It was a frightful night which swallowed several lives abruptly. December 3, 1984 encountered a fatal night in Industrial history. Many questions are unanswered till date. Many of us just know a glimpse of what and how the accident happened. But what actually happened that day?? Was there any way of avoiding this massive act?? Yes…This could have been obstructed or even restricted with actual guidance and supervision. It was all about a result of oversight of mankind. The story of the devastating industrial hazard is like this…
28 years ago, An American owned company setup a Union Carbide plant in the heart of India- the city of Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh). Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) designed and constructed the Bhopal plant in the late 1970's using Indian consultants and workers. The plant operated by an Indian plant management team was constructed on land leased to UCIL by the Indian state government of Madhya Pradesh. The plant produced pesticides for use in India to help the country’s agricultural sector increase its productivity and contribute more significantly to meet the food needs of one of the world's most heavily populated regions.
The chairman of UCIL then, Mr Warren Anderson came to India to officially inaugurate the setup. American and Indian engineers worked together to make it a success for both their dreams. But the dream had several risks and shortcomings which was ignored by the team. A deathly gas also addressed as liquid dynamite by the employees of UCC, better known as MIC (Methyl IsoCyanate) was the major ingredient for the manufacture of the pesticide. It was one of the dangerous sides of the Industry. It was shocking to know that MIC was unstable only when came in contact with water as it was heated to a high temperature. When it was cooled then stabled.
Kumkum Saxena was appointed the factory medical officer by the team. She was overwhelmed as being the part of Union Carbide as she always wanted to be one. But as soon as she started her work to know how about the MIC, she came in contact with the darker side. She got the toxicology report from the American office stating that MIC is volatile and fatal when inhaled. Now her problems grew up because more than thousands of people lived in closed proximity of the plant which gave alarming situations of any disaster. Kumkum approached her supervisor but he ignored as if she was over reacting. She tried to convince the officials to make the people understand where and what they are surrounded with. No one was ready to listen to all these. This made her to quit.
Incognizant of this fact,for the people of Bhopal, Union carbide was the best way of income and progress for them, especially for those under poverty. One more person was running his family with this dream of prosperity, Chand Khan- a maintenance worker in the UCC with his wife and two children unaware of what the venomous futureholds for them. Chand’s wife once asked him to leave the job after one of his friend Ashraf Khan died due to direct contact with MIC. His lungs collapsed. But for Chand, it was the only mode of living left with him.
Suman Dey, the controlling officer was proud of his job as he knew that he can confidently handle the MIC chamber as safety systems can keep it cool whenever any problem arises. Before the carbide dream could reach its peak, there was a major problem as poor farmers of India were stricken by drought. So they stopped buying the pesticide. The financial crisis made the UCIL go down. As a result ignorance and oversight started, less frequent safety checks were done. Many employees left the arena and supervisors were lessoned.
On 2nd December 1984, Suman Dey arrived for his night shift. Outside the plant, a routine job was on the way. Another worker came earlier the night and started cleaning the pipes leading to MIC storage tanks with a jet of water. He had to use a small equipment- slip bind which should be inserted between the metal joints of pipe to avoid any leakage of water into MIC tank. But he forgot.MIC came in contact with water and Temperature rose. A refrigeration system was kept to cool the MIC but it was switched off that day. Suman Dey received a call at 11.30 pm from one of the workers about the leakage but he didn’t pay that heed to the fact and ordered them to check where the leakage occurred. A gas scrubber, the second option which could neutralise the MIC with caustic soda was on standby. Alert was given by Suman to take precautions but the city was sleeping. Suman Dey somehow escaped from a clear gateway.
It was already late and the gas now made its way to the city. People started getting foul smell and couldn’t resist. They started coughing instantly, everyone started running for their lives. It was a panic everywhere. People didn’t know what and how to react. They started vomiting violently, losing their eye sight with burning eyes. The leakage was between 12.45 am and 1.30 am. A gentle wind slowly moved the deadly cloud over an area of about 40 sq. km, thus causing a vast destruction of life. Only one person, Kumkum saxena knew what to do. Whosoever called her, she advised to cover up their doors and windows with damp clothing to avoid gas to enter and move in opposite direction of wind. These simple steps could have saved 1000s of lives but people were unaware of the fact. Hospitals were flooded with patients. No any antidote was there. The night ended and somehow by morning gas stopped leaking. Chand’s wife waiting for her husband with her two children was unaware of the fact that the baby sleeping in her lap was no more and she was already blind.L
It was estimated 8,000 died within two weeks and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases. A government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial and approximately 3,900 severely and permanent injuries. Paralysis, blindness, skin diseases and even more disabling injuries are still counting in the streets of Bhopal. In 1994, the Supreme Court of India allowed UCC to sell its 50.9% interest in UCIL to Eveready Industries India Limited. The Bhopal plant was later sold to McLeod Russel (India) Ltd. Dow Chemical Company purchased UCC in 2001.
Civil and criminal cases are pending in the District Court of Bhopal, India, involving UCC and Warren Anderson. In June 2010, seven ex-employees, including the former UCIL chairman, were convicted in Bhopal of causing death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2,000 each, the maximum punishment allowed by law. An eighth former employee was also convicted, but died before the judgment was passed.
The American dream became Indian nightmare and people died like flies. Around 8000 died. This man-made disaster could have been avoided by proper awareness and information to the people of Bhopal before the setup of the plant. It took a long time for the state to recover from it. The task of providing rehabilitation and relief to the victims of the Gas Tragedy in Bhopal was thus taken over. But the incident was already declared a massive one which engulfed the space and left only allergic patients. The city is still fresh with those broken dreams and shattered promises.
Courtesy: BBC - One Night In Bhopal (a documentary)
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Nice writing. The words depict the incident properly.
ReplyDeletethnqqq.. :) highly obliged sir!!
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