Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Revisited after Twenty-five Years
| Case Code: BECG115 Case Length: 34 Pages Period: 1984-2010 Pub Date: 2012 Teaching Note: Available |
Price: Rs.500 Organization: Union Carbide Corporation, Dow Chemicals Company Industry: Chemicals Countries: India Themes: Business Ethics, Corporate Accountability, Multinational Corporations in Transnational Accountability |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
25 Years on... New Victims are Born Everyday
December 3, 2009, marked the 25th anniversary of the world's worst-ever industrial disaster - the deadly gas leak at the Bhopal-based pesticide plant of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL).
Tragedy struck on December 3, 1984, after water entered the Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) storage tank No. 610 at the plant. MIC is one of the deadliest gases produced in the chemical industry and is known to react violently when it comes into contact with water or metal dust.
What followed was a catastrophe that killed more than 3,000 people immediately and left thousands of people injured or affected for life. While the incident was horrendous in itself, what made it even worse was that its effects continued to be felt down the years by people living in the environs of the plant.
In the months, years, and decades that followed the disaster, thousands of survivors and their next generations suffered from ill health and multiple symptoms while their livelihood and future were severely affected. By the end of 2009, it was estimated that 25,000 had died and around 600,000 people were affected due to gas-related disorders.
Though the plant was shut down soon after the incident, the toxic remains at the factory left it in a state to create even more havoc with each passing day. Toxic chemicals lay in the vicinity and children who played near the site and livestock grazing on the ground were fully exposed to it. In addition to the surroundings, the walls of the UCIL plant and the roof remained covered with toxic materials which far exceeded safety standards.
Moreover, sacks of chemicals and pesticides lay scattered in a state of decomposition around the abandoned factory. Several metal boxes labeled 'Sevin' containing nitrate residues also remained at the plant. Some sources estimated that nearly 25,000 tons of contaminated material were present at the plant....
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