Essay Example on Bhopal Tragedy: 17,000 Dead, 120,000 Injured

Introduction

A small mistake that happened in Union Carbide pesticide plant's operation led to a lasting sorrow. Seventeen thousand deaths were reported, and 120, 000 left with injuries and others with disabilities (Walters, 2009). The number of deaths that were officially recorded by the government was 4, 000, while 13, 000 death claims were also filed (Zavestoski, 2009). Later, the Indian court on June 7, 2010, convicted eight of the former senior workers of the organization subsidiary to 2 years in jail for causing deaths through negligence. It was very disgusting and indicated that the company had a problem, starting from the management. It was found that the government in India had provided incentives and issued permits for the plant (Zavestoski, 2009). Besides, the plant was located in an illegal area through the permission of Bhopal community officials, through the authorization by the environmental and safety inspectors from India. The problem is, who among these was to be questioned? This memorandum has described what potential issues were, my analyses of the cause of actions, and suggested various recommendations and how they would be implemented.

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Ethical Issues

The company failed to mind the well-being of the people who were living around. Despite a call by the Indian government to move all the industrials organization 15 miles from human residences, Union Carbide pesticide plant's operation made a very little success. The Bhopal's administrator (M.N Buch), tried to relocate the UCIL pesticide's organization and convert the site to housing and lighting. The relocation was preferred since the chemical used and the pesticide itself could pose risks to people and the environment. However, his efforts were unsuccessful for unclear reasons. He was transferred elsewhere, to handle forestry duties. Precisely, M.N Buch aimed at transferring the company into a safer environment, and this made him be transferred to a different department. Besides, the company's management was aware of the dangers that could be caused by the chemicals they were using.

Nevertheless, it failed to respond immediately after receiving information on leaking. It also failed to communicate on the effects on the dangerous chemicals to the community, so that they would have looked for an alternative to save their lives (Baocheng, 2014). Also, after the incident, research was conducted by both the interior of the Union Carbide and the government. It didn't surprise people from the obtained different outcomes since the company wanted to cover the bare truth. Thus, the government failed to obtain much of the relevant information.

People moved into the region surrounding the company, and the region became densely populated where unemployed people came to settle as they seek employment opportunities. The MIC was posing as a great health risk to the surrounding neighbors. The gases produced in the manufacture of MIC were lethal; a worker had been killed by phosgene gas produced in the process a journalist wrote an article about it, but nothing was done neither by the company or the government. The company ought to have responded, and ensured measures were in place so that such cases couldn't happen later in life.

Tax incentives from the city also played a role in the location of the plant. After the government opposed the importation of chemicals used, they started manufacturing methyl isocyanate (MIC). It was a dangerous chemical, and despite the company being aware, they didn't propose a different place for its manufacture. There were also laws stating that companies dealing with dangerous chemicals were supposed to move fifteen miles away in industrial zones, but were ignored (Peterson, 2009). Additionally, there was also regulation from multinational companies that MIC was supposed to be produced in small amounts for immediate use in pesticide production, which was also not honored. The company should have followed the regulations and be located in far places away from the people.

The company failed to educate the workers on the safety measures within the plant. Some of the operators could notice the pressure of the MIC control room rising but were not aware of posed risks and the dangers associated (Baocheng, 2014). The operators also seemed not to be aware of the tolerable limits of the pound per square inch pressure from the MIC control room. The company also made a mistake in the switching of the refrigeration systems as from the case it indicates that they had been switched off five months ago to save on electricity. Another mistake done was that the manual for the processing MIC was not being followed. There is also carelessness from the supervisors as from the case, one of the workers noticed the dripping from the MIC manufacturing pipes to the supervisor who instead of taking measures waited until the time for the regular checkups.

People injured during the time of the Bhopal disaster occurred reported the case in court. The supreme court of India ruled in 1989 that Union Carbide was to settle civil claims amounting to $470 million. However, this was not done; the survivors did not get the amount set by the court, and in 2014, the supreme court had to direct the Union Carbide to clear the balance of $330 million to the victims. And this still did not take place, and in 2010 another petition had to be filed by the victims and the government on the settlement issue after realizing that there was contemplation in the initial settlement that was set (Union Carbide/Dow lawsuit (re Bhopal) | Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. 2020). Hence this was unethical as the settlement ought to have been made in the court was also supposed to follow to ensure that the victims were compensated.

The Bhopal disaster survivors and victims' also filed a lawsuit in the federal court in the United States in 1999 claiming compensation following the 1984 incident for the injuries and the deaths as well as the contamination of the environment. However, the claims are dismissed on the base that they had been barred following Union Carbide settlement of 1989 set by the Indian Supreme Court (Union Carbide/Dow lawsuit (re Bhopal) | Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. 2020). It's only the property damage caused by contamination of environment cases that went forward. Later in 2012, the case against Union carbide is dismissed despite the evidence being there, but the court fails to articulate justice.

Despite a case being in court since 1989 regarding a criminal lawsuit against the former CEO and the Union Carbide, the verdict took too long. The government and the courts were not willing to hand him the sentence despite evidence of him being guilty of criminal negligence. The charges were made from homicide to criminal negligence. After the petition, the senior members in the company were sentenced to two years in prison, where the Indian central bureau of investigation filed a petition seeking harsher punishment and proving that the US courts and the government were being lenient to the Union Carbide and the CEO Warren Anderson.

Causes of the Action

The main cause of the action was carelessness. A tank that held a capacity of 15, 000 gallons were buried partly and was meant to transfer MIC from elsewhere in the plant and hold it for a while before it was sent to the production area, by a pipe. Then it was to be converted into either Temic or Sevin. At around 9:30 p. m., an operator was ordered by the supervisor to wash the four filter valves that were near the production area of MIC with water, as a means of unclogging them. He, therefore, connected a hose of water above the clogged valve without inserting a slip blind that would have prevented the water leak.

Another cause was the lack of training. R. Khan would have been trained that introducing water elsewhere, especially around the MIC production area, would be very dangerous. It caused water to enter into the tank, hence starting an exothermic process. The operations were not aware of the danger at the beginning since the pressure of the tank was unnoticed for the first two hours. At around 10:20 p.m., they noticed that the pressure was two ppsi. At 11:30, another operator noticed that it had increased to 10 ppsi, was never took any action, since it was within the tolerance period, he thought that the gauge was wrong. He never looked at the log to understand that the pressure had increased five times more than how it was an hour ago (Walters, 2009).

Furthermore, the company wanted to minimize the operational cost. It was equipped with refrigeration that would have been cooled the tanks, but it was shut down for almost five months to reduce the cost of electricity (Baocheng, 2014). The eyes of the workers stated watering at 11:45 p.m., and at the same time, a small drip was noticed from the overhead piping. And this made the supervisor suggest fixing, but by 12:40 a.m., the pressure was at 40 ppsi (Walters, 2009). With no time, the pressure had released, and the valve opened, filling the atmosphere with a white cloud of MIC vapor. In the control room, a switch was turned on by the operators to enhance the activation of vent gas scrubber. Nevertheless, it would be expected not to have a significant impact, since the volume of the MIC was beyond the control.

Recommendations

The management of the UCIL pesticide's organization would have used their busses to evacuate the residents immediately after the report if the leak was out of their control. Besides, it also failed to make effective communication with the residents of Bhopal. It would have used the broadcast in informing affected people to breathe through wet materials, like clothes or towels, since MIC was very reactive with water. It can be seen that the organization had a very poor operation and management, and this needed to be changed. It does not mean that the CEO of the company would have been arrested or suffer a life sentence because of the tragedy, but he should have been responsible for the cases. I would have implemented this recommendation by setting effective rules and regulations to be followed by the organization in case of leaking. Secondly, I would have introduced a training program to enable the entire organization to understand the harmful effects of manufactured gas. In return, the actions would not have occurred.

Furthermore, the Indian government also failed in this case. It had called for the relocation of the company, which was not honored. The government should have introduced a strategy for not only giving directions but also enhancing an effective following. Yes, the government recommended the company to move away from people, but did it follow to ensure that the company adhered? It did not. If it had followed, it would have taken legal actions towards the organization, and the mess would not have occurred. Therefore, government negligence also played a part in this issue. If I would like to implement this recommendation, I would have also set rules that the government should have, on ensuring that the organization follows government orders effectively. Apart from selling rules, I would have ensured that all measures in enhancing an effective organization have been observed, not only for the benefit of the company but also for the well-being of people living around.

The employees were ignorant about the leaking, and they were supposed to act immediately. At first, there were signs of high pressure, which increased gradually. They were all aware of the incidents but took no actions. Yet, they were aware of the harmful nature of MIC. From this perspective, I would have implemented measuring of the ppsi of MIC pressu...