Answer to Question #208825 in Economics for Ammu

Question

Explain Bhopal Gas tragedy and analyze the flaws and violations during design of gas plant.write a conclusion to avoid such tragedy in future for society safety?

Answer 1

The Bhopal disaster, also called the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident on the night of December 2 to 3, 1984. Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plants a pesticide in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered among the worst industrial disasters in the world. More than 500,000 people have been exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas. The highly toxic substance has penetrated into small towns located near the plant and around them.

Estimates vary in the number of deaths. According to official figures, 2,259 people died immediately. In 2008, the Madhya Pradesh Government paid compensation to the families of 3,787 victims of the gas release and 574,366 injuries. [4] Government affidavits in 2006 stated that the leak caused 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and approximately 3,900 serious and irreversible injuries. Other estimates put 8,000 people dead within two weeks, and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related illnesses. The cause of the disaster is still under debate. The Indian government and local activists argue that inaccurate management and delayed maintenance created a situation where scheduled pipeline maintenance caused water to flow back into the MIC tank, resulting in disaster. Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) claims the water entered the tank as a result of an act of sabotage.

The owner of the plant, UCIL, was majority-owned by the UCC, with government-controlled Indian banks and the Indian public holding 49.1 percent of the shares. In 1989, the UCC paid $ 470 million (equivalent to $ 860 million in 2019) to settle the disaster-related litigation. In 1994, UCC sold its stake in UCIL to Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL), which later merged with McLeod Russell (India) Ltd. subject to the government of Madhya Pradesh. The Dow Chemical Company acquired UCC in 2001, seventeen years after the disaster.