In the early hours of the morning of Dec. 3, 1984, poisonous gas escaped from a pesticide factory in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh.
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The total number of people killed in the disaster was never accurately determined but it was widely thought that at least 2,000 people had died and as many as 180,000 were treated for various ailments.
The poisonous gas escaped from a factory owned by Union Carbide (India), a subsidiary owned 50.9 per cent by the US multinational Union Carbide Corporation and 49.1 per cent by the Indian government. The poisonous gas escaped from a tank containing 45 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC), after a build-up of pressure. However, the gas which escaped and killed so many people so quickly on Dec. 3 was thought to have been more lethal than MIC itself, and subsequently there were different theories about its precise nature.
Many victims were brought into hospitals unconscious and frothing at the mouth; others complained of difficulty in breathing and an acute burning sensation in the eyes. Although the gas covered an estimated 40 sq km of the city, many of the victims came from shanty settlements which had grown up around the factory. Here many people were found dead in their homes and the streets were littered with the carcasses of dead animals. At first it was thought that thousands of victims would be blinded but it was later reported that most of the victims had regained their sight.
Five Union Carbide (India) officials were arrested and detained on Dec. 3 and were charged with criminal negligence. On the same day Mr Arjun Singh, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, ordered that the plant be shut down and remain permanently closed. However, factory records indicated that there were 15 tonnes of MIC in liquid form stored in another underground tank (but see also below), and it was announced on Dec. 12 that the safest way to dispose of this remainder would be to restart the production process and convert the MIC into the pesticide Carboryl (Sevin). In spite of assurances from the Madhya Pradesh government, this announcement caused thousands of people to flee from Bhopal. A spokesman for the state government estimated that 70,000 people had fled from the city, while the news agency United News of India reported that 200,000 out of a population of 900,000 had left.
On Dec. 16 the production of the pesticide was restarted at the plant. The process, called 'operation faith' by Mr Arjun Singh, who remained in the plant to demonstrate his confidence, took seven days to complete and was successful in neutralizing the contents of the tank, now given as 23.5 tonnes of MIC (i. e. 8.5 tonnes more than the factory records had indicated).
Elaborate precautions were taken for 'operation faith', including the erection of a 15-foot sack-cloth wall around the plant, intended to trap the gas in case of a leak (MIC being heavier than air). This sacking wall was kept saturated, because when MIC comes into contact with water it reacts with it and becomes less dangerous, and Army helicopters and crop-spraying aircraft also doused the factory with water.
Opinion was divided over the long-term effects of the gas on the health of the thousands of people who were treated afterwards. The initial fear that many of them might be permanently blinded seemed to be unfounded, although in February some reports suggested that as many as 1,000 people had been totally or partially blinded. However, most of the victims who had initially experienced severe eye complaints were said to have regained their sight.
Another major concern was the effect of gas inhalation on pregnant women and their unborn children. In February a report in the Hindustan Times claimed that almost 25 per cent of the babies born to mothers from the gas disaster area died soon after birth. The report also claimed that an unusually high percentage of babies born in the gas disaster area were under weight at birth.
This article comes from Keesings Worldwide Online
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