PURPOSE: To examine the events contributing to the tragedy at Bhopal, India and their repercussions
and to draw conclusions based on these events.
INTRODUCTION: What Happened at Bhopal? Reading newspaper and magazine articles written
immediately following the events at Bhopal, it is apparent that it took some time for authorities to
determine the causes of the industrial accident. Speculation seems to have run wild for a time following
the accident. Drawing from later statistics and information seems to be a more reliable method of
determining the most likely scenario. Where various alternate feasible possibilities have been presented,
we will try to include the most likely.
At approximately midnight on December 3, 1984, an unexpected chemical reaction took place in a
Union Carbide of India Limited storage tank. The storage tank contained methyl isocyanate, (hereafter
referred to as MIC) a toxic gas used in the process of a pesticide called Sevin.(1) As part of the distilling
process there was an extremely high concentration of chloroform present. This caused corrosion of the
tank. The tank being made of iron provided a catalyst for the reaction. A large amount of water was also
introduced, approximately 120-240 gallons, which in combination with the chemical, generated enough
heat to start the reaction. The runaway reaction released an uncontrollable amount of heat and this
resulted in 30-40 tons of the gas being vaporized and spread over approximately 30 square miles, killing
thousands of people and injuring hundreds of thousands.(2)
The lack of information on MIC in 1984 made it a very toxic and difficult to control substance,
according to Meryl H. Karol of the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health. He
says, "Although nominally a liquid at room temperature, methyl isocyanate evaporates so quickly from
an open container that it easily turns into a colorless, odor...