A Discussion on the Bhopal Disaster Essay Example

Bhopal disaster is one of the global issues in the current environmental problems affecting the world today. The tragedy occurred on 2nd of December, 1984 in India's Union Carbide Limited that was located at Bhopal, Madhya, and the disaster was an industrial accident. Pointing to the high number of deaths of 3,787 that was confirmed, it is believed to be the worst industrial carnage in history. This belief is seconded by the environmental and health effects that were later observed. According to an affidavit released by the government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed that there were 558,125 injuries recorded. The causes, effects, and remedies of the disaster are depicted in the essay below.

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The Bhopal plant was set up in 1969 as a pesticide production plant. A production facility was later added in 1979. The plant was under the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), which was incorporated in 1934 by the Union Carbide Company (UCC). UCIL was in five divisions operating 14 plants. At the company's peak, it employed roughly 9,000 people. Thousands of private investors in India were among the stakeholders in the plant. According to Mittal (2015), the Bhopal plant project was 100% under UCIL, and it took eight years (1972-1980). All decisions concerning operations, design, and construction of the plant were made by UCIL or mandated bodies. UCIL was later renamed to Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL), a battery and flashlight manufacturer, in 1994 by the Mcleod Russel India Limited when UCC sold its entire stake of UCIL to the company (Mittal, 2015). The proceeds were placed in a trust to help the victims of the tragedy. The State Government, which was leasing the premises to EIIL, took over in 1998 and became fully accountable of the site.

On the day of the tragic incident according to The New York Times investigation and report, employees realized a leakage of methyl isocyanate (MIC) at around 11:30 P.M. A supervisor believed it was water leakage and decided to deal with it later. He decided to flush the pipes thinking that they were clogged. The water used in flushing ended up into the largest tank storing MIC, an ingredient of carbaryl being produced. A chemical reaction occurred in the presence of water that leads to the tank being toppled over from the concrete where it sat and let out the MIC. Maintenance failure brought about by negligence contributed to the tragic incident occurring. A few months before the incident, managers had shut down a refrigeration unit designed to keep MIC cool and prevent chemical reactions. The Bhopal plant lacked a computer operating system to monitor their operations. Training levels required for working in the plant had been reduced. There was a cut of shift operators from 12 to 6 in spite of advice from chemical engineers in the company. The vent gas scrubber and flare tower had been shut down for maintenance. Pressure and Temperature gauges were malfunctioning, and there were no alarm systems in place. The tanks storing MIC were filled beyond capacity, and also MIC was supposed to be stored in over 200 steel drums and not large tanks (Mittal, 2015). There is also an argument of sabotage by the employees who introduced large amounts of water into the tanks storing MIC.

Sources have different estimates on the death toll as a result of the accident. The immediate death toll was 2,259 which were later confirmed to be 3787 by the government (Jos, 2016). Also, 558,125 injuries were recorded eventually, including 38,478 temporary injuries and 3,900 permanently disabling injuries. 8,000 died in two weeks, and another 8,000 died from respiratory diseases (Mhaske, 2014). There is still pollution of the underground water around the area caused by leakage of chemicals abandoned in the company although it is disputed. The area is still contaminated because it was used as a dumping site for harmful chemicals. According to a broadcast by BBC Radio 5 in 2004, report that the site is contaminated by toxic chemicals including mercury and benzene hexachloride lose on the ground that makes the area hazardous. The Bhopal plant is still standing 33 years after the tragic incident because of the presence of 336 tons of toxic wastes around the area that has not been disposed of (Jos, 2016). Recently, the Environment Minister of India, Madhav Dave, announced that the government has not yet allocated funds to dispose of the waste. According to Lacey Maheshwari, an analytical thinker, and accountant says the case is pending, and it's not easy to replace the factory with another building because the chemically affected soil has to be disposed of which is a tough task. The government has tried, but the location of disposing of the soil is an issue as nobody would want affected soil in their area (Jos, 2016).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Bhopal tragedy was as a result of both managerial and maintenance negligence. As a top manager, I would have ensured all the safety precautions were taken into consideration. Installing a computer and alarm system will give a sign to the employees of any malfunctions.

References

Jos, J. (2016). Voice of Bhopal: Different Dimensions of the Barriers to Justice in Bhopal Gas Tragedy Case. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2803271

Mhaske, D. (2014). Bhopal Gas tragedy- An experience of the medical and dental practitioners of this Unfinished Story 1984. IOSR Journal Of Dental And Medical Sciences, 13(1), 91-96. doi: 10.9790/0853-13129196

Mittal, A. (2015). Retrospection of Bhopal gas tragedy. Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, 98(9), 1079-1083. doi: 10.1080/02772248.2015.1125903