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On the night of December 3, 1984, a dangerous chemical reaction occurred
in a Union Carbide factory when a large amount of water got into the MIC
storage tank # 610. The leak was first detected by workers about 11:30
p.m. when their eyes began to tear and burn. They informed their
supervisor who failed to take action until it was too late. In that time,
about 40 tons of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC), poured out of the tank for
nearly two hours and escaped into the air, spreading within eight
kilometers downwind, over the city of nearly 900,000. In 1991 the official
Indian government panel charged with tabulating deaths and injuries
counted more than 3,800 dead and approximately 11,000 with disabilities.
In response to the tragedy, India passed
the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act to better enable people to have legal
recourse for damages there and the U.S and other countries responded with
laws (such as EPCRA) that required better accounting of and disclosure of
chemical inventories, which can alert emergency responders of the dangers
of facilities in their area so that they can more intelligently respond in
the event of an accident.
Here are some AcuSafe resources and links
on the subject of this terrible tragedy.
Bhopal Web Site (link)
Dedicated web site to the Bhopal incident, it includes a chronology of the
event and Union Carbide's aid and relief.
American University Mandela Projects, TED Case Studies on the Bhopal
Disaster (link)
Case study of the disaster, which emphasizes the impact on India.
Jackson Browning, Union Carbide Corporation, Union Carbide: Disaster at
Bhopal (1993) (link)
Mr. Browning, a former Vice President of Health, Safety &
Environmental Programs at Union Carbide discusses Union Carbide's
perspective of the events, with a detailed background and description of
events.
Ashok S. Kalelkar, Arthur D. Little, Investigation of Large Magnitude
Studies: Bhopal as a Case Study (1988) (link)
The results of the overall investigation are discussed and it is
demonstrated that the commonly-held view that water-washing of a certain
header caused the disaster is physically impossible. Evidence is presented
which indicates that direct water entry into the methyl isocyanate storage
tank was the likely initiating cause of the Bhopal disaster.
Chemical Safety Board, Bhopal Disaster Spurs U.S. Industry, Legislative
Action (link)
This article summarizes the events of that evening and discusses how
the accident prompted U.S. legislation under the Emergency Planning and
Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Clean Air Act Amendments of
1990 (the enabling act for the OSHA PSM and EPA RMP Programs).
Paul Shrivastava, Long-term recovery from the Bhopal crisis (link)
A very good article on the aftermath of this accident.
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