Methyl Iso Cyanse: The Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Introduction
It occurred on the night of 2 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The highly toxic substance made its way into and around the towns. The gases swirled into the nearby slums, killing Bhopal 's poorest inhabitants in their sleep, burning the eyes and lungs of survivors. The Bhopal gas tragedy is undoubtedly one of the worst industrial disasters in the history of mankind resulting in mortality of 2500-6000. The accident was apparently initiated by the introduction of water into the Methyl Iso Cyanate (MIC) storage tank resulting in an uncontrollable reaction with liberation of heat and escape of MIC in the form of a gas. Analysis of the residue in Tank 610 revealed over 21 harmful chemicals. Methyl isocyanide as an irritant
MIC is an irritant to the

Reproductive toxicity
There were concerns that the gas leak had effects on reproductive health. Reports indicated that menstrual cycle disruption, leucorrhea and dysmenorrheal (painful menstruation) had occurred in gas-exposed women. The fetus was also at a great risk because of exposure to the gas. In utero exposure to methyl iso cyanate in the first trimester of pregnancy caused a persistent immune system hyper responsiveness (more prone to allergies). An epidemiological survey showed pregnancy loss and infant mortality to be high in gas-exposed women. In a sample of 865 women who lived within 1 km of the plant and who were pregnant at the time of the gas leak, 43% of the pregnancies did not result in a live birth. Of the 486 live births, 14% of babies died in the first 30 days as compared to a death rate of 2.6 to 3% for previous deliveries in the 2 years preceding the accident in the same group of women.
Gene toxicity and