Bhopal Gas Tragedy Case Study

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INTRODUCTION
AN OVERVIEW OF BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY
Bhopal gas tragedy was a gas leakage disaster in india which is considered as one of the worst disasters of the world.it occurred on the midnight of 2-3 December1984.There was a leakage of over 40 tons of methyl isocyanides gas used by union carbide corporation’s pesticide factory in Bhopal for making the pesticide SELVIN. The devastation caused by the disaster made it the world’s greatest industrial disaster of the century. It came to be known as the Hiroshima of the chemical industry.
The factory was situated in the midst of the town between the settlements which were densely populated.The factory chose to store chemicals and that too methyl isocyanide in such a place where nearly 12000 people resided.But there was no runaway reaction designed in the plantWhen the reaction occurred then MIC was flowing in the tank 200 times more than it’s desired capacity.87% of the MIC tank was full and moreover it was not stored at zero degree centigrade.This is the basic requirement to store the gas at this temperature and the cooling system was also not working properly.At the time of the disaster the flare tower meant for burning of MIC was under construction.
The people who lived in shanty settlements above the fence were the ones who suffered the most.This incident had a devastating effect on their lives.Many people died before reaching hospitals and emergency aid centers. Estimates say that 8-10,000 people died within the first 72

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