Bhopal gas tragedy

the systems that failed
1. MIC storage tanks
  1. Pressure in tank 610 builds up alarmingly because of an extremely violent chemical reaction and MIC vapour escapes rupturing a sage disc and popping the safety valve. Tank 619 was not empty
2. The vent gas scrubber
  1. is supposed to spray caustic soda on escaping vapours to neutralise them. The scrubber was under maintenance.
3. Vent liner
  1. Poisonous MIC vapour escaped from the top of the 33 meter high vent line.
4. The refrigeration system
  1. keeps MIC cool but was out of commission and tank 610 could not be cooled to slow down the reaction.
5. The water curtain
  1. which could have neutralised the MIC was designed to reach a height of 12 to 15 metres, but the MIC vapour was gushing out 33 meters above the ground.
6. The flare tower
  1. could not be used because a length of piping was corroded and had not been replaced
Carbide’s lies
1. The gas leak just can’t be from my plant. The plant is shut down. Our technology just can’t go wrong. We just can’t have such leaks
2. At no point during that night did Union Carbide itself try to reach the authorities with information about the leak or tell them what to do
3. is only an irritant, it is not fatal
4. You apply water and you get relief
5. the gas is non-poisonous. there is nothing to do except to ask the patients to put a wet towel over their eyes
6. the leak had been plugged
7. we don’t know of any fatalities either in our plant or in other Carbide plants due to
health effects
1. lung ailments and acute breathlessness
2. winter bronchitis
3. 200,000 affected people and about 50,000 seriously affected
4. sleeping and digestion problems
5. babies examined were low in birth weight. Mothers themselves were generally malnourished, anaemic and breastmilk was insufficient
6. more than five per cent of the community died
7. gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting and burning in the stomach
8. anxiety and depression
9. Many people were suffering from sleep disturbance, ‘gas phobia’, and a feeling of hopelessness
10. many families were finding it difficult to cope with this abnormally stressful situation in their life, they strongly advised immediate psychiatric care.
Contributing Factors
1. storing MIC in large tanks and filling beyond recommended levels
2. poor maintenance after the plant ceased MIC production at the end of 1984
3. failure of several safety due to poor maintenance
4. safety systems being switched off to save money- including MIC tank refrigeration system which could have mitigated the disaster severity
5. situation was worsened by the mushrooming of slums on the vicinity of the plant
6. existent catastrophe plans
7. shortcomings in health care and socio-economic rehabilitation
8. use of a more dangerous pesticide manufacturing method
9. large-scale MIC storage
10. plant location close to a density populated area
11. undersized safety devices
12. the dependence on manual operations
13. lack of skilled operators
14. reduction of safety management
15. insufficient maintenance
16. inadequate emergency action plans
basic information
1. Gas Leak incident in India
  1. considered the world's worst industrial disasters
2. Occurred in the night of December, 2-3, 1984
  1. Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
3. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals
  1. The toxic substance made its way in and around the shantytowns located the plant
4. Official immediate death toll was 2,259
  1. total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release
5. DOW Chemical Company purchased UCC in 2001, seventeen years after the disaster
6. seven ex-employers were convicted in Bhopal of causing death by negligence
  1. sentenced to two years imprisonment
  2. fine of about 2000 each
    1. the max. punishment allowed by the Indian law

Nächster

Bhopal gas tragedy

Beschreibung

Zusammenfassung der Ressource

ähnlicher Inhalt

	Erstellt von Kaitlin Darrach vor etwa 12 Jahre