"Bhopal disaster"a gas leak from an American factory killed thousands of Indians

The Bhopal disaster is classified as the worst industrial disaster in history, as more than 500,000 people were exposed to the toxic gas methyl isocyanate, and investigations indicated that the American factory management knew of violating safety and health standards, and neglected the workers and residents of the poor Indian city.

The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the "Bhopal Gas Tragedy", is a gas leak that occurred on the night of 2-3 December 1984 at the US Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, central India.

The disaster ranks as the worst industrial disaster in history, with more than 500,000 people exposed to MIC, and the highly toxic substance made its way to small towns and nearby areas near the plant.

Estimates vary about the number of victims of the leak, so the immediate official death toll was 2,259, and later the government of Madhya Pradesh, where Bhopal is located, confirmed the death of 3,787 as a result of the release of poison gas, while estimates indicate that the number of victims was much more.

A factory that violates safety standards

The American "Union Carbide" factory was established in Bhopal in 1969, specializing in the production of pesticides through "methyl isocyanate" gas as a feedstock.

The plant facility violated Bhopal planning and development laws, due to the hazardous nature of a plant with a large number of chemicals. After raising questions about safety concerns, the company lost large numbers of engineering staff who were eventually replaced by unqualified workers who were not sufficiently trained to handle such dangerous chemicals and complex technologies.

As a result, thousands of employees and residents surrounding the factory have been adversely affected by health over the years, by chemicals, pesticides and frequent gas leaks, amid the spread of cancer, blindness, permanent disabilities, loss of livelihoods and the consequent financial pressures.

Frequent disasters

In 1976, two local unions in India complained of factory contamination, and in 1981 a worker was accidentally sprayed with toxic phosgene while servicing factory pipes, which led to his death 72 hours later.

After these events, a journalist named Rajkumar Keswani began to investigate and published his findings about the danger of the factory in the local newspaper "Bhopal Rapat", in which he urged the city's residents, saying: "Wake up, people of Bhopal, you are on the edge of a volcano."

In January 1982, a phosgene gas leak poisoned 24 workers. One month later, the incident was repeated with 18 other workers. In August of the same year, a chemical engineer touched a liquid methyl isocyanate, which led to burns of more than 30% of his body.

Sharp effects and gas cloud

By early December 1984, most of the Union Carbide plant's safety systems related to MIC were out of order, and many of the safety valves were in poor condition. In addition, many vented scrubbers were out of service, and the steam boiler for cleaning factory pipes was out of order.

On the night of December 2-3, the gas vent and scrubber stopped working completely, as it did not contain caustic soda and enough power to safely stop the gas leak, which caused the leakage of about 30 tons of toxic MIC into the atmosphere in less than hour.

A cloud of toxic gas formed hovering over the city, interspersed with gases and toxic substances such as chloroform, dichloromethane, hydrogen chloride, methyl, and carbon dioxide. The gas cloud remained close to the ground and spread towards southeast India, affecting neighboring cities and villages.

The primary effects on factory employees and the surrounding population were coughing, severe eye irritation, choking sensation, respiratory burning, blepharospasm, shortness of breath, stomach pain, and vomiting.

Reports say that thousands died the morning after the poison gas leak, amid mass graves and cremation.

Estimates indicate the death of 8-10 thousand people during the first three days following the accident, and the death of about 25 thousand in subsequent years from diseases related to exposure to poisonous gas, while the total number of affected is estimated between 150 and 600 thousand, including 50 thousand people who were disabled as a result of that disaster. Most of them died in the next five years, which makes the Bhopal disaster the largest industrial disaster in history in terms of the number of casualties.

Post-investigations indicate that although a Union Carbide plant employee triggered the plant's alarm system when the leak began to alert employees and residents of Bhopal, it was quickly stopped, in accordance with the company's procedures to avoid causing concern to residents around the plant about small leaks.

The International Medical Commission in Bhopal was set up in response to the accident, and Union Carbide was accused of willful negligence and knowing that its factory was in violation of the most stringent US safety and health standards, so it chose the poor Indian city of Bhopal, believing that no one would care about them in the event of a leak.

In February 1989, the Indian Supreme Court ordered Union Carbide to pay $470 million in damages to the families of the victims.