A devastating accident. Countless dead or forever changed. And no
one would take the blame for the "Hiroshima of the Chemical Age."
In 1969, Union Carbide India Limited, or UCIL,
was owned by the Union Carbide Corporation, or UCC. They opened a plant in Bhopal,
India to manufacture pesticides. According to "The Bhopal Saga" by Ingrid Eckerman,
the pesticide plant initially made a chemical known by the brand name Sevin.
In order to make the chemical, they initially imported methyl isocyanate,
or MIC, from the United States. But after 1980, the plant started making their own MIC.
Due to droughts, famine, and the ineffectiveness of the pesticides, sales fell past what was
expected. Environmental Health writes that in 1984, the pesticide plant was manufacturing
only a quarter of its production capacity. As a result, UCIL ordered local managers to
close the plant so that it could be sold in July 1984. But when UCIL was unable to find a buyer,
they decided to dismantle key production units to ship to another developing country.
Within 10 years of opening, there were already numerous warnings regarding pollution and leaks
in the plant. The Asian-Pacific Newsletter writes that in 1976,
two trade unions sent letters to managers, factory inspectors, and government officials
regarding the pollution in the plant. However, they never received any sort of response.
In 1981, a worker was splashed with a chemical called phosgene. In a panic,
he took off his mask and inhaled the gas. He died 72 hours later. Although
managers blamed the worker for his death, the workers' union noted that the manfunctioning
valve was in fact responsible for the accident, according to "The Bhopal Saga."
There was also a phosgene leak in January 1982 that hospitalized 24 workers,
and another leak several months later in October that left several workers with severe
chemical burns. Over the following two years, leaks in the pesticide plant continued with
such regularity that locals began to experience respiratory irritation and painful, burning eyes.
V.N. Singh, an operator at the Bhopal pesticide plant, first noticed a leak of MIC gas around 11
p.m. on December 2, 1984. The New York Times reports that after informing Shakil Qureshi,
the MIC supervisor, Singh was told that Qureshi would check out the leak after having some tea.
By 11:30 p.m., residents of the city were already feeling the effects of the gas.
They didn't think anything was out of the ordinary,
believing it to be just another one of the regularly occurring
but relatively small leaks. According to the "Centre for Science and Environment,"
The gas continued to spread in high concentrations,
and between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m., residents started to wake up coughing intensely and with
eyes burning. Environmental Health also writes that around 1 a.m.,
as the safety valve in the plant gave way, a thick plume of gas was released into the air.
Survivor Champa Devi Shukla recalls the panic as people
tried to escape the threat of the misty gas.
"The scenes are simply hellish. So much suffering from India's invisible killer. At one point,
an official said one death was being recorded every minute."
Over 40 tons of toxic MIC gas was released into the air that night. Running and jumping
onto whatever vehicle they could find, people tried to flee Bhopal. By 3 a.m.,
there was a crowded and constant stream of people trying to escape via the main
roads. During the mass exodus, hundreds of thousands of people fled for their lives as
the gas took over the city. The "Centre for Science and Environment" writes:
As a result, the streets were soon filled with dead and dying
people. Many tried to find their family members,
but were soon blinded by the gas and left unable to even shout for help as their airways closed.
According to The Bhopal Medical Appeal, death due to the type of gas that was released in
Bhopal is an incredibly horrific ordeal. Some vomited uncontrollably and started seizing,
while others ended up choking to death. Environmental Health estimates that almost
4,000 people living next to the plant died immediately.
Survivor Rashida Bi later stated that those who managed to escape alive,
quote, "are the unlucky ones."
"For the population, suffering is a fact of life,
and the fight for justice and compensation continues."
Although the death toll is disputed, it's estimated that over 500,000
people were poisoned the night of December 2, 1984. It's estimated that at least
8,000 people died during the first weeks and over the subsequent decades,
and that there were as many as 20,000 premature deaths as a result of the gas exposure.
The Bhopal Medical Appeal writes that many who managed to make it to the hospitals continued
to succumb from their injuries, due to the fact that Union Carbide refused to
share information on the gas that had been released, claiming it was a "trade secret."
Eckerman writes in "The Bhopal Saga" that children under the age of 5 were the worst affected, with
a death rate of 33 per 1,000. One of the badly affected neighborhoods reportedly lost 25% of its
7,000 residents. It's also estimated that over 3,000 large domesticated
animals were killed or had to be put down because of the gas exposure.
In addition to the staggering death toll,
at least 100,000 people ended up with permanent injuries due to the gas. As
of 2022, the Bhopal disaster remains the worst industrial disaster the world has ever seen.
"Hundreds in Bhopal were not in a forgiving mood, chanting, 'Union Carbide is a killer.'"
At the Bhopal plant, water was used to wash out the pipes to keep the filter system clean. But on
the night of December 2, 1984, water managed to reach the tank of methyl isocyanate gas.
According to the Loss Prevention Bulletin, no one knows exactly how the water ended up
reaching the MIC tank, but once it did, a chemical reaction occurred that started generating heat.
As the tank heated up, it led to a thermal runaway reaction, leading to hot MIC vapor
bursting out of the tank and escaping. By the time it was noticed, it was already too late.
The New York Times reports that there were several irregularities at the Bhopal
pesticide plant. Not only were internal leaks ignored and rarely investigated,
but the shutdown of the refrigeration unit was a violation of plant procedures. In addition,
two of the main safety systems — and refrigeration systems — had reportedly
been inoperable for at least several days, if not weeks, at the time of the gas leak.
The lack of safety systems, training, or effective public warning of the gas disaster wasn't a Union
Carbide Corporation characteristic. Instead, it reveals a stark pattern of environmental racism.
Unlike the Bhopal plant, the UCC West Virginia Plant used a computer system to monitor plant
functions and leaks. But at Bhopal, The New York Times reported that management told workers that
they needed to keep in mind that when their eyes started to water, something was going wrong.
"The Bhopal Disaster" also notes that UCC has a reputation of being "particularly lax about
health and environmental safety" in non-Western countries. Consequently, it's not entirely
surprising that after the disaster, UCC did everything they could to push the responsibility
onto their Indian subsidiary. According to Environmental Health, UCC didn't only claim
that the plan was completely built and operated by UCIL. They also fabricated stories of sabotage,
saying they were carried out by previously unknown Sikh extremist groups and disgruntled employees.
Their claims, however, were disputed by numerous independent sources.
Nine UCC and UCIL officials were charged with causing death by negligence,
including UCC CEO and chairman Warren Anderson. However, Anderson was released
on bail almost immediately and ended up being escorted out of the country.
According to "The Bhopal Disaster," UCC also claimed that exposure to MIC wouldn't lead
to permanent damage or long-term effects… despite clear evidence to the contrary.
And although UCC discontinued operations at the Bhopal plant, they failed to clean up the site
and the pesticide plant continued to leak toxic chemicals and heavy metals into local aquifers.
After lawsuits began to be filed in both the United States and India,
the Indian government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act of
1985. This allowed the government to be the sole representative of
all the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy in all legal proceedings.
However, the North Carolina Journal of International Law writes that as
a result of the Act, up to 6,500 civil suits filed in India were effectively terminated.
According to Bhopal: Unending Disaster, Enduring Resistance:
Although over 100 lawsuits were filed in the United States,
all of the legal cases ended up being dismissed or moved
to be entirely under Indian jurisdiction under a ruling by Judge John F. Keenan.
Initially, the Union Carbide Corporation offered a $5 million relief fund as
compensation for the Bhopal gas tragedy, which the government promptly turned down. Instead,
they asked $3.3 billion. In February 1989, UCC finally agreed to settle and paid $470
million for damages, with over half of UCC's settlement being covered by their insurance.
"I am confident that the victims can be fairly and equitably compensated
without adverse effect on the financial condition of Union Carbide Corporation."
The Guardian writes that as a result of the 1989 compensation settlement, some victims saw only
25,000 rupees, equivalent to $326. Other victims received no compensation at all.
The settlement included no stipulations for any sort of treatment or economic rehabilitation for
thousands of people who had lost the ability to work as a result of the gas exposure. As of 2010,
the Indian government had only released $100 million of the settlement to the victims.
In 1999, Dow Chemical Company bought the Union Carbide Corporation for
$11.6 billion in stocks and debt. But even after the acquisition,
Dow Chemical maintained that their purchase didn't include any liabilities from Bhopal.
The Atlantic reports that UCC officials repeatedly refused to appear in Indian courts,
despite numerous court summons. Dow Chemical officials reportedly also refused to appear
in court, according to The Bhopal Medical Appeal.
Reuters Events reports that the Indian government asked Dow Chemical to pay $22
million for the cleanup of the Bhopal pesticide plant site, but Dow refuses to pay. The company
continues to deny any liability or responsibility for the Bhopal plant.
According to The Economic Times, while the pesticide plant operated from 1969 to 1984,
toxic waste was frequently dumped in and around the plant, and the site was never cleaned up in
any way. India Today reports that up to 25,000 tons of toxic waste was left out in the open,
while some was also buried in the area. That means that the toxic effects of the
Bhopal pesticide plant can be found in the ground soil and water over 30 years after the tragedy.
The Delhi's Centre for Science and the Environment reported in 2009 that even two
miles away from the Bhopal factory, the level of pesticides in the water was found to be 40
times higher than safety standards dictate. As a result of the soil and water pollution,
many people who weren't even exposed to the gas leak have ended up with health problems.
Those who managed to survive the initial gas exposure still find
themselves suffering from long-term health effects from the gas. The
Guardian reports that 30 years after the disaster, the mortality rate for
those who were exposed to the gas remains 28% higher than average mortality rates.
Those who were exposed are more likely to die from cancer, lung disease, tuberculosis,
and kidney diseases. Surviving victims are also 63% more likely to fall ill.
Many people also continue to experience high rates of infertility, stillbirths,
miscarriages, early menopause, or disrupted menstrual cycles.
Children born to parents who survived the gas exposure are found to have a range of birth
defects at 10 times the incidence at national levels. According to "The Bhopal Saga," it's
estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 people were left permanently impaired by the
gas exposure, not including subsequent generations who also ended up affected.