Mumbai-based Humphreys and Glasgow Consultants Pvt. Ltd. were the main consultants, Larsen & Toubro fabricated the MIC storage tanks, and Taylor of India Ltd. provided the instrumentation.[26]
  • An investigation of the piping on the spot in 2004 indicated that a saboteur must have had intimate knowledge of piping into and out of the tank as well as act extremely fast and exact.[27]

Previous warnings and incidents

Even before the December 1984 incident, numerous incidents had fore-warned of an oncoming disaster:

  • In 1976, the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant.[5][28]
  • In 1981, a worker got splashed with phosgene. In panic, he ripped off his mask, thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas; he died 72 hours later.[5][20]
  • In January 1982, there was a phosgene leak, when 24 workers were exposed and had to be admitted to hospital. None of the workers had been ordered to wear protective masks.
  • In February 1982, an MIC leak affected 18 workers.[5][20]
  • In August 1982, a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC, resulting in burns over 30 percent of his body.[5][20]
  • In October 1982, there was a leak of MIC, methylcarbaryl chloride, chloroform and hydrochloric acid. In attempting to stop the leak, the MIC supervisor suffered intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the gases.[5][20]
  • During 1983 and 1984, leaks of the following substances regularly took place in the MIC plant: MIC, chlorine, monomethylamine, phosgene, and carbon tetrachloride, sometimes in combination.[5][20]
  • Reports issued months before the incident by UCC engineers warned of the possibility of an incident almost identical to that which occurred in Bhopal. The reports never reached UCC's senior management.[5][19]
  • UCC was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981 of the potential of a "runaway reaction" in the MIC storage tank. Local Indian authorities warned the company of the problems on several occasions from 1979 onwards.[5][19]

The Leakage

In November 1984, most of the safety systems were not functioning. Many valves and lines were in poor condition. Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC (disputed), much more than what safety rules allowed.[5] During the nights of 2–3 December, a large amount of water is claimed to have entered tank 610. A runaway reaction started, which was accelerated by contaminants, high temperatures and other factors. The reaction generated a major increase in the temperature inside the tank to over 200 °C (400 °F). This forced the emergency venting of pressure from the MIC holding tank, releasing a large volume of toxic gases. The reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel pipelines.[5] Workers cleaned pipelines with water and claim they were not told to isolate the tank with a pipe slip-blind plate. Owing of this, and the poor maintenance, the workers consider that water might have accidentally entered the tank.[5][13] UCC maintains that a "disgruntled worker" deliberately connected a hose to a pressure gauge connection.[5][15]

Health effects

Short term health effects

Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC, middle) allows the MIC to be transported into the body

The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas. Apart from MIC, the gas cloud may have contained phosgene, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride, oxides of nitrogen, monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide, either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere.[5]

The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air, stayed close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community. The initial effects of exposure were coughing, vomiting, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation. People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant. Those who ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride. Owing to their height, children and other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations. Many people were trampled trying to escape.[5]

Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours. There were mass funerals and mass cremations. Bodies were dumped into the Narmada River, less than 100 km from Bhopal. 170,000 people were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries. 2,000 buffalo, goats, and other animals were collected and buried. Within a few days, leaves on trees yellowed and fell off. Supplies, including food, became scarce owing to suppliers' safety fears. Fishing was prohibited causing further supply shortages.[5]

A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being "gas affected", affecting a population of 520,000. Of these, 200,000 were below 15 years of age, and 3,000 were pregnant women. In 1991, 3,928 deaths had been certified. Independent organizations recorded 8,000 deaths in the first few days. Other estimations vary between 10,000 and 30,000. Another 100,000 to 200,000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different degrees.[5]

The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes, blepharospasm, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. The causes of deaths were choking, reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema. Findings during autopsies revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema, tubular necrosis of the kidneys, fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis.[29] The stillbirth rate increased by up to 300% and neonatal mortality rate by around 200%.[5]

Hydrogen cyanide debate

Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy.[29][30] Exposed to high temperatures, MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN). According to Kulling and Lorin, at +200 °C, 3% of the gas is HCN.[31] However, according to another scientific publication,[32] MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts to break down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 °C. Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse.

Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or HCN-derived side products. Chemically, HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC.[33] HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid, ammonia, and methylamine (also produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes. None of the HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue.[34]

The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate. Treatment was suggested early and tentatively used on some people, but it did not provide any significative relief.[35] In this way, bronchodilators were proven more effective as they could partly reverse the acute respiratory failure caused by pulmonary edema due to MIC.[35] Initial reports based on the autopsies of victims' bodies suggested cyanide poisoning based on which Dr.Bipan Avashia of Union Carbide advised Amyl Nitrate and Sodium Thiosulphate.[36][37] However, critics argue that both the Government and Union Carbide tried to avoid mentioning the emotionally provocative word "cyanide."[37]

Long term health effects

Victims of Bhopal disaster asked for Warren Anderson's extradition from the USA

An estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people have permanent injuries ranging from symptoms like eye problems, respiratory difficulties, immune and neurological disorders, cardiac failure secondary to lung injury, female reproductive difficulties and birth defects among children born to affected women.[5] The Indian Government and UCC deny permanent injuries were caused by MIC or the other gases.

Aftermath of the leakage

  • Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties.[5]
  • Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC gas inhalation. They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to their patients.[5]
  • Within a few days, trees in the vicinity became barren.[5]
  • 2,000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed[5]
  • "Operation Faith": On 16 December, the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied off the remaining MIC. This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal.[5]
  • Complaints of lack of information or misinformation were widespread. The Bhopal plant medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases. An Indian Government spokesman said, "Carbide is more interested in getting information from us than in helping our relief work."[5]
  • As of 2008, UCC had not released information about the possible composition of the cloud.[5]
  • Formal statements were issued that air, water, vegetation and foodstuffs were safe within the city. At the same time, people were informed that poultry was unaffected, but were warned not to consume fish.[5]
  • No one under the age of 18 was registered at the time of the accident. The number of children exposed to the gases was at least 200,000.[5]

Compensation from Union Carbide

  • The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the government rights to represent all victims in or outside India.[5]
  • UCC offered US $350 million, the insurance sum.[5] The Government of India claimed US$ 3.3 billion from UCC.[5] In 1989, a settlement was reached under which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum, plus interest) in a full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability.[5]
  • When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL, it was directed by the Supreme Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors. Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998. It was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years.[5]
  • A US court rejected the law suit blaming UCC for causing soil and water pollution around the site of the plant and ruled that responsibility for remedial measures or related claims rested with the State Government and not with UCC.[38]

Economic rehabilitation

  • After the incident, no one under the age of 18 was registered. The number of children exposed to the gases was at least 200,000.[5]
  • Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy.[5]
  • Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period and ration cards were distributed.[5]
  • Madhya Pradesh government's finance department allocated ₹874 million (US$10 million) for victim relief in July 1985.[39] [40]
  • Widow pension of ₹200 (US$2.40)/per month (later ₹750 (US$9.00)) was provided.[5]
  • One-time ex-gratia payment of ₹1,500 (US$18) to families with monthly income ₹500 (US$6.00) or less was decided.[5]
  • Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor. In court, the claimants were expected to prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that death or injury in each case was attributable to exposure. In 1992, 44 percent of the claimants still had to be medically examined.[5]
  • From 1990 interim relief of ₹200 (US$2.40) was paid to everyone in the family who was born before the disaster.[5]
  • The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the majority ₹25,000 (US$300). For death claim, the average sum paid out was ₹62,000 (US$740).[5]
  • Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school, more money spent on treatment and food, and housing improvements.[5]
  • In 2007, 1,029,517 cases were registered and decided. Number of awarded cases were 574,304 and number of rejected cases 455,213. Total compensation awarded was ₹1,546.47 crore (US$190 million).[41]
  • On 24 June 2010, the Union Cabinet of the Government of India approved a ₹1,265 crore (US$150 million) aid package. It will be funded by Indian taxpayers through the government.[42]

Occupational rehabilitation

  • 33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started. All except one was closed down by 1992.[5]
  • 1986, the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal. 152 of the planned 200 work-sheds were built. In 2000, 16 were partially functioning.[5]
  • It is estimated that 50,000 persons need alternative jobs, and that less than 100 gas victims have found regular employment under the government's scheme.[5]

Habitation rehabilitation

  • 2,486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the "Widows colony" outside Bhopal. The water did not reach the upper floors. It was not possible to keep cattle. Infrastructure like buses, schools, etc. were missing for at least a decade.[5]

Health care

  • In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the health care system became tremendously overloaded. Within weeks, the State Government established a number of hospitals, clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area.[5]
  • Radical health groups set up JSK (the People's Health Centre) that was working a few years from 1985.[5]
  • Since the leak, a very large number of private practitioners have opened in Bhopal. In the severely affected areas, nearly 70 percent do not appear to be professionally qualified.[5]
  • The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based services for gas victims. Several hospitals have been built after the disaster. [5]
  • The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded super speciality hospital. Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done. Major specialities missing are gynecology, obstetrics and pediatrics. Eight mini-units (outreach health centers) were started. Free health care for gas victims were to be offered till 2006.[5] The management has faced problems with strikes, and the quality of the health care is disputed.[43][44]
  • Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995. The clinic gives modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims, free of charge.[5][45]

Environmental rehabilitation

See also: § Ongoing contamination
  • When the factory was closed in 1985–1986, pipes, drums and tanks were sold. The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there, as are storages of different residues. Isolation material is falling down and spreading.[5]
  • The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals. In 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned.[5] UCC's laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish.[46] Several other studies have shown polluted soil and groundwater in the area.[5]
  • In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory, there is a scheme for improvement of water supply.[41]
  • In 2005, the state government invited Indian architects to enter their “concept for development of a memorial complex for Bhopal gas tragedy victims at the site of Union Carbide”. In 2011, a conference Bhopal2011 was held on the site, with participants from European universities. [47]
  • In December 2008, the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat, which was met by protests from activists all over India.[48] On 8 June 2012, the Centre for incineration of toxic Bhopal waste agreed to pay ₹25 crore (US$3.0 million) to dispose of Union carbide chemical plants waste in Germany.[49]

Union Carbide's defense

Now owned by Dow Chemical Company, Union Carbide denies allegations against it on its website dedicated to the tragedy. The corporation claims that the incident was the result of sabotage, stating that safety systems were in place and operative. It also stresses that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster.[50]

Investigation into possible sabotage

Theories differ as to how the water entered the tank. At the time, workers were cleaning out pipes with water. The workers maintain that entry of water through the plant's piping system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-blind was not used, the downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged, many valves were leaking, and the tank was not pressurized. The water, which was not draining properly through the bleeder valves, may have built up in the pipe, rising high enough to pour back down through another series of lines in the MIC storage tank. Once water had accumulated to a height of 6 meters (20 feet), it could drain by gravity flow back into the system. Alternatively, the water may have been routed through another standby "jumper line" that had only recently been connected to the system. Indian scientists suggested that additional water might have been introduced as a "back-flow" from the defectively designed vent-gas scrubber.[5][13] However, none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers. The company cites an investigation conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D. Little, which concluded that a single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through the metering port.[15] Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its way into the tank by accident, and safety systems were not designed to deal with intentional sabotage. Documents cited in the Arthur D. Little Report state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of the entry of water into the tank. This all-important test failed to support this as a route of water entry. UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves from the incident, and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined to prosecute the employee responsible, presumably because that would weaken its allegations of negligence by Union Carbide.[51]

Safety and equipment issues

The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning, claiming that "documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve close to the plant's water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight. Furthermore, process safety systems—in place and operational—would have prevented water from entering the tank by accident". Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982 were all allayed before 1984 and "none of them had anything to do with the incident".[52]

The company admits that "the safety systems in place could not have prevented a chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak". According to Carbide, "in designing the plant's safety systems, a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not factored in" because "the tank's gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system" and "process safety systems—in place and operational—would have prevented water from entering the tank by accident". Instead, they claim that "employee sabotage—not faulty design or operation—was the cause of the tragedy".[52]

Response

The company stresses the "immediate action" taken after the disaster and their continued commitment to helping the victims. On 4 December, the day following the leak, Union Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical facilities in Bhopal.[52]

Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Minister's immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984.[52] The corporation established the Employees' Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985, which raised more than $5 million for immediate relief.[53]

According to Union Carbide, in August 1987, they made an additional $4.6 million in humanitarian interim relief available.[53]

Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling, including:

  • The sale of its 50.9 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital. The sale was finalized in November 1994. The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was opened in 2001. The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale of its UCIL stock. In 1991, the trust had amounted approximately $100 million. The hospital caters for the treatment of heart, lung and eye problems.[50]
  • Providing "a $2.2 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a vocational-technical center in Bhopal, which was constructed and opened, but was later closed and leveled by the government".[54]
  • Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross.[54]
  • Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis, which is designed "to help prevent such an event in the future by improving community awareness, emergency preparedness and process safety standards".[53]

Long-term fallout

Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster. However, other issues have also continued to develop. These include the problems of ongoing contamination, criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union Carbide, and a 2004 hoax.

Legal proceedings involving UCC, the United States and Indian governments, local Bhopal authorities, and the disaster victims started immediately after the catastrophe.

On 14 December 1984, the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson, addressed the US Congress, stressing the company's "commitment to safety" and promising to ensure that a similar incident "cannot happen again". However, the Indian Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985, allowing the Government of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster,[53] leading to the beginning of legal wrangling.

In 1985, Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, called for a US government inquiry into the Bhopal disaster, which resulted in US legislation regarding the accidental release of toxic chemicals in the United States.[55]

March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure, endorsed by plaintiffs' US attorneys, of $350 million that would, according to the company, "generate a fund for Bhopal victims of between $500–600 million over 20 years". In May, litigation was transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge. Following an appeal of this decision, the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer, judging, in January 1987, that UCIL was a "separate entity, owned, managed and operated exclusively by Indian citizens in India".[53] The judge in the US granted UCC's forum request, thus moving the case to India. This meant that, under US federal law, the company had to submit to Indian jurisdiction.

Litigation continued in India during 1988. The Government of India claimed US$ 350 million from UCC.[5] The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement and "start with a clean slate" in November 1988.[53] Eventually, in an out-of-court settlement reached in 1989, Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the Bhopal disaster, 15% of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit.[5] By the end of October 2003, according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, compensation had been awarded to 554,895 people for injuries received and 15,310 survivors of those killed. The average amount to families of the dead was $2,200.[56]

Throughout 1990, the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from "activist petitions". In October 1991, the Supreme Court upheld the original $470 million, dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original decision. The Court ordered the Indian government "to purchase, out of settlement fund, a group medical insurance policy to cover 100,000 persons who may later develop symptoms" and cover any shortfall in the settlement fund. It also requested UCC and its subsidiary "voluntarily" fund a hospital in Bhopal, at an estimated $17 million, to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal disaster. The company agreed to this.[53]

Charges against Warren Anderson and others

UCC Chairman, CEO Warren Anderson was arrested and released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on 7 December 1984. The arrest, which took place at the airport, ensured Anderson would meet no harm by the Bhopal community. Anderson was taken to UCC's house after which he was released six hours later on $2,100 bail and flown out on a government plane. These actions were allegedly taken under the direction of then chief secretary of the state, who was possibly instructed from chief minister's office, who himself flew out of Bhopal immediately.[57][58][59] In 1987, the Indian government summoned Anderson, eight other executives and two company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court.[60] Union Carbide balked, saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction.[60]

In 1991, the local Bhopal authorities charged Anderson, who had retired in 1986, with manslaughter, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on 1 February 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case in which he was named the chief defendant. Orders were passed to the Government of India to press for an extradition from the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal courts in October 1993, meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek damages in a US court.[53]

In 2004, the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any remaining settlement funds to victims. In September 2006, the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation claims and revised petitions had been "cleared".[53]

In 2006, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City upheld the dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v. Union Carbide Corporation. This move blocked plaintiffs' motions for class certification and claims for property damages and remediation. In the view of UCC, "the ruling reaffirms UCC's long-held positions and finally puts to rest—both procedurally and substantively—the issues raised in the class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal".

In June 2010, seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary, all Indian nationals and many in their 70s, were convicted of causing death by negligence and each sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs.1 lakh (US$2,124).[61] All were released on bail shortly after the verdict. The names of those convicted are: Keshub Mahindra, former non-executive chairman of Union Carbide India Limited; V.P. Gokhale, managing director; Kishore Kamdar, vice-president; J. Mukund, works manager; S.P. Chowdhury, production manager; K.V. Shetty, plant superintendent; and S.I. Qureshi, production assistant. Federal class action litigation, Sahu v. Union Carbide et al. is presently pending on appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.[62] The litigation seeks damages for personal injury, medical monitoring[63] and injunctive relief in the form of cleanup[64] of the drinking water supplies[65] for residential areas near the Bhopal plant. A related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of New York.

Ongoing contamination

See also: § Environmental rehabilitation

Chemicals abandoned at the plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater.[66][67][68] Whether the chemicals pose a health hazard is disputed.[69]

Contamination at the site and surrounding area was not caused by the gas leakage. The area around the plant was used as a dumping ground for hazardous chemicals. By 1982 water wells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned. In 1991 the municipal authorities declared water from over 100 wells unfit for drinking.[5]

UCC's laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near the factory were toxic to fish. Twenty one areas inside the plant were reported to be highly polluted. In 1994 it was reported that 21% of the factory premises were seriously contaminated with chemicals.[46][70][71]

Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil, groundwater, wellwater and vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds.[70][71][72][73][74]

Substances found, according to the reports, are naphthol[disambiguation needed], naphthalene, Sevin, tarry residues, alpha naphthol, mercury, organochlorines, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, hexachlorethane, Hexachlorobutadiene, pesticide HCH (BHC), volatile organic compounds and halo-organics. Many of these contaminants were also found in breast milk.

In 2002, an inquiry found a number of toxins, including mercury, lead, 1,3,5 trichlorobenzene, dichloromethane and chloroform, in nursing women's breast milk. Well water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury levels to be at "20,000 and 6 million times" higher than expected levels; heavy metals and organochlorines were present in the soil. Chemicals that have been linked to various forms of cancer were also discovered, as well as trichloroethylene, known to impair fetal development, at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).[75]

In a 2004 broadcast on BBC Radio 5,[76] it was reported that the site is still contaminated with 'thousands' of metric tons of toxic chemicals, including benzene hexachloride and mercury, held in open containers or loose on the ground. A drinking water sample from a well near the site had levels of contamination 500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health Organization.[77]

In 2009, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab, released test results showing pesticide groundwater contamination up to three kilometers from the factory. [78]

Also in 2009, the BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump, located just north of the plant. The sample, tested in UK, was found to contain 1000 times the World Health Organization's recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride, a carcinogenic toxin.[79]

In October 2011, the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment published an article and video by two British environmental scientists, showing the current state of the plant, landfill and solar evaporation ponds and calling for renewed international efforts to provide the necessary skills to clean up the site and contaminated groundwater[80]

UCC states that "after the incident, UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the direction of Indian central and state government authorities", which was continued after 1994 by the successor to UCIL, Eveready Industries, until 1998, when it was placed under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government.[53] The successor, Eveready Industries India, Limited (EIIL), ended its 99-year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya Pradesh.[50]

Settlement fund hoax

File:Dow apologizes.jpg
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News

On 3 December 2004, the twentieth anniversary of the disaster, a man claiming to be a Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News. He claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in the incident, by liquidating Union Carbide for US$12 billion.[81]

Immediately afterward, Dow's share price fell 4.2% in 23 minutes, for a loss of $2 billion in market value. Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by that name—that he was an impostor, not affiliated with Dow, and that his claims were a hoax. The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology.[82]

"Jude Finisterra" was actually Andy Bichlbaum, a member of the activist prankster group The Yes Men. In 2002, The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website, at "DowEthics.com", designed to look like the real Dow website, but with what they felt was a more accurate cast on the events.[83]

Monitoring of Bhopal activists

The release of an email cache relating to intelligence research organization Stratfor by WikiLeaks on 27 February 2012[84] (see 2012 Stratfor email leak) revealed that Dow Chemical had engaged Stratfor to spy on the public and personal lives of activists involved in the Bhopal disaster, including the Yes Men. Regular, even daily emails to Dow representatives from hired security analysts list the Youtube videos liked, the Twitter and Facebook posts made and the public appearances of these activists, including the Yes Men.[85] Stratfor released a statement condemning the revelation by Wikileaks while neither confirming nor denying the accuracy of the reports, and would only state that it had acted within the bounds of the law; Dow Chemical would not comment on the matter.[86][87]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Bhopal trial: Eight convicted over India gas disaster". BBC News. 2010-06-07. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  2. ^ a b Varma, Roli (2005). "The Bhopal Disaster of 1984". Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Madhya Pradesh Government : Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, Bhopal
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Eckerman (2001) (see "References" below).
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx Eckerman (2005) (see "References" below).
  6. ^ AK Dubey (21 June 2010). First14 News http://www.webcitation.org/5qmWBEWcb. Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2010. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ "Company Defends Chief in Bhopal Disaster". New York Times. 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  8. ^ "U.S. Exec Arrest Sought in Bhopal Disaster". CBS News. 2009-07-31.
  9. ^ UCC manual (1976).
  10. ^ UCC manual (1978).
  11. ^ UCC manual (1979).
  12. ^ Narrator: Ashton Smith (10 October 2011). "Bhopal Nightmare". Seconds from Disaster. Season 4. Episode 6. 5:45 minutes in. Nat Geo. {{cite episode}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |episodelink= (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Chouhan et al. (2004).
  14. ^ Steven R. Weisman (5 December 1985). "Bhopal a Year Later: An Eerie Silence". The New York Times. p. 5. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ a b c Kalelkar (1988).
  16. ^ a b Trade Union Report (1985).
  17. ^ a b UCC Investigation Report (1985).
  18. ^ Varadarajan (1985).
  19. ^ a b c d e f Kovel (2002).
  20. ^ a b c d e f Eckerman (2006) (see "References" below).
  21. ^ a b c Kurzman (1987).
  22. ^ Cassels (1983).
  23. ^ TED case 233 (1997).
  24. ^ a b c d e f g Lepowski (1994).
  25. ^ Weir (1987).
  26. ^ D'Silva, The Black Box of Bhopal (2006).
  27. ^ Willey Rj, Hendershot DC, Berger S. The Accident in Bhopal: Observations 20 Years Later. AIChE (2006)
  28. ^ Eckerman (2006).
  29. ^ a b Sriramachari (2004).
  30. ^ Gassert TH, Dhara VR, (2005).
  31. ^ Kulling and Lorin (1987).
  32. ^ P.G. Blake and S. Ijadi-Maghsoodi, Kinetics and Mechanism of Thermal Decomposition of Methyl Isocyanate, International Journal of Chemical Kinetics, vol.14, (1982), pp. 945–952.
  33. ^ K.H. Slotta, R. Tschesche, Berichte, vol.60, 1927, p.1031.
  34. ^ Grundmann, Christoph; Kreutzberger, Alfred (1954). "Triazines. IX. 1,3,5-Triazine and its Formation from Hydrocyanic Acid". J. Am. Chem. Soc. 76 (22): 5646–5650. doi:10.1021/ja01651a013.
  35. ^ a b jean de maleissye, Histoire du poison, 1991.
  36. ^ Bhatia, Shyam (1985-11-13). "Cyanide gas reported present in fatal chemical leak at Bhopal". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  37. ^ a b "Killing fog covered 25 miles; Assurances false: MIC worse than tear gas". The Palm Beach Post. 1987-11-30. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
  38. ^ "US court absolves Union Carbide of liability in Bhopal tragedy". 28 June 2012.
  39. ^ Press Institute of India (1985). Data India. Press Institute of India. p. 166. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  40. ^ Press Institute of India (1985). Data India. Press Institute of India. p. 322. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  41. ^ a b "Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department". 2008-12-05.
  42. ^ Bhopal gas tragedy: Extra aid to help just 42,000 victims - India - DNA
  43. ^ Bhopal Memorial Hospital closed indefinitely The Hindu 4.7.2005.
  44. ^ Bhopal Memorial Hospital Trust(2001).
  45. ^ "The Bhopal Medical appeal". Sambhavna Trust.
  46. ^ a b UCC (1989).
  47. ^ Lakshmi R (9 Jan 2012). "Curating a Bhopal People's Movement: An Opportunity for Indian Museums". Curator the Museum Journal.
  48. ^ "Carbide waste to go: HC". The Times Of India. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-07. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  49. ^ "Centre to pay Rs 25 crore to dump Bhopal waste in Germany". 9 June 2012.
  50. ^ a b c "Statement of Union Carbide Corporation Regarding the Bhopal Tragedy". Bhopal Information Center, UCC.
  51. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Bhopal Information Center. Union Carbide Corporation. 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2010. The Indian authorities are well aware of the identity of the employee [who sabotaged the plant] and the nature of the evidence against him. Indian authorities refused to pursue this individual because they, as litigants, were not interested in proving that anyone other than Union Carbide was to blame for the tragedy. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  52. ^ a b c d "Frequently Asked Questions". Bhopal Information Center, UCC.
  53. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Chronology". Bhopal Information Center, UCC. 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  54. ^ a b "Incident Response and Settlement". Bhopal Information Center, UCC.
  55. ^ Dipankar De Sarkar (22 June 2010). "BP, Bhopal and the humble Indian brinjal". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  56. ^ Broughton (2005).
  57. ^ "When the gas leaked, Arjun flew away to pray". The Bhopal Post. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
  58. ^ "When the gas leaked, Arjun flew away to pray". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  59. ^ "Chief secretary told me to let Anderson go: Ex- Collector". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  60. ^ a b "India Acts in Carbide Case". The New York Times. 17 May 1988. p. D15.
  61. ^ 8 Cr. Case No. 8460/1996
  62. ^ http://www.bhopal.net/pdfs/Sahu%20Opinion%2011.3.08.pdf
  63. ^ The Truth About Dow: Govt handling of Bhopal: Blot on Indian Democracy, 224 Indian groups tell PM.
  64. ^ The Truth About Dow: 25 years on, Govt wakes up to Bhopal waste but can't find any one to clean it up.
  65. ^ The Truth About Dow: Decades Later, Toxic Sludge Torments Bhopal.
  66. ^ Shaini, KS (2008-09-30). "No takers for Bhopal toxic waste". BBC. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  67. ^ Broughton, Edward (2005). "The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: a review". Environmental Health. 4 (6): 6. doi:10.1186/1476-069X-4-6. PMC 1142333. PMID 15882472.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  68. ^ Chander, J. (2001). "Water contamination: a legacy of the union carbide disaster in Bhopal, India". Int J Occup Environ Health. 7 (1): 72–3. PMID 11210017.
  69. ^ "Industrial Disaster Still Haunts India – South and Central Asia – msnbc.com". 2 December 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  70. ^ a b Labunska et al. (2003).
  71. ^ a b Down to Earth (2003).
  72. ^ Stringer et al. (2002).
  73. ^ Srishti (2002).
  74. ^ Peoples' Science Institute (2001).
  75. ^ "What Happened in Bhopal?". The Bhopal Medical Appeal.
  76. ^ "Bhopal faces risk of 'poisoning'". BBC Radio 5. 2004-11-14.
  77. ^ Vickers, Paul (2004-11-14). "Bhopal 'faces risk of poisoning'". BBC Radio 5 website. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  78. ^ "Bhopal gas leak survivors still being poisoned: Study". Bhopal. 1 December 2009.
  79. ^ "Bhopal marks 25 years since gas leak devastation". BBC News. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  80. ^ "Bhopal's never ending disaster". The environmentalist. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-14. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  81. ^ video.
  82. ^ Corporate Responsibility. 5 December 2004. Published by ZNet
  83. ^ The Yes Men
  84. ^ Wikileaks GI release 2011
  85. ^ An example email report
  86. ^ "Stratfor hits out at WikiLeaks over Bhopal spying charge". Times of India. 2012-02-28.
  87. ^ "WikiLeaks: Dow Monitored Bhopal Activists". WSJ India Real Time. 2012-02-29.

Further reading

Books and reports
Journal articles and academic papers
Governmental institutions
  • Health Effects of the Toxic Gas Leak from the Union Carbide Methyl Isocyanate Plant in Bhopal. Technical report on Population Based Long Term, Epidemiological Studies (1985–1994). Bhopal Gas Disaster Research Centre, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal (2003?) Contains the studies performed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
  • An Epidemiological Study of Symptomatic Morbidities in Communities Living Around Solar Evaporation Ponds And Behind Union Carbide Factory, Bhopal. Department of Community Medicine, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal (2009)
  • At A Glance. Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief & Rehabilitation 1985–2009. Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief & Rehabilitation Department, Bhopal (2009)
Union Carbide Corporation
  • Methyl Isocyanate. Union Carbide F-41443A – 7/76. Union Carbide Corporation, New York (1976)
  • Carbon monoxide, Phosgene and Methyl isocyanate. Unit Safety Procedures Manual. Union Carbide India Limited, Agricultural Products Division: Bhopal (1978)
  • Operating Manual Part II. Methyl Isocyanate Unit. Union Carbide India Limited, Agricultural Products Division (1979).
  • Bhopal Methyl Isocyanate Incident. Investigation Team Report. Union Carbide Corporation, Danbury, CT (1985).
  • Presence of Toxic Ingredients in Soil/Water Samples Inside Plant Premises. Union Carbide Corporation, US (1989).
Dow Chemical
Miscellaneous
Presentations
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