WARNING: Graphic images below.
Also known as the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Bhopal disaster was an incident involving a gas leak that occurred in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India on December 2nd and 3rd, 1984. Nearly half a million people were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC), a toxic chemical released during this accident. The gas tragedy had extremely harmful impacts on the population, including an alarming death toll, the Indian economy, and, of course, the environment. While the cause of the disaster is still under discussion to this day, its effects continue to remain over 30 years later. The highly toxic chemicals released into the environment that day have done nearly irreversible damage.
Background
The UCIL factory was built in the late 1960s in order to produce the pesticide Sevin, which was the name for carbaryl, a chemical mainly used as an insecticide. Despite the fact that this gas leak is considered to be one of the worst disasters in history, this was not the first instance of a leak at this factory. In the year 1982 alone, there were four separate cases of workers being exposed to gas which either resulted in inhalation or severe burns to certain parts of the body. Despite this, nothing was done in order to prevent the leaks from continuing, leaving the tanks, pipes, and other conditions of the work place in very poor condition, which was just the beginning of the problem. Due to this, one tank, the E610 tank which contained over 40 tons of MIC, became clogged. Safety regulations stated that there should be no more than 30 tons of MIC in the tank, which was yet another issue. In an attempt to unclog the tank, water was added. The water produced a reaction with the MIC that led to an enormous increase in speed and pressure within the tank. A combination of the poor conditions, over filled tank, and chemical reaction led to the leakage of around 30 tons of MIC in nearly an hour. The winds outside carried the gasses throughout Madhya Pradesh, exposing the harsh chemicals to anything or anyone in that area. Workers were forced to evacuate, and sirens and alarms went off to notify others of the incident.
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Immediate and Long Term Effects
People who lived near the plant immediately felt the effects of the gas leak. People often had a feeling of suffocation, breathlessness, vomiting, stomach pains, and a burning feeling of the throat and eyes. The following morning, thousands of people had died, with the main cause of death being suffocation and choking. Autopsies showed not only issues in the lungs, but also detriments to the liver, kidneys, and the brain. Additionally, the rate of miscarriages and still births increased by 300%. The plant shut down immediately, and did not release information to the public. Because of contamination of the soil, water, and plants, resources became scarce, especially fish (fishing was prohibited in order to protect people from consuming the harsh chemicals) , which fed a large part of the population. Furthermore, besides the plant itself already causing environmental harm, the outside of the plant was used as a site to dump hazardous materials. This made the soil and water runoff surrounding that area extremely unsafe and toxic.
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Bhopal Today
Even though this tragedy occurred 33 years ago, its detrimental impacts are still seen today. People who survived the accident but still came in contact with the chemicals are giving birth to children who have severe malformations and disabilities. There is little being done by the government to assist those who survived the tragedy and are struggling with health issues. Additionally, large amounts of toxins are still located in and around the factory area today. In 2009, a Delhi-based think tank Center for Science and Environment (CSE) found high levels of contamination in the soil and water run off, and in 2015, A Beilstein test found there was still contamination at the wells 240 feet below the ground. Many people are fighting for the clean up of this contamination in order to ensure a clean and safe area to live in, along with water that is safe to consume. While there has been some effort to get Bhopal back on the right track, there is little difference in the levels of contamination, even all these years later.
While accidents do happen, in this case, this was not an accident. The pipes and tanks were not well taken care of, the tanks were overfilled with harmful chemicals, and the smaller leaks that occurred prior were not used to find a recurring issue. While many argue over whether the gas leak was caused by negligence or sabotage, the point is that safety regulations must be followed, and good working conditions must be upheld and maintained in order to avoid anything like this occurring in the future.
I’m surprised that I have never heard of this disaster, unlike other similar events, because it was so devastating. But like you said, this wasn’t an accident, this was neglect and irresponsibility by a company that’s primary concern was making money. It’s crazy how greed can lead to tragedy’s like this that cause so much devastation to human life and to the Earth.