Bhopal Gas Tragedy, India 1984

Bhopal Gas Tragedy is widely considered as the greatest tragedy in chemical industry history. The Bhopal Disaster was a gas leak incident in India that occurred on Dec 2, 1984, at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

During the night of Dec. 2–3, water entered a tank containing 42 tons of MIC (methyl isocyanate). The resulting exothermic reaction increased the temperature inside the tank to more than 392F (200 C) and raised the pressure.

This caused the tank to vent, releasing toxic gases into the atmosphere. The gases were blown by southeasterly winds over Bhopal

Theories differ on how water entered the tank. Operators assumed that bad maintenance and leaking valves made it possible for the water to leak into the tank. Some suggest sabotage by a disgruntled employee via a connection to a missing pressure gauge on the top of the tank.

A leak of methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals from the plan resulted in the exposure of hundreds of thousands of people. A government affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused as many as 25,000 deaths, as well as 558,125 injuries (3,900 severely).

This was not the first case of gas leak at this plant. There were several other small-scale cases through 1982 to 1984 affecting many employees. However, the scale of the last accident was just catastrophic.

This accident is an example of gross negligence, corruption and greed. The plant did not have any safety measures which could avoid this. Hopefully, the companies and industries have learnt their lessons from this accident.