BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY

Presented by:Bhagya VijayanJr.MSc.Agril.Extension

PALB:3120

HISTORY OF THE INCIDENT

•  Bhopal disaster/ Bhopal gas tragedy:  World's worst industrial disaster•    2–3 December 1984

•  Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant , Bhopal, M.P

•   500,000 people - exposed to  Methyl Isocyanate         and other chemicals.

•  Official immediate death toll -  2,259

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•   Government of M.P -      3,787 deaths

• According to estimate  leak caused                                                   558,125 injuries 

           38,478 temp. partial injuries         3,900 permt.injuries

• UCIL -  Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) (Indian public holding @ 49.1) 

• Dow Chemical Company purchased UCC in 2001, seventeen years after the disaster.

History contd.....

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RESPONSE BY THE AUTHORITY

 • Company’s medical officer to the doctors:

 “The gas is nonpoisonous”,there is nothing to do except to ask the patients to put a wet towel over their eyes.”

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Contd.....

Work Manager :    “MIC is only an irritant, it is not fatal. It depends on      how one looks at it. In its effects, it is like tear gas, 

your eyes start watering. You apply water and you get relief.”

• Then chairman: Warren Anderson

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HEALTH IMPLICATIONS• Acute symptoms                burning in the respiratory tract &  eyes         

      breathlessness ,stomach pain & vomiting

•   Causes of deaths                   choking, circulatory collapse &                  pulmonary oedema•  Autopsies revealed                 cerebral oedema, tubular necrosis ,

      degeneration of the liver •   stillbirth rate-       300% • neonatal mortality rate -     200%

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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATONS• The authorities gave out limited information 

       “the water is safe, but boil it before you drink”;

       the “vegetables are safe, but wash them before you cook”;     “the fish is safe”     but promptly closed the fish and meat markets  and banned 

the  slaughter of animals.

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          Study by Indian Council Of Agricultural Research•     animals  died within 3 min of inhaling the gas• Official records:        dead animals — cattle,goats, sheep and so on —  1,047                                                       7,000 received therapeutic care 

Contd....

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Completely damaged Partially damaged UndamagedMethi (fenugreek Alfalfa MintRadish Mustard CuscutaSpinach Cabbage PartheniumBrinjal Cauliflower Wild riceTomato Water hyacinth BougainvilleaChenopodium Marigold MoringaCastor Coriander JamunDatura Rose BananaJasmine Bottlegourd MangoCalotropis Wild spinachLantana LemonBer GuavaNeem

List of plants damaged by MIC

Source: Indian Council of Agricultural Research 9

      Study by the Central Board for the Prevention and Control of   Water Pollution

• used neem as an atmospheric indicator•  A vegetation damage contour prepared

Sl.no Area(sq.km) around the vegetation

Intensity of damage

1. 3.5 Severely affected

2. 5 badly affected 

3. 6 Moderately affected 

4. 10.5 Mildly affected 

Contd....

Source: Central Board for the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution 10

COMPENSATIOS

•  M. P government's finance dept. -  ₹ 874 million ,  July 1985 

• Widow pension - ₹  200 /per month •   Govt began paying - ₹ 1500 to families with 

monthly income ₹ 500 or less.•   Interim relief          more children attended school          more money was spent on treatment    

and  food         housing also eventually improved.

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•  compensation for personal injury - ₹ 25,000 

•  death claim- ₹ 62,000 

• By  October 2003 ,Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department claims that  compensation paid to 554,895 people

• Total compensation- ₹ 15464.7 million

• On 24 June 2010, the  Government of India approved a ₹ 12650 million  aid package.

Contd..........

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HOW IT BADLY AFFECTED THE INTERNAL ECONOMY OF BHOPAL ?

• The Bhopal disaster hit entire families. Their eyes and lungs badly affected, many of them will never to be able to work as manual labourers again.

( N Thiagarajan/The Hindustan Times)• The incident actually toppled the economy rendering so many 

people unemployed because of their injuries.

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•   rendered  so many Bhopali citizens  unemployed - limited income  of the families

•  Unable to do work with their restricted qualifications-  limited education

•    Career opportunities became narrower -  side-effects of the gas(recurring fatigue) 

• Eventually low purchasing power•  Made the marketing industry a poor place for money 

to be earned

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• As a result of the gas leak- 75%  of Bhopali citizens are unable to work for more than a few hours

•  Only 6.8% of the population can work for any longer than that.

• unfortunately, only about 5% of the population has gained employment by the government's efforts.

 

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% of people engaged in long and short duration work

short duration long duration 

6.8%

93.2%

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EXAMPLE OF NEGATIVE EXTERNALITY

• Main  aim – production of insecticide Sevin

• Culprit – backward integration                     Aggrevated the problem

• Corporate Social Responsibility- totally derailed

• Pollution at  the zennith 

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LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

• The Indian Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985, to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster

• Followed by so many legal proceedings in US

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• GOI  claimed - US$ 3.3 billion 

• Union Carbide agreed to pay-  US$ 470 million          (₹ 713 crore in the exchange rate of the day

• In  2010, seven former employees  were convicted of causing death by negligence and each sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined ₹1 lakh

• Anderson was released prior to this ,was fined a meagre amount

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CONCLUSION :PEOPLE STILL IN PERILS OF

PAIN?

•received only about one-fifth of the compensation promised to them under the 1989 agreement 

•On an average, each victim has received ₹ 12410

•This DECEMBER 3 rd it will become 3rd decade of waiting for a fair compensation 

• Incredibe India in the race of political supremacy has been ignoring  facts which are crystal clear and which needed immediate disposal- yes, justice delayed is justice denied  

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REFERENCES• Johnson S, Sahu R, Jadon N, Duca C (2009). Contamination of soil and

water inside and outside the Union Carbide India Limited, Bhopal. New Delhi: Centre for Science and Environment. In Down to Earth

• Shrishti (2002). Toxic present—toxic future. A report on Human and Environmental Chemical Contamination around the Bhopal disaster site. Delhi

• Varadarajan S et al. (1985). Report on Scientific Studies on the Factors Related to Bhopal Toxic Gas Leakage. New Delhi: Indian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

• Eckerman, Ingrid (2005). The Bhopal Saga—Causes and Consequences of the World's Largest Industrial Disaster

• Kulling P, Lorin H (1987). The Toxic Gas Disaster in Bhopal December 2–3, 1984. Stockholm: National Defence Research Institute.

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THANK YOU