OUTLINE

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INTRODUCTION HOW THE ACCIDENT HAPPENDED FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT WHAT MAKE IT WORSE LAW & ETHICS LESSON LEARNT

INTRODUCTION
Industrialization era to attract and retain FDI; developing countries are willing to lower their environment & working standards.

Developed countries take advantage build & operate plant not followed strict laws & regulations as in their native land- vulnerable to industrial crisis.

India invite UCC to open plant to produce pesticide in line with effort to reduce losses of crops due to pests to increase production of food

Loose regulations plants was built at a central location and transport infrastructure

Lack of awareness from community

ABOUT UCIL

Indian subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) UCC an U. S Company established in 1886 Gas and chemical company In 1994- UCC sold UCIL to Eveready Industries India Limited 2001 sold to Dow Chemical Company

HOW THE ACCIDENT HAPPENDED

It was before Green Revolution where India was faced with periodic droughts which resulted in famine

Through ongoing research, they found drought resistant varieties of wheat that had bigger inflorescence, were resistant to rain and wind.

The varieties of wheat required higher fertilizer application and had higher pesticide requirement. Indian Government began approving pesticide factories all over India to meet the requirement

1969 UCC (invited by Indian Government) opened pesticide plant

HOW THE ACCIDENT HAPPENDED

The plant produced pesticide carbaryl (need MIC as intermediates)

MIC is highly combustible and was kept under a blanket of nitrogen in two storage tanks in the plant
On the night of December 2nd, 1984, due to malfunctioning of the valve, had caused water into the storage tanks, reacted with nitrogen and thus the blanket gone, MIC leaked out in early morning of 3rd December 1984 The gas leaked over the city, carried by the wind. The wind carried the cloud to a vast area of almost 40 sq km.

The accident caused 8,000 people died immediately; > to date, 20,000 people died, >150,000 are chronically ill

CAUSE OF ACCIDENT

DURING ACCIDENT
From BBC News:"We were choking and our eyes were burning. We could barely see the road through the fog, and sirens were blaring. We didn't know which way to run. Everybody was very confused. Mothers didn't know their children had died, children didn't know their mothers had died and men didn't know their whole families had died. Ahmed Khan, Bhopal resident

FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT

The Bhopal plant had been losing money for several years due to the weak demand in India for pesticides

Important safety devices were out of commission and staff with no MIC training were in supervisory roles

Lead to major budget cuts in the Bhopal plant

At the same time, experienced workers left and were replaced by less experienced workers.

This resulted in major personnel reductions, particularly in regard to production and maintenance

WHAT MAKE IT WORSE?

Third World Country Prejudism; Indian caste system - majority of people belong to the group of lower castes and untouchables; The plant located among densely populated areas; The concurrent establishment of slum/colonies around the plant were never recognized by either UCIL or Indian Government; Lack of safety standard and maintenance procedures in Bhopal plant;

WHAT MAKE IT WORSE?

Medical practitioners was unprepared for thousands of casualties and were not informed with proper treatment method for MIC gas inhalation; UCC expert denied that MIC gas was dangerous. They claim that the leaked gas would not have any long term health effects; Lack of community information and emergency procedures to deal with potential large scale disasters.

LAW & ETHIC

NO. LAW 1. No violation of laws ETHIC

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Third country prejudism specifically e.g: 1. well taken care facility in US but Not providing information on hazardous facility in India, chemicals used in a facility - 2. low settlement far beyond under US laws claimed Trade Secrecy Protection No tangible law or Workers are expendables information on hazardous material not revealed regulations for storing capacity of MIC in India Damage pay according to Save cost on area they should spend more : US law would bankrupt the 1. Safety training cut to save cost company pay only 2. Staff competency- high turnover USD470 Million; half is 3. facility and equipment safety covered by insurance alarm and fail safe devices not working Forging medical diagnosis with bias medical expert No sense of responsibility in terms of finding the cure to neutralize the toxin of those infected, no law obligation.

LESSON LEARNT

Not following procedure is a common catalyst for man-made accidents and a reason for ineffective response to many natural and intentional disasters; Every decision made has their own consequences: The legal system does not always work to protect victims; The importance of having strict rules and enforcement;