The Bhopal Gas Tragedy

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On the 3rd of December 1984, a gas leakage incident happened in Bhopal, India. Methyl isocyanate(MIC), a deadly poisonous gas was accidentally leaked and spread into air from the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plant. The leak was caused by large volume of water entering one of the MIC storage tanks in the underground. As a result temperature and pressure in tank continuously increased and the storage tank burst as a result of chemical reaction between the water and MIC. It spread in the air and over the nearby community. As a result the people inhaled the gas and got affected. The doctors also could not provide immediate treatment for the victims since UCIL provided only a little information regarding the composition of the poisonous gas leaked. Due to this incident 3,500 people were killed instantly; 20 thousand people were permanently disabled and more than 40 thousand people suffered from the injuries and chronic diseases due to the incident in long run. The Major Causes of the Incident: 1. Human Factors: To cut costs MIC plant operators were reduced from 11 to 5 per shift,...

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