TRAUMA STILL HAUNTS BHOPAL GAS VICTIMS
In the worst-ever industrial accident to
date, a highly poisonous gas named Methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked out from a
chemical plant of a US-owned company in Bhopal on the night of December 2,
1984, that left around 25,000 people dead with nearly 2500 people dying
instantly. Many animals including cattle, sheep and birds also became the
victim of the gas leak.
In the sixties, with an aim to increase
foreign investments in the country for boosting the economy, Govt. of India
liberalized the terms for entry of foreign companies into India. Accordingly, a
US-based company named Union Carbide Corporation established a pesticide
manufacturing plant in Bhopal in 1969 over 15 acres of land under the name
Union Carbide of India Limited (UCIL). Being a centrally located place having
well-established road and rail connectivity, Bhopal was the perfect location
for the setting of the plant. The plant also gave employment to hundreds of
people leading to the flourishing of the local economy. A total of 750 workers
were working in the plant.
The plant was using two chemical gases
named Methyl isocyanate and Phosgene to produce an intermediate product called
Methylamine. These two gases were, of course, highly toxic in nature. Methylamine was then reacted with another
chemical called 1- Naphthol to produce the final product named Carbaryl which
was then marketed as a pesticide under the name Sevin. The Company was
producing nearly 5000 tons of the pesticide annually.
Subsequently, as the demand for the product increased, the Company later established its own MIC manufacturing unit in the same factory in Bhopal in 1979. The factory had three underground storage tanks placed side by side for storing MIC. The factory proved to be a boon for the local community as it was the only source of their livelihood. However, in the late seventies and early eighties, the demand for the product fell due to drought and the low agricultural output of the country and also due to the proven ineffectiveness of the pesticide in the field. This resulted in the cutting down of investment by the Company for the upkeep and upgradation of the facilities of the plant and, at one point of time, the factory was producing only half of its capacity. This led to the poor maintenance of many of the safety systems of the factory including valves and gas pipes. Even, in 1981, a labourer died in the factory while on duty due to accidental exposure to Phosgene gas. Subsequently, a journalist named Rajkumar Keswani, who happened to be a friend of the deceased worker, visited the site to find the dilapidated state of the factory and apprehended a catastrophe sooner. He reported that Bhopal was sitting over an exploding volcano which, of course, nobody paid any heed to at that time.
On the evening of 2nd December 1984,
water accidentally entered one of these storage tanks of MIC gas while the
employees were trying to clean a choked pipe attached to the tank. As it is
well-known in Chemistry, the chemical
reaction between MIC and Water is highly
explosive in nature resulting in the production of a large quantity of heat.
This resulted in the building of gas pressure inside the tank that reached a
value as high as 50 PSI from 2 PSI in a matter of only 4 to 5 hours which was far beyond the safety
limit. The old and poorly maintained tank was not able to withstand this high
pressure with its concrete walls caving in with cracks resulting in the release
of the gas into the open atmosphere.
Three safety systems of the factory
designed to slow down the effects of the gas leak were, unfortunately,
non-functional at that time. The refrigeration facility that was needed to keep
the temperature of the tank under control was not working with the coolant
material (Freon) removed for use elsewhere.
Secondly, a Flare Tower which was meant to burn out the issuing toxic
gases to harmless products also went non-operational. Thirdly, a Vent Gas
Scrubber facility which was designed to seal the leaks in the tank using
Caustic Soda as the plugging material was kept on standby mode.
The
plume of gases bellowed from the tanks in an uncontrollable manner and got
mixed into the air in no time. MIC gas, being heavier than air, settled to the
ground level and did not disperse quickly given the slow surface wind
conditions of the winter night. This resulted in far higher exposure to the gas
in the local population of the nearby slum area of which a majority was the
employees of the factory itself. Gripped with panic, people started running
here and there on the roads without knowing what exactly caused the disaster
and how to manage it. In fact, they were the people who came into direct
contact with the gas compared to those left inside their homes. In the morning,
the nearby road was found to be littered with thousands of dead bodies of men,
animals and birds. Most of the hospitals of the city were overwhelmed with
victims far beyond their capacities and the doctors were totally unaware of a
gas called MIC and, hence, had no antidote against it. The truck drivers
carrying the relief materials were reluctant to enter the affected area fearing
a fresh gas exposure thus triggering a secondary human catastrophe. Hence, the
entire emergency system of a small city like Bhopal collapsed while silently
watching people dying and dying due to a strange mysterious agent.
Thirty-eight years on, Bhopal still struggles to breathe out of this vicious gas cloud with many survivors narrating their horror stories of that ill-fated night with awe and agony. Haunted by trauma and terror, they used to march down the streets of Bhopal on the 2nd December evening every year with silent candlelight rallies paying homage to the departed souls. Even today, babies are born disabled or mentally retarded with soil and groundwater getting contaminated. In the meantime, both the Company and the Govt. had tried to provide some mitigation measures to the victims in the aftermath of the event. However, the deep scar left in the minds of the people who had lost their near and dear ones in this tragic incident is never going to be erased by the material help of any kind in days to come.
Nikunja Bihari Sahu Education Officer
Regional Science Centre
Bhopal
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