part-1 bhopal project
TRANSCRIPT
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Introduction
Corporate governance Corporate governance is the set of processes customs policies
laws and institutions affecting the way a corporation (or company) is directed
administered or controlled Corporate governance also includes the relationships among
the many stakeholders involved and the goals for which the corporation is governed The
principal stakeholders are the shareholders the board of directors employees customers
creditors suppliers and the community at large
Corporate governance is a multi-faceted subject An important theme of corporate
governance is to ensure the accountability of certain individuals in an organization
through mechanisms that try to reduce or eliminate the principal-agent problem A related
but separate thread of discussions focuses on the impact of a corporate governance system
in economic efficiency with a strong emphasis on shareholders welfare There are yet
other aspects to the corporate governance subject such as the stakeholder view and the
corporate governance models around the world
Brief introduction on Bhopal gas tragedy
In the early morning hours of December 3 1984 a poisonous grey cloud (forty tons of
toxic gases) from Union Carbide India Limited (UCILs)1 pesticide plant at Bhopal
spread throughout the city Water carrying catalytic material had entered Methyl
Isocyanate (MIC) storage tank No 610 What followed was a nightmare
The killer gas spread through the city sending residents scurrying through the dark
streets No alarm ever sounded a warning and no evacuation plan was prepared When
victims arrived at hospitals breathless and blind doctors did not know how to treat them
as UCIL had not provided emergency information
It was only when the sun rose the next morning that the magnitude of the devastation was
clear Dead bodies of humans and animals blocked the streets leaves turned black the
smell of burning chilly peppers lingered in the air Estimates suggested that as many as
10000 may have died immediately and 30000 to 50000 were too ill to ever return to
their jobs
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The catastrophe raised some serious ethical issues The pesticide factory was built in the
midst of densely populated settlements UCIL chose to store and produce MIC one of the
most deadly chemicals (permitted exposure levels in USA and Britain are 002 parts per
million) in an area where nearly 120000 people lived The MIC plant was not designed
to handle a runaway reaction When the uncontrolled reaction started MIC was flowing
through the scrubber (meant to neutralize MIC emissions) at more than 200 times its
designed capacity
MIC in the tank was filled to 87 of its capacity while the maximum permissible was
50 MIC was not stored at zero degree centigrade as prescribed and the refrigeration
and cooling systems had been shut down five months before the disaster as part of
UCCs global economy drive Vital gauges and indicators in the MIC tank were defective
The flare tower meant to burn off MIC emissions was under repair at the time of the
disaster and the scrubber contained no caustic soda
As part of UCCs drive to cut costs the work force in the Bhopal factory was brought
down by half from 1980 to 1984 This had serious consequences on safety and
maintenance The size of the work crew for the MIC plant was cut in half from twelve to
six workers The maintenance supervisor position had been eliminated and there was no
maintenance supervisor The period of safety-training to workers in the MIC plant was
brought down from 6 months to 15 days
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Objective of Study
The objective of this project is as follows
1 To study the appropriate causes of Bhopal gas tragedy
2 To know the effects of the disaster on the natural environment legal environment
and humans
3 To review the compensation and government role in the tragedy
4 To study the condition in Bhopal after the take over of UCC by Dow chemicals
Scope of Study
The scope of this project on ―Study of Impact of Bhopal Gas Tragedy is limited to
Bhopal city as the disaster had occurred in that city
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Research Methodology
Formation of Problem
The major problem due to which the disaster occurred was the cost cutting standards of
UCC Apart from this their ignorance towards the environment and human factor was an
addition to the problem The legal and corporate structure was not well developed in
India In addition there was further delay in providing justice to the victims
Collection of Data
Primary research
Primary research (also called field research) involves the collection of data that does not
already exist This can be through numerous forms including questionnaires and
telephone interviews amongst others This information may be collected in things like
questionnaires and interviews This project does not consist primary research
Secondary Data
Secondary research occurs when a project requires a summary or collection of existing
data As opposed to data collected directly from respondents or research subjects for
the express purposes of a project (often called empirical or primary research)
secondary sources already exist
These secondary sources could include previous research reports newspaper magazine
and journal content and government The project is based on secondary research only
The data are collected through internet and newspaper for this research
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Research Limitation
The limitation of the project or the study is as follows
1 The study is based on only secondary research
2 The project study is limited to one disaster that is Bhopal gas tragedy in the
confinements of Bhopal city
3 The study does not include primary research
4 There is time frame for this project
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Company profile of Union Carbide Corporation
Union Carbide Corporation
400 West Sam Houston Parkway South
Houston Texas 77042
USA
Telephone (713) 798-2016
Fax (713) 978-2394
Web site httpwwwunioncarbidecom
Wholly Owned Subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company
Incorporated1917 as Union Carbide amp Carbon
Corporation
Employees3800
Sales$586 billion (2004)
NAIC3251 Basic Chemical Manufacturing
Union Carbide Corporation is the worlds largest producer of ethylene glycol commonly
used as antifreeze and is a leading manufacturer of the worlds most widely used plastic
polyethylene In spite of a disaster at its Bhopal India pesticide plant in 1984 that
resulted in numerous deaths and serious health problems for people living in the region
as well as a devastating takeover attempt that followed the corporation remained one of
top 20 exporters in the United States in the early 1990s Union Carbide pioneered the
petrochemicals industry and introduced the first two modern plastics The company
became known as chemist to the chemical industry and metal-lurgist to the metals
industry because of its production of many of the building blocks of those two
industries
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Origins
The Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation (UCC) was formed in 1917 from the
combination of four companies Union Carbide Co (incorporated 1898) Linde Air
Products Co (incorporated 1907) National Carbon Co Inc (incorporated 1899) and
Prest-O-Lite Co Inc (incorporated 1913) The new entity was organized as a holding
company with its four members acting relatively autonomously and cooperating where
their businesses converged
The merger combined what had often been competing interests to form an industrial
chemicals powerhouse The oldest member of the quartet Union Carbide had been
formed to manufacture calcium carbide which was used in the production of metal
alloys A by-product of alloying calcium carbide with aluminum was acetylene a gas that
company executives hoped would prove useful for street and household lighting When
Thomas Edisons electric incandescent light bulbs proved more practical for most
lighting however it looked as if Union Carbides acetylene lighting business was
obsolete Luckily a French researcher discovered that acetylene could be burned in
oxygen to produce a hot metal-cutting flame A whole new market for the gas emerged
and UCC was ready to take advantage of it
The company continued to manufacture calcium carbide at plants in Sault Ste Marie
Michigan and Niagara Falls New York and by 1900 the Union Carbides capital stock
stood at $6 million Union Carbide combined Americas first commercial high-carbon
ferrochrome process which had been developed by company founder Major James T
Moorhead in the late 1890s with a metal alloying business acquired in 1906 The
subsidiary created a line of metals composed of iron and one or more other metals
known in the industry as ferroalloys Ferroalloys made the production of alloy steels
more efficient because they could be incorporated more easily with steel to create new
metals with specific properties Union Carbides low-carbon ferrochrome for example
was a precursor of modern stainless steel
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Union Carbide had been involved with the Linde Air Products Co through joint
acetylene experiments for about six years before the formation of the UCC holding
company As one of Americas first oxygen-producing concerns and after 1917 part of
one of the countrys largest chemical companies Linde soon became the worlds largest
producer of industrial gases such as acetylene hydrogen and nitrogen These gases
formed the foundation of the petrochemical industry The Prest-O-Lite Company had
been one of Union Carbides primary competitors for most of the two companies
histories but three years of cooperative acetylene experiments among UCC Prest-O-Lite
and Linde made the merger smoother Before the turn of the 20th century National
Carbon Co had produced the first commercial dry cell battery and offered it under the
Eveready trademark The well-known brand would be a UCC staple for the next seven
decades
With combined research efforts and a national push for new technologies to help win
World War I further developments came in rapid succession at Union Carbide New
products included batteries for portable radios and corrosion and heat-resistant ferroalloys
that strengthened the steel used to build skyscrapers bridges and automobiles The
governments need for ethylene during the Great War also generated interest in
hydrocarbon byproducts These substances were made from calcium carbide and would
later become the raw materials for the production of plastics synthetic rubber fibers
solvents explosives and industrial chemicals In 1919 the first production of synthetic
ethylene began Ethylene would develop into the industrys most important industrial
hydrocarbon eventually used in polyethylene (plastics) polystyrene (Styrofoam) and
antifreeze among other products Union Carbides Prestone brand ethylene glycol soon
became the top-selling antifreeze a position it held throughout the 20th century
The new corporate structure enabled UCC to leverage the combined assets of its four
primary subsidiaries and embark on an acquisitions spree that was not halted even by the
Great Depression In 1919 alone the company acquired an acetylene manufacturer
created Canadian subsidiaries of National Carbon Co and Prest-O-Lite and purchased a
new headquarters at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City This new home
served the company until the late 1970s During the 1920s Union Carbide expanded its
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overseas interests with the acquisition of a Norwegian hydroelectric plant in 1925 and a
calcium carbideferroalloy plant in that same country in 1929 The holding company
added to its battery business with the purchase of Manhattan Electrical Supply Co in
1926 UCC annexed two domestic industrial gas interests in 1928 and strengthened its
industrial electric furnace business with the acquisition of the Acheson Graphite
Corporation in 1928
US Vanadium Co Acquired
One of the most vital acquisitions UCC made during the 1920s was that of US
Vanadium Cos Colorado mine mill and reduction plant in 1926 Carbides subsequent
vanadium research was a truly corporate venture that coordinated several of the
companys subsidiaries and eventually involved the company in the governments atomic
energy program Uranium-bearing materials were located and provided by US
Vanadium UCC scientists demonstrated that gaseous diffusion could be used to separate
quantities of uranium-235 and contracted with the federal government in 1943 to operate
the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant After intensive research UCCs Linde Company
perfected a refining process for treating uranium concentrates A plant was built and
operated by the Electro Metal-lurgical Company (acquired in 1922) to provide extensive
metallurgical research and manufacture uranium Finally Union Carbide and Carbon
Research Laboratories contributed to the development of the atomic weapon itself
In 1939 UCC acquired the Bakelite Corporation which developed the first modern
plastic phenol formaldehyde In 1941 Carbide made permanent-press fabrics possible
with its development of glyoxal
Union Carbide earned a reputation for developing raw materials for the chemical and
metals industries during World War II Since natural rubber was in very short supply
during the war the company resumed its experiments with butene a hydrocarbon that
was developed into a synthetic rubber Modern neoprene is a familiar example of butenes
application
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Postwar prosperity camouflaged nagging problems at UCC the company was chalking
up a bad track record of discovering new substances and processes but not capitalizing on
them For example UCC pioneered urethanes but did not commit enough financial
resources to the new field in time to profit The company also made permanent-press
fabrics possible with its development of glyoxal but could not come up with a consumer
product that maximized its profit potential It often ended up riding the coattails of
movements it had spawned Union Carbides program of internal promotion engendered
company loyalty but it also stifled creativity The company started a slide into relative
mediocrity that with few exceptions would consume the next three decades
Company Perspectives
Union Carbide Corporation is a chemical and polymers company with over 3800
employees The company possesses some of the industrys most advanced process and
catalyst technologies and operates some of the most cost-efficient large-scale production
facilities in the world Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that
undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers Some
of these materials are high-volume commodities while others are specialty products
meeting the needs of smaller market niches The end-uses served include paints and
coatings packaging wire and cable household products personal care pharmaceuticals
automotive textiles agriculture and oil and gas
A succession of well-meaning chief executives kept UCC in turnaround mode Under
the direction of CFO Morse G Dial Carbide absorbed its major operating subsidiaries
and formally relinquished its holding company status in 1949 Dial hoped to reverse the
excessive autonomy at UCC by creating a Presidents Office composed of the
corporations division heads The company name was changed to Union Carbide
Corporation in 1957 to reflect its reorganization from a holding company to a diversified
corporation By that time Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation had established some
400 plants in the United States and Canada in addition to overseas affiliates The
company went from having 18 autonomous divisions to just four primary domestic
groups Union Carbide Chemicals Co Linde Co Union Carbide Plastics Co and Union
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Carbide Consumer Products Co Even though these corporate segments were technically
divisions the retention of the word company in each sections name represented the
perpetuation of the decentralized management structure of a holding company and its
detrimental effect on Union Carbide continued
UCC Develops Polyethylene
Polyethylene a plastic used in squeeze bottles (high-density polyethylene) as well as in
films and sheeting (low-density polyethylene) became Union Carbides largest dollar-
volume product after World War II An olefins division was set up in the 1950s to supply
low-cost raw materials for the chemicals and plastics industry in the 1950s For several
years the company sold these plastics to other manufacturers However Carbide finally
did capitalize on this discovery in 1964 when Glad branded plastic wraps bags and
straws were introduced Within just four years Glad became the leading brand in its
market
By the 1960s Union Carbide occupied the top spot in many of its primary fields
including industrial gases carbon electrodes for industrial electric furnaces batteries
atomic energy polyethylene plastic and ferroalloys In 1965 the conglomerates sales
topped $2 billion for the first time From 1956 to 1966 Union Carbide parlayed a few
plants in a dozen countries into 60 major subsidiary and associated companies with plants
in 30 countries serving over 100 markets International operations of the conglomerate
contributed 29 percent of its annual sales and by mid-decade the company name was
changed to Union Carbide International Co to reflect its increased global presence
In spite of consistently rising sales which doubled from 1960 to 1970 to $3 million
Union Carbides profits plummeted and stayed low from 1966 to 1971 Carbide could
claim leading market shares but top shares of low-margin commodities still equaled low
profits Industry-wide overcapacity in ferroalloys ran as high as 70 percent in the early
1960s and prices for these products fell 25 percent The company was compelled to cut
its ferroalloys work force by 40 percent and close a major plant at Niagara Falls To make
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matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
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container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
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Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
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forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
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Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
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are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
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Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
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Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
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The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
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25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
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52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
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55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
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56
Annexure
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2
The catastrophe raised some serious ethical issues The pesticide factory was built in the
midst of densely populated settlements UCIL chose to store and produce MIC one of the
most deadly chemicals (permitted exposure levels in USA and Britain are 002 parts per
million) in an area where nearly 120000 people lived The MIC plant was not designed
to handle a runaway reaction When the uncontrolled reaction started MIC was flowing
through the scrubber (meant to neutralize MIC emissions) at more than 200 times its
designed capacity
MIC in the tank was filled to 87 of its capacity while the maximum permissible was
50 MIC was not stored at zero degree centigrade as prescribed and the refrigeration
and cooling systems had been shut down five months before the disaster as part of
UCCs global economy drive Vital gauges and indicators in the MIC tank were defective
The flare tower meant to burn off MIC emissions was under repair at the time of the
disaster and the scrubber contained no caustic soda
As part of UCCs drive to cut costs the work force in the Bhopal factory was brought
down by half from 1980 to 1984 This had serious consequences on safety and
maintenance The size of the work crew for the MIC plant was cut in half from twelve to
six workers The maintenance supervisor position had been eliminated and there was no
maintenance supervisor The period of safety-training to workers in the MIC plant was
brought down from 6 months to 15 days
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3
Objective of Study
The objective of this project is as follows
1 To study the appropriate causes of Bhopal gas tragedy
2 To know the effects of the disaster on the natural environment legal environment
and humans
3 To review the compensation and government role in the tragedy
4 To study the condition in Bhopal after the take over of UCC by Dow chemicals
Scope of Study
The scope of this project on ―Study of Impact of Bhopal Gas Tragedy is limited to
Bhopal city as the disaster had occurred in that city
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4
Research Methodology
Formation of Problem
The major problem due to which the disaster occurred was the cost cutting standards of
UCC Apart from this their ignorance towards the environment and human factor was an
addition to the problem The legal and corporate structure was not well developed in
India In addition there was further delay in providing justice to the victims
Collection of Data
Primary research
Primary research (also called field research) involves the collection of data that does not
already exist This can be through numerous forms including questionnaires and
telephone interviews amongst others This information may be collected in things like
questionnaires and interviews This project does not consist primary research
Secondary Data
Secondary research occurs when a project requires a summary or collection of existing
data As opposed to data collected directly from respondents or research subjects for
the express purposes of a project (often called empirical or primary research)
secondary sources already exist
These secondary sources could include previous research reports newspaper magazine
and journal content and government The project is based on secondary research only
The data are collected through internet and newspaper for this research
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5
Research Limitation
The limitation of the project or the study is as follows
1 The study is based on only secondary research
2 The project study is limited to one disaster that is Bhopal gas tragedy in the
confinements of Bhopal city
3 The study does not include primary research
4 There is time frame for this project
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6
Company profile of Union Carbide Corporation
Union Carbide Corporation
400 West Sam Houston Parkway South
Houston Texas 77042
USA
Telephone (713) 798-2016
Fax (713) 978-2394
Web site httpwwwunioncarbidecom
Wholly Owned Subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company
Incorporated1917 as Union Carbide amp Carbon
Corporation
Employees3800
Sales$586 billion (2004)
NAIC3251 Basic Chemical Manufacturing
Union Carbide Corporation is the worlds largest producer of ethylene glycol commonly
used as antifreeze and is a leading manufacturer of the worlds most widely used plastic
polyethylene In spite of a disaster at its Bhopal India pesticide plant in 1984 that
resulted in numerous deaths and serious health problems for people living in the region
as well as a devastating takeover attempt that followed the corporation remained one of
top 20 exporters in the United States in the early 1990s Union Carbide pioneered the
petrochemicals industry and introduced the first two modern plastics The company
became known as chemist to the chemical industry and metal-lurgist to the metals
industry because of its production of many of the building blocks of those two
industries
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7
Origins
The Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation (UCC) was formed in 1917 from the
combination of four companies Union Carbide Co (incorporated 1898) Linde Air
Products Co (incorporated 1907) National Carbon Co Inc (incorporated 1899) and
Prest-O-Lite Co Inc (incorporated 1913) The new entity was organized as a holding
company with its four members acting relatively autonomously and cooperating where
their businesses converged
The merger combined what had often been competing interests to form an industrial
chemicals powerhouse The oldest member of the quartet Union Carbide had been
formed to manufacture calcium carbide which was used in the production of metal
alloys A by-product of alloying calcium carbide with aluminum was acetylene a gas that
company executives hoped would prove useful for street and household lighting When
Thomas Edisons electric incandescent light bulbs proved more practical for most
lighting however it looked as if Union Carbides acetylene lighting business was
obsolete Luckily a French researcher discovered that acetylene could be burned in
oxygen to produce a hot metal-cutting flame A whole new market for the gas emerged
and UCC was ready to take advantage of it
The company continued to manufacture calcium carbide at plants in Sault Ste Marie
Michigan and Niagara Falls New York and by 1900 the Union Carbides capital stock
stood at $6 million Union Carbide combined Americas first commercial high-carbon
ferrochrome process which had been developed by company founder Major James T
Moorhead in the late 1890s with a metal alloying business acquired in 1906 The
subsidiary created a line of metals composed of iron and one or more other metals
known in the industry as ferroalloys Ferroalloys made the production of alloy steels
more efficient because they could be incorporated more easily with steel to create new
metals with specific properties Union Carbides low-carbon ferrochrome for example
was a precursor of modern stainless steel
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8
Union Carbide had been involved with the Linde Air Products Co through joint
acetylene experiments for about six years before the formation of the UCC holding
company As one of Americas first oxygen-producing concerns and after 1917 part of
one of the countrys largest chemical companies Linde soon became the worlds largest
producer of industrial gases such as acetylene hydrogen and nitrogen These gases
formed the foundation of the petrochemical industry The Prest-O-Lite Company had
been one of Union Carbides primary competitors for most of the two companies
histories but three years of cooperative acetylene experiments among UCC Prest-O-Lite
and Linde made the merger smoother Before the turn of the 20th century National
Carbon Co had produced the first commercial dry cell battery and offered it under the
Eveready trademark The well-known brand would be a UCC staple for the next seven
decades
With combined research efforts and a national push for new technologies to help win
World War I further developments came in rapid succession at Union Carbide New
products included batteries for portable radios and corrosion and heat-resistant ferroalloys
that strengthened the steel used to build skyscrapers bridges and automobiles The
governments need for ethylene during the Great War also generated interest in
hydrocarbon byproducts These substances were made from calcium carbide and would
later become the raw materials for the production of plastics synthetic rubber fibers
solvents explosives and industrial chemicals In 1919 the first production of synthetic
ethylene began Ethylene would develop into the industrys most important industrial
hydrocarbon eventually used in polyethylene (plastics) polystyrene (Styrofoam) and
antifreeze among other products Union Carbides Prestone brand ethylene glycol soon
became the top-selling antifreeze a position it held throughout the 20th century
The new corporate structure enabled UCC to leverage the combined assets of its four
primary subsidiaries and embark on an acquisitions spree that was not halted even by the
Great Depression In 1919 alone the company acquired an acetylene manufacturer
created Canadian subsidiaries of National Carbon Co and Prest-O-Lite and purchased a
new headquarters at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City This new home
served the company until the late 1970s During the 1920s Union Carbide expanded its
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9
overseas interests with the acquisition of a Norwegian hydroelectric plant in 1925 and a
calcium carbideferroalloy plant in that same country in 1929 The holding company
added to its battery business with the purchase of Manhattan Electrical Supply Co in
1926 UCC annexed two domestic industrial gas interests in 1928 and strengthened its
industrial electric furnace business with the acquisition of the Acheson Graphite
Corporation in 1928
US Vanadium Co Acquired
One of the most vital acquisitions UCC made during the 1920s was that of US
Vanadium Cos Colorado mine mill and reduction plant in 1926 Carbides subsequent
vanadium research was a truly corporate venture that coordinated several of the
companys subsidiaries and eventually involved the company in the governments atomic
energy program Uranium-bearing materials were located and provided by US
Vanadium UCC scientists demonstrated that gaseous diffusion could be used to separate
quantities of uranium-235 and contracted with the federal government in 1943 to operate
the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant After intensive research UCCs Linde Company
perfected a refining process for treating uranium concentrates A plant was built and
operated by the Electro Metal-lurgical Company (acquired in 1922) to provide extensive
metallurgical research and manufacture uranium Finally Union Carbide and Carbon
Research Laboratories contributed to the development of the atomic weapon itself
In 1939 UCC acquired the Bakelite Corporation which developed the first modern
plastic phenol formaldehyde In 1941 Carbide made permanent-press fabrics possible
with its development of glyoxal
Union Carbide earned a reputation for developing raw materials for the chemical and
metals industries during World War II Since natural rubber was in very short supply
during the war the company resumed its experiments with butene a hydrocarbon that
was developed into a synthetic rubber Modern neoprene is a familiar example of butenes
application
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10
Postwar prosperity camouflaged nagging problems at UCC the company was chalking
up a bad track record of discovering new substances and processes but not capitalizing on
them For example UCC pioneered urethanes but did not commit enough financial
resources to the new field in time to profit The company also made permanent-press
fabrics possible with its development of glyoxal but could not come up with a consumer
product that maximized its profit potential It often ended up riding the coattails of
movements it had spawned Union Carbides program of internal promotion engendered
company loyalty but it also stifled creativity The company started a slide into relative
mediocrity that with few exceptions would consume the next three decades
Company Perspectives
Union Carbide Corporation is a chemical and polymers company with over 3800
employees The company possesses some of the industrys most advanced process and
catalyst technologies and operates some of the most cost-efficient large-scale production
facilities in the world Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that
undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers Some
of these materials are high-volume commodities while others are specialty products
meeting the needs of smaller market niches The end-uses served include paints and
coatings packaging wire and cable household products personal care pharmaceuticals
automotive textiles agriculture and oil and gas
A succession of well-meaning chief executives kept UCC in turnaround mode Under
the direction of CFO Morse G Dial Carbide absorbed its major operating subsidiaries
and formally relinquished its holding company status in 1949 Dial hoped to reverse the
excessive autonomy at UCC by creating a Presidents Office composed of the
corporations division heads The company name was changed to Union Carbide
Corporation in 1957 to reflect its reorganization from a holding company to a diversified
corporation By that time Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation had established some
400 plants in the United States and Canada in addition to overseas affiliates The
company went from having 18 autonomous divisions to just four primary domestic
groups Union Carbide Chemicals Co Linde Co Union Carbide Plastics Co and Union
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11
Carbide Consumer Products Co Even though these corporate segments were technically
divisions the retention of the word company in each sections name represented the
perpetuation of the decentralized management structure of a holding company and its
detrimental effect on Union Carbide continued
UCC Develops Polyethylene
Polyethylene a plastic used in squeeze bottles (high-density polyethylene) as well as in
films and sheeting (low-density polyethylene) became Union Carbides largest dollar-
volume product after World War II An olefins division was set up in the 1950s to supply
low-cost raw materials for the chemicals and plastics industry in the 1950s For several
years the company sold these plastics to other manufacturers However Carbide finally
did capitalize on this discovery in 1964 when Glad branded plastic wraps bags and
straws were introduced Within just four years Glad became the leading brand in its
market
By the 1960s Union Carbide occupied the top spot in many of its primary fields
including industrial gases carbon electrodes for industrial electric furnaces batteries
atomic energy polyethylene plastic and ferroalloys In 1965 the conglomerates sales
topped $2 billion for the first time From 1956 to 1966 Union Carbide parlayed a few
plants in a dozen countries into 60 major subsidiary and associated companies with plants
in 30 countries serving over 100 markets International operations of the conglomerate
contributed 29 percent of its annual sales and by mid-decade the company name was
changed to Union Carbide International Co to reflect its increased global presence
In spite of consistently rising sales which doubled from 1960 to 1970 to $3 million
Union Carbides profits plummeted and stayed low from 1966 to 1971 Carbide could
claim leading market shares but top shares of low-margin commodities still equaled low
profits Industry-wide overcapacity in ferroalloys ran as high as 70 percent in the early
1960s and prices for these products fell 25 percent The company was compelled to cut
its ferroalloys work force by 40 percent and close a major plant at Niagara Falls To make
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12
matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
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13
container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
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14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
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15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
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16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
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17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
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19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
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20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
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22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
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25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
3
Objective of Study
The objective of this project is as follows
1 To study the appropriate causes of Bhopal gas tragedy
2 To know the effects of the disaster on the natural environment legal environment
and humans
3 To review the compensation and government role in the tragedy
4 To study the condition in Bhopal after the take over of UCC by Dow chemicals
Scope of Study
The scope of this project on ―Study of Impact of Bhopal Gas Tragedy is limited to
Bhopal city as the disaster had occurred in that city
BGT
4
Research Methodology
Formation of Problem
The major problem due to which the disaster occurred was the cost cutting standards of
UCC Apart from this their ignorance towards the environment and human factor was an
addition to the problem The legal and corporate structure was not well developed in
India In addition there was further delay in providing justice to the victims
Collection of Data
Primary research
Primary research (also called field research) involves the collection of data that does not
already exist This can be through numerous forms including questionnaires and
telephone interviews amongst others This information may be collected in things like
questionnaires and interviews This project does not consist primary research
Secondary Data
Secondary research occurs when a project requires a summary or collection of existing
data As opposed to data collected directly from respondents or research subjects for
the express purposes of a project (often called empirical or primary research)
secondary sources already exist
These secondary sources could include previous research reports newspaper magazine
and journal content and government The project is based on secondary research only
The data are collected through internet and newspaper for this research
BGT
5
Research Limitation
The limitation of the project or the study is as follows
1 The study is based on only secondary research
2 The project study is limited to one disaster that is Bhopal gas tragedy in the
confinements of Bhopal city
3 The study does not include primary research
4 There is time frame for this project
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Company profile of Union Carbide Corporation
Union Carbide Corporation
400 West Sam Houston Parkway South
Houston Texas 77042
USA
Telephone (713) 798-2016
Fax (713) 978-2394
Web site httpwwwunioncarbidecom
Wholly Owned Subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company
Incorporated1917 as Union Carbide amp Carbon
Corporation
Employees3800
Sales$586 billion (2004)
NAIC3251 Basic Chemical Manufacturing
Union Carbide Corporation is the worlds largest producer of ethylene glycol commonly
used as antifreeze and is a leading manufacturer of the worlds most widely used plastic
polyethylene In spite of a disaster at its Bhopal India pesticide plant in 1984 that
resulted in numerous deaths and serious health problems for people living in the region
as well as a devastating takeover attempt that followed the corporation remained one of
top 20 exporters in the United States in the early 1990s Union Carbide pioneered the
petrochemicals industry and introduced the first two modern plastics The company
became known as chemist to the chemical industry and metal-lurgist to the metals
industry because of its production of many of the building blocks of those two
industries
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Origins
The Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation (UCC) was formed in 1917 from the
combination of four companies Union Carbide Co (incorporated 1898) Linde Air
Products Co (incorporated 1907) National Carbon Co Inc (incorporated 1899) and
Prest-O-Lite Co Inc (incorporated 1913) The new entity was organized as a holding
company with its four members acting relatively autonomously and cooperating where
their businesses converged
The merger combined what had often been competing interests to form an industrial
chemicals powerhouse The oldest member of the quartet Union Carbide had been
formed to manufacture calcium carbide which was used in the production of metal
alloys A by-product of alloying calcium carbide with aluminum was acetylene a gas that
company executives hoped would prove useful for street and household lighting When
Thomas Edisons electric incandescent light bulbs proved more practical for most
lighting however it looked as if Union Carbides acetylene lighting business was
obsolete Luckily a French researcher discovered that acetylene could be burned in
oxygen to produce a hot metal-cutting flame A whole new market for the gas emerged
and UCC was ready to take advantage of it
The company continued to manufacture calcium carbide at plants in Sault Ste Marie
Michigan and Niagara Falls New York and by 1900 the Union Carbides capital stock
stood at $6 million Union Carbide combined Americas first commercial high-carbon
ferrochrome process which had been developed by company founder Major James T
Moorhead in the late 1890s with a metal alloying business acquired in 1906 The
subsidiary created a line of metals composed of iron and one or more other metals
known in the industry as ferroalloys Ferroalloys made the production of alloy steels
more efficient because they could be incorporated more easily with steel to create new
metals with specific properties Union Carbides low-carbon ferrochrome for example
was a precursor of modern stainless steel
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Union Carbide had been involved with the Linde Air Products Co through joint
acetylene experiments for about six years before the formation of the UCC holding
company As one of Americas first oxygen-producing concerns and after 1917 part of
one of the countrys largest chemical companies Linde soon became the worlds largest
producer of industrial gases such as acetylene hydrogen and nitrogen These gases
formed the foundation of the petrochemical industry The Prest-O-Lite Company had
been one of Union Carbides primary competitors for most of the two companies
histories but three years of cooperative acetylene experiments among UCC Prest-O-Lite
and Linde made the merger smoother Before the turn of the 20th century National
Carbon Co had produced the first commercial dry cell battery and offered it under the
Eveready trademark The well-known brand would be a UCC staple for the next seven
decades
With combined research efforts and a national push for new technologies to help win
World War I further developments came in rapid succession at Union Carbide New
products included batteries for portable radios and corrosion and heat-resistant ferroalloys
that strengthened the steel used to build skyscrapers bridges and automobiles The
governments need for ethylene during the Great War also generated interest in
hydrocarbon byproducts These substances were made from calcium carbide and would
later become the raw materials for the production of plastics synthetic rubber fibers
solvents explosives and industrial chemicals In 1919 the first production of synthetic
ethylene began Ethylene would develop into the industrys most important industrial
hydrocarbon eventually used in polyethylene (plastics) polystyrene (Styrofoam) and
antifreeze among other products Union Carbides Prestone brand ethylene glycol soon
became the top-selling antifreeze a position it held throughout the 20th century
The new corporate structure enabled UCC to leverage the combined assets of its four
primary subsidiaries and embark on an acquisitions spree that was not halted even by the
Great Depression In 1919 alone the company acquired an acetylene manufacturer
created Canadian subsidiaries of National Carbon Co and Prest-O-Lite and purchased a
new headquarters at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City This new home
served the company until the late 1970s During the 1920s Union Carbide expanded its
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overseas interests with the acquisition of a Norwegian hydroelectric plant in 1925 and a
calcium carbideferroalloy plant in that same country in 1929 The holding company
added to its battery business with the purchase of Manhattan Electrical Supply Co in
1926 UCC annexed two domestic industrial gas interests in 1928 and strengthened its
industrial electric furnace business with the acquisition of the Acheson Graphite
Corporation in 1928
US Vanadium Co Acquired
One of the most vital acquisitions UCC made during the 1920s was that of US
Vanadium Cos Colorado mine mill and reduction plant in 1926 Carbides subsequent
vanadium research was a truly corporate venture that coordinated several of the
companys subsidiaries and eventually involved the company in the governments atomic
energy program Uranium-bearing materials were located and provided by US
Vanadium UCC scientists demonstrated that gaseous diffusion could be used to separate
quantities of uranium-235 and contracted with the federal government in 1943 to operate
the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant After intensive research UCCs Linde Company
perfected a refining process for treating uranium concentrates A plant was built and
operated by the Electro Metal-lurgical Company (acquired in 1922) to provide extensive
metallurgical research and manufacture uranium Finally Union Carbide and Carbon
Research Laboratories contributed to the development of the atomic weapon itself
In 1939 UCC acquired the Bakelite Corporation which developed the first modern
plastic phenol formaldehyde In 1941 Carbide made permanent-press fabrics possible
with its development of glyoxal
Union Carbide earned a reputation for developing raw materials for the chemical and
metals industries during World War II Since natural rubber was in very short supply
during the war the company resumed its experiments with butene a hydrocarbon that
was developed into a synthetic rubber Modern neoprene is a familiar example of butenes
application
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Postwar prosperity camouflaged nagging problems at UCC the company was chalking
up a bad track record of discovering new substances and processes but not capitalizing on
them For example UCC pioneered urethanes but did not commit enough financial
resources to the new field in time to profit The company also made permanent-press
fabrics possible with its development of glyoxal but could not come up with a consumer
product that maximized its profit potential It often ended up riding the coattails of
movements it had spawned Union Carbides program of internal promotion engendered
company loyalty but it also stifled creativity The company started a slide into relative
mediocrity that with few exceptions would consume the next three decades
Company Perspectives
Union Carbide Corporation is a chemical and polymers company with over 3800
employees The company possesses some of the industrys most advanced process and
catalyst technologies and operates some of the most cost-efficient large-scale production
facilities in the world Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that
undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers Some
of these materials are high-volume commodities while others are specialty products
meeting the needs of smaller market niches The end-uses served include paints and
coatings packaging wire and cable household products personal care pharmaceuticals
automotive textiles agriculture and oil and gas
A succession of well-meaning chief executives kept UCC in turnaround mode Under
the direction of CFO Morse G Dial Carbide absorbed its major operating subsidiaries
and formally relinquished its holding company status in 1949 Dial hoped to reverse the
excessive autonomy at UCC by creating a Presidents Office composed of the
corporations division heads The company name was changed to Union Carbide
Corporation in 1957 to reflect its reorganization from a holding company to a diversified
corporation By that time Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation had established some
400 plants in the United States and Canada in addition to overseas affiliates The
company went from having 18 autonomous divisions to just four primary domestic
groups Union Carbide Chemicals Co Linde Co Union Carbide Plastics Co and Union
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Carbide Consumer Products Co Even though these corporate segments were technically
divisions the retention of the word company in each sections name represented the
perpetuation of the decentralized management structure of a holding company and its
detrimental effect on Union Carbide continued
UCC Develops Polyethylene
Polyethylene a plastic used in squeeze bottles (high-density polyethylene) as well as in
films and sheeting (low-density polyethylene) became Union Carbides largest dollar-
volume product after World War II An olefins division was set up in the 1950s to supply
low-cost raw materials for the chemicals and plastics industry in the 1950s For several
years the company sold these plastics to other manufacturers However Carbide finally
did capitalize on this discovery in 1964 when Glad branded plastic wraps bags and
straws were introduced Within just four years Glad became the leading brand in its
market
By the 1960s Union Carbide occupied the top spot in many of its primary fields
including industrial gases carbon electrodes for industrial electric furnaces batteries
atomic energy polyethylene plastic and ferroalloys In 1965 the conglomerates sales
topped $2 billion for the first time From 1956 to 1966 Union Carbide parlayed a few
plants in a dozen countries into 60 major subsidiary and associated companies with plants
in 30 countries serving over 100 markets International operations of the conglomerate
contributed 29 percent of its annual sales and by mid-decade the company name was
changed to Union Carbide International Co to reflect its increased global presence
In spite of consistently rising sales which doubled from 1960 to 1970 to $3 million
Union Carbides profits plummeted and stayed low from 1966 to 1971 Carbide could
claim leading market shares but top shares of low-margin commodities still equaled low
profits Industry-wide overcapacity in ferroalloys ran as high as 70 percent in the early
1960s and prices for these products fell 25 percent The company was compelled to cut
its ferroalloys work force by 40 percent and close a major plant at Niagara Falls To make
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matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
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container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
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Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
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forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
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Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
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17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
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Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
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Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
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22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
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25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
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52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
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55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
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56
Annexure
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4
Research Methodology
Formation of Problem
The major problem due to which the disaster occurred was the cost cutting standards of
UCC Apart from this their ignorance towards the environment and human factor was an
addition to the problem The legal and corporate structure was not well developed in
India In addition there was further delay in providing justice to the victims
Collection of Data
Primary research
Primary research (also called field research) involves the collection of data that does not
already exist This can be through numerous forms including questionnaires and
telephone interviews amongst others This information may be collected in things like
questionnaires and interviews This project does not consist primary research
Secondary Data
Secondary research occurs when a project requires a summary or collection of existing
data As opposed to data collected directly from respondents or research subjects for
the express purposes of a project (often called empirical or primary research)
secondary sources already exist
These secondary sources could include previous research reports newspaper magazine
and journal content and government The project is based on secondary research only
The data are collected through internet and newspaper for this research
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5
Research Limitation
The limitation of the project or the study is as follows
1 The study is based on only secondary research
2 The project study is limited to one disaster that is Bhopal gas tragedy in the
confinements of Bhopal city
3 The study does not include primary research
4 There is time frame for this project
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6
Company profile of Union Carbide Corporation
Union Carbide Corporation
400 West Sam Houston Parkway South
Houston Texas 77042
USA
Telephone (713) 798-2016
Fax (713) 978-2394
Web site httpwwwunioncarbidecom
Wholly Owned Subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company
Incorporated1917 as Union Carbide amp Carbon
Corporation
Employees3800
Sales$586 billion (2004)
NAIC3251 Basic Chemical Manufacturing
Union Carbide Corporation is the worlds largest producer of ethylene glycol commonly
used as antifreeze and is a leading manufacturer of the worlds most widely used plastic
polyethylene In spite of a disaster at its Bhopal India pesticide plant in 1984 that
resulted in numerous deaths and serious health problems for people living in the region
as well as a devastating takeover attempt that followed the corporation remained one of
top 20 exporters in the United States in the early 1990s Union Carbide pioneered the
petrochemicals industry and introduced the first two modern plastics The company
became known as chemist to the chemical industry and metal-lurgist to the metals
industry because of its production of many of the building blocks of those two
industries
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7
Origins
The Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation (UCC) was formed in 1917 from the
combination of four companies Union Carbide Co (incorporated 1898) Linde Air
Products Co (incorporated 1907) National Carbon Co Inc (incorporated 1899) and
Prest-O-Lite Co Inc (incorporated 1913) The new entity was organized as a holding
company with its four members acting relatively autonomously and cooperating where
their businesses converged
The merger combined what had often been competing interests to form an industrial
chemicals powerhouse The oldest member of the quartet Union Carbide had been
formed to manufacture calcium carbide which was used in the production of metal
alloys A by-product of alloying calcium carbide with aluminum was acetylene a gas that
company executives hoped would prove useful for street and household lighting When
Thomas Edisons electric incandescent light bulbs proved more practical for most
lighting however it looked as if Union Carbides acetylene lighting business was
obsolete Luckily a French researcher discovered that acetylene could be burned in
oxygen to produce a hot metal-cutting flame A whole new market for the gas emerged
and UCC was ready to take advantage of it
The company continued to manufacture calcium carbide at plants in Sault Ste Marie
Michigan and Niagara Falls New York and by 1900 the Union Carbides capital stock
stood at $6 million Union Carbide combined Americas first commercial high-carbon
ferrochrome process which had been developed by company founder Major James T
Moorhead in the late 1890s with a metal alloying business acquired in 1906 The
subsidiary created a line of metals composed of iron and one or more other metals
known in the industry as ferroalloys Ferroalloys made the production of alloy steels
more efficient because they could be incorporated more easily with steel to create new
metals with specific properties Union Carbides low-carbon ferrochrome for example
was a precursor of modern stainless steel
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8
Union Carbide had been involved with the Linde Air Products Co through joint
acetylene experiments for about six years before the formation of the UCC holding
company As one of Americas first oxygen-producing concerns and after 1917 part of
one of the countrys largest chemical companies Linde soon became the worlds largest
producer of industrial gases such as acetylene hydrogen and nitrogen These gases
formed the foundation of the petrochemical industry The Prest-O-Lite Company had
been one of Union Carbides primary competitors for most of the two companies
histories but three years of cooperative acetylene experiments among UCC Prest-O-Lite
and Linde made the merger smoother Before the turn of the 20th century National
Carbon Co had produced the first commercial dry cell battery and offered it under the
Eveready trademark The well-known brand would be a UCC staple for the next seven
decades
With combined research efforts and a national push for new technologies to help win
World War I further developments came in rapid succession at Union Carbide New
products included batteries for portable radios and corrosion and heat-resistant ferroalloys
that strengthened the steel used to build skyscrapers bridges and automobiles The
governments need for ethylene during the Great War also generated interest in
hydrocarbon byproducts These substances were made from calcium carbide and would
later become the raw materials for the production of plastics synthetic rubber fibers
solvents explosives and industrial chemicals In 1919 the first production of synthetic
ethylene began Ethylene would develop into the industrys most important industrial
hydrocarbon eventually used in polyethylene (plastics) polystyrene (Styrofoam) and
antifreeze among other products Union Carbides Prestone brand ethylene glycol soon
became the top-selling antifreeze a position it held throughout the 20th century
The new corporate structure enabled UCC to leverage the combined assets of its four
primary subsidiaries and embark on an acquisitions spree that was not halted even by the
Great Depression In 1919 alone the company acquired an acetylene manufacturer
created Canadian subsidiaries of National Carbon Co and Prest-O-Lite and purchased a
new headquarters at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City This new home
served the company until the late 1970s During the 1920s Union Carbide expanded its
BGT
9
overseas interests with the acquisition of a Norwegian hydroelectric plant in 1925 and a
calcium carbideferroalloy plant in that same country in 1929 The holding company
added to its battery business with the purchase of Manhattan Electrical Supply Co in
1926 UCC annexed two domestic industrial gas interests in 1928 and strengthened its
industrial electric furnace business with the acquisition of the Acheson Graphite
Corporation in 1928
US Vanadium Co Acquired
One of the most vital acquisitions UCC made during the 1920s was that of US
Vanadium Cos Colorado mine mill and reduction plant in 1926 Carbides subsequent
vanadium research was a truly corporate venture that coordinated several of the
companys subsidiaries and eventually involved the company in the governments atomic
energy program Uranium-bearing materials were located and provided by US
Vanadium UCC scientists demonstrated that gaseous diffusion could be used to separate
quantities of uranium-235 and contracted with the federal government in 1943 to operate
the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant After intensive research UCCs Linde Company
perfected a refining process for treating uranium concentrates A plant was built and
operated by the Electro Metal-lurgical Company (acquired in 1922) to provide extensive
metallurgical research and manufacture uranium Finally Union Carbide and Carbon
Research Laboratories contributed to the development of the atomic weapon itself
In 1939 UCC acquired the Bakelite Corporation which developed the first modern
plastic phenol formaldehyde In 1941 Carbide made permanent-press fabrics possible
with its development of glyoxal
Union Carbide earned a reputation for developing raw materials for the chemical and
metals industries during World War II Since natural rubber was in very short supply
during the war the company resumed its experiments with butene a hydrocarbon that
was developed into a synthetic rubber Modern neoprene is a familiar example of butenes
application
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10
Postwar prosperity camouflaged nagging problems at UCC the company was chalking
up a bad track record of discovering new substances and processes but not capitalizing on
them For example UCC pioneered urethanes but did not commit enough financial
resources to the new field in time to profit The company also made permanent-press
fabrics possible with its development of glyoxal but could not come up with a consumer
product that maximized its profit potential It often ended up riding the coattails of
movements it had spawned Union Carbides program of internal promotion engendered
company loyalty but it also stifled creativity The company started a slide into relative
mediocrity that with few exceptions would consume the next three decades
Company Perspectives
Union Carbide Corporation is a chemical and polymers company with over 3800
employees The company possesses some of the industrys most advanced process and
catalyst technologies and operates some of the most cost-efficient large-scale production
facilities in the world Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that
undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers Some
of these materials are high-volume commodities while others are specialty products
meeting the needs of smaller market niches The end-uses served include paints and
coatings packaging wire and cable household products personal care pharmaceuticals
automotive textiles agriculture and oil and gas
A succession of well-meaning chief executives kept UCC in turnaround mode Under
the direction of CFO Morse G Dial Carbide absorbed its major operating subsidiaries
and formally relinquished its holding company status in 1949 Dial hoped to reverse the
excessive autonomy at UCC by creating a Presidents Office composed of the
corporations division heads The company name was changed to Union Carbide
Corporation in 1957 to reflect its reorganization from a holding company to a diversified
corporation By that time Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation had established some
400 plants in the United States and Canada in addition to overseas affiliates The
company went from having 18 autonomous divisions to just four primary domestic
groups Union Carbide Chemicals Co Linde Co Union Carbide Plastics Co and Union
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11
Carbide Consumer Products Co Even though these corporate segments were technically
divisions the retention of the word company in each sections name represented the
perpetuation of the decentralized management structure of a holding company and its
detrimental effect on Union Carbide continued
UCC Develops Polyethylene
Polyethylene a plastic used in squeeze bottles (high-density polyethylene) as well as in
films and sheeting (low-density polyethylene) became Union Carbides largest dollar-
volume product after World War II An olefins division was set up in the 1950s to supply
low-cost raw materials for the chemicals and plastics industry in the 1950s For several
years the company sold these plastics to other manufacturers However Carbide finally
did capitalize on this discovery in 1964 when Glad branded plastic wraps bags and
straws were introduced Within just four years Glad became the leading brand in its
market
By the 1960s Union Carbide occupied the top spot in many of its primary fields
including industrial gases carbon electrodes for industrial electric furnaces batteries
atomic energy polyethylene plastic and ferroalloys In 1965 the conglomerates sales
topped $2 billion for the first time From 1956 to 1966 Union Carbide parlayed a few
plants in a dozen countries into 60 major subsidiary and associated companies with plants
in 30 countries serving over 100 markets International operations of the conglomerate
contributed 29 percent of its annual sales and by mid-decade the company name was
changed to Union Carbide International Co to reflect its increased global presence
In spite of consistently rising sales which doubled from 1960 to 1970 to $3 million
Union Carbides profits plummeted and stayed low from 1966 to 1971 Carbide could
claim leading market shares but top shares of low-margin commodities still equaled low
profits Industry-wide overcapacity in ferroalloys ran as high as 70 percent in the early
1960s and prices for these products fell 25 percent The company was compelled to cut
its ferroalloys work force by 40 percent and close a major plant at Niagara Falls To make
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12
matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
BGT
13
container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
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14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
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15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
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16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
BGT
17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
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19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
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20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
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22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
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25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
5
Research Limitation
The limitation of the project or the study is as follows
1 The study is based on only secondary research
2 The project study is limited to one disaster that is Bhopal gas tragedy in the
confinements of Bhopal city
3 The study does not include primary research
4 There is time frame for this project
BGT
6
Company profile of Union Carbide Corporation
Union Carbide Corporation
400 West Sam Houston Parkway South
Houston Texas 77042
USA
Telephone (713) 798-2016
Fax (713) 978-2394
Web site httpwwwunioncarbidecom
Wholly Owned Subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company
Incorporated1917 as Union Carbide amp Carbon
Corporation
Employees3800
Sales$586 billion (2004)
NAIC3251 Basic Chemical Manufacturing
Union Carbide Corporation is the worlds largest producer of ethylene glycol commonly
used as antifreeze and is a leading manufacturer of the worlds most widely used plastic
polyethylene In spite of a disaster at its Bhopal India pesticide plant in 1984 that
resulted in numerous deaths and serious health problems for people living in the region
as well as a devastating takeover attempt that followed the corporation remained one of
top 20 exporters in the United States in the early 1990s Union Carbide pioneered the
petrochemicals industry and introduced the first two modern plastics The company
became known as chemist to the chemical industry and metal-lurgist to the metals
industry because of its production of many of the building blocks of those two
industries
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7
Origins
The Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation (UCC) was formed in 1917 from the
combination of four companies Union Carbide Co (incorporated 1898) Linde Air
Products Co (incorporated 1907) National Carbon Co Inc (incorporated 1899) and
Prest-O-Lite Co Inc (incorporated 1913) The new entity was organized as a holding
company with its four members acting relatively autonomously and cooperating where
their businesses converged
The merger combined what had often been competing interests to form an industrial
chemicals powerhouse The oldest member of the quartet Union Carbide had been
formed to manufacture calcium carbide which was used in the production of metal
alloys A by-product of alloying calcium carbide with aluminum was acetylene a gas that
company executives hoped would prove useful for street and household lighting When
Thomas Edisons electric incandescent light bulbs proved more practical for most
lighting however it looked as if Union Carbides acetylene lighting business was
obsolete Luckily a French researcher discovered that acetylene could be burned in
oxygen to produce a hot metal-cutting flame A whole new market for the gas emerged
and UCC was ready to take advantage of it
The company continued to manufacture calcium carbide at plants in Sault Ste Marie
Michigan and Niagara Falls New York and by 1900 the Union Carbides capital stock
stood at $6 million Union Carbide combined Americas first commercial high-carbon
ferrochrome process which had been developed by company founder Major James T
Moorhead in the late 1890s with a metal alloying business acquired in 1906 The
subsidiary created a line of metals composed of iron and one or more other metals
known in the industry as ferroalloys Ferroalloys made the production of alloy steels
more efficient because they could be incorporated more easily with steel to create new
metals with specific properties Union Carbides low-carbon ferrochrome for example
was a precursor of modern stainless steel
BGT
8
Union Carbide had been involved with the Linde Air Products Co through joint
acetylene experiments for about six years before the formation of the UCC holding
company As one of Americas first oxygen-producing concerns and after 1917 part of
one of the countrys largest chemical companies Linde soon became the worlds largest
producer of industrial gases such as acetylene hydrogen and nitrogen These gases
formed the foundation of the petrochemical industry The Prest-O-Lite Company had
been one of Union Carbides primary competitors for most of the two companies
histories but three years of cooperative acetylene experiments among UCC Prest-O-Lite
and Linde made the merger smoother Before the turn of the 20th century National
Carbon Co had produced the first commercial dry cell battery and offered it under the
Eveready trademark The well-known brand would be a UCC staple for the next seven
decades
With combined research efforts and a national push for new technologies to help win
World War I further developments came in rapid succession at Union Carbide New
products included batteries for portable radios and corrosion and heat-resistant ferroalloys
that strengthened the steel used to build skyscrapers bridges and automobiles The
governments need for ethylene during the Great War also generated interest in
hydrocarbon byproducts These substances were made from calcium carbide and would
later become the raw materials for the production of plastics synthetic rubber fibers
solvents explosives and industrial chemicals In 1919 the first production of synthetic
ethylene began Ethylene would develop into the industrys most important industrial
hydrocarbon eventually used in polyethylene (plastics) polystyrene (Styrofoam) and
antifreeze among other products Union Carbides Prestone brand ethylene glycol soon
became the top-selling antifreeze a position it held throughout the 20th century
The new corporate structure enabled UCC to leverage the combined assets of its four
primary subsidiaries and embark on an acquisitions spree that was not halted even by the
Great Depression In 1919 alone the company acquired an acetylene manufacturer
created Canadian subsidiaries of National Carbon Co and Prest-O-Lite and purchased a
new headquarters at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City This new home
served the company until the late 1970s During the 1920s Union Carbide expanded its
BGT
9
overseas interests with the acquisition of a Norwegian hydroelectric plant in 1925 and a
calcium carbideferroalloy plant in that same country in 1929 The holding company
added to its battery business with the purchase of Manhattan Electrical Supply Co in
1926 UCC annexed two domestic industrial gas interests in 1928 and strengthened its
industrial electric furnace business with the acquisition of the Acheson Graphite
Corporation in 1928
US Vanadium Co Acquired
One of the most vital acquisitions UCC made during the 1920s was that of US
Vanadium Cos Colorado mine mill and reduction plant in 1926 Carbides subsequent
vanadium research was a truly corporate venture that coordinated several of the
companys subsidiaries and eventually involved the company in the governments atomic
energy program Uranium-bearing materials were located and provided by US
Vanadium UCC scientists demonstrated that gaseous diffusion could be used to separate
quantities of uranium-235 and contracted with the federal government in 1943 to operate
the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant After intensive research UCCs Linde Company
perfected a refining process for treating uranium concentrates A plant was built and
operated by the Electro Metal-lurgical Company (acquired in 1922) to provide extensive
metallurgical research and manufacture uranium Finally Union Carbide and Carbon
Research Laboratories contributed to the development of the atomic weapon itself
In 1939 UCC acquired the Bakelite Corporation which developed the first modern
plastic phenol formaldehyde In 1941 Carbide made permanent-press fabrics possible
with its development of glyoxal
Union Carbide earned a reputation for developing raw materials for the chemical and
metals industries during World War II Since natural rubber was in very short supply
during the war the company resumed its experiments with butene a hydrocarbon that
was developed into a synthetic rubber Modern neoprene is a familiar example of butenes
application
BGT
10
Postwar prosperity camouflaged nagging problems at UCC the company was chalking
up a bad track record of discovering new substances and processes but not capitalizing on
them For example UCC pioneered urethanes but did not commit enough financial
resources to the new field in time to profit The company also made permanent-press
fabrics possible with its development of glyoxal but could not come up with a consumer
product that maximized its profit potential It often ended up riding the coattails of
movements it had spawned Union Carbides program of internal promotion engendered
company loyalty but it also stifled creativity The company started a slide into relative
mediocrity that with few exceptions would consume the next three decades
Company Perspectives
Union Carbide Corporation is a chemical and polymers company with over 3800
employees The company possesses some of the industrys most advanced process and
catalyst technologies and operates some of the most cost-efficient large-scale production
facilities in the world Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that
undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers Some
of these materials are high-volume commodities while others are specialty products
meeting the needs of smaller market niches The end-uses served include paints and
coatings packaging wire and cable household products personal care pharmaceuticals
automotive textiles agriculture and oil and gas
A succession of well-meaning chief executives kept UCC in turnaround mode Under
the direction of CFO Morse G Dial Carbide absorbed its major operating subsidiaries
and formally relinquished its holding company status in 1949 Dial hoped to reverse the
excessive autonomy at UCC by creating a Presidents Office composed of the
corporations division heads The company name was changed to Union Carbide
Corporation in 1957 to reflect its reorganization from a holding company to a diversified
corporation By that time Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation had established some
400 plants in the United States and Canada in addition to overseas affiliates The
company went from having 18 autonomous divisions to just four primary domestic
groups Union Carbide Chemicals Co Linde Co Union Carbide Plastics Co and Union
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11
Carbide Consumer Products Co Even though these corporate segments were technically
divisions the retention of the word company in each sections name represented the
perpetuation of the decentralized management structure of a holding company and its
detrimental effect on Union Carbide continued
UCC Develops Polyethylene
Polyethylene a plastic used in squeeze bottles (high-density polyethylene) as well as in
films and sheeting (low-density polyethylene) became Union Carbides largest dollar-
volume product after World War II An olefins division was set up in the 1950s to supply
low-cost raw materials for the chemicals and plastics industry in the 1950s For several
years the company sold these plastics to other manufacturers However Carbide finally
did capitalize on this discovery in 1964 when Glad branded plastic wraps bags and
straws were introduced Within just four years Glad became the leading brand in its
market
By the 1960s Union Carbide occupied the top spot in many of its primary fields
including industrial gases carbon electrodes for industrial electric furnaces batteries
atomic energy polyethylene plastic and ferroalloys In 1965 the conglomerates sales
topped $2 billion for the first time From 1956 to 1966 Union Carbide parlayed a few
plants in a dozen countries into 60 major subsidiary and associated companies with plants
in 30 countries serving over 100 markets International operations of the conglomerate
contributed 29 percent of its annual sales and by mid-decade the company name was
changed to Union Carbide International Co to reflect its increased global presence
In spite of consistently rising sales which doubled from 1960 to 1970 to $3 million
Union Carbides profits plummeted and stayed low from 1966 to 1971 Carbide could
claim leading market shares but top shares of low-margin commodities still equaled low
profits Industry-wide overcapacity in ferroalloys ran as high as 70 percent in the early
1960s and prices for these products fell 25 percent The company was compelled to cut
its ferroalloys work force by 40 percent and close a major plant at Niagara Falls To make
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12
matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
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13
container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
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14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
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15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
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16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
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17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
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19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
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20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
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22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
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25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
6
Company profile of Union Carbide Corporation
Union Carbide Corporation
400 West Sam Houston Parkway South
Houston Texas 77042
USA
Telephone (713) 798-2016
Fax (713) 978-2394
Web site httpwwwunioncarbidecom
Wholly Owned Subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company
Incorporated1917 as Union Carbide amp Carbon
Corporation
Employees3800
Sales$586 billion (2004)
NAIC3251 Basic Chemical Manufacturing
Union Carbide Corporation is the worlds largest producer of ethylene glycol commonly
used as antifreeze and is a leading manufacturer of the worlds most widely used plastic
polyethylene In spite of a disaster at its Bhopal India pesticide plant in 1984 that
resulted in numerous deaths and serious health problems for people living in the region
as well as a devastating takeover attempt that followed the corporation remained one of
top 20 exporters in the United States in the early 1990s Union Carbide pioneered the
petrochemicals industry and introduced the first two modern plastics The company
became known as chemist to the chemical industry and metal-lurgist to the metals
industry because of its production of many of the building blocks of those two
industries
BGT
7
Origins
The Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation (UCC) was formed in 1917 from the
combination of four companies Union Carbide Co (incorporated 1898) Linde Air
Products Co (incorporated 1907) National Carbon Co Inc (incorporated 1899) and
Prest-O-Lite Co Inc (incorporated 1913) The new entity was organized as a holding
company with its four members acting relatively autonomously and cooperating where
their businesses converged
The merger combined what had often been competing interests to form an industrial
chemicals powerhouse The oldest member of the quartet Union Carbide had been
formed to manufacture calcium carbide which was used in the production of metal
alloys A by-product of alloying calcium carbide with aluminum was acetylene a gas that
company executives hoped would prove useful for street and household lighting When
Thomas Edisons electric incandescent light bulbs proved more practical for most
lighting however it looked as if Union Carbides acetylene lighting business was
obsolete Luckily a French researcher discovered that acetylene could be burned in
oxygen to produce a hot metal-cutting flame A whole new market for the gas emerged
and UCC was ready to take advantage of it
The company continued to manufacture calcium carbide at plants in Sault Ste Marie
Michigan and Niagara Falls New York and by 1900 the Union Carbides capital stock
stood at $6 million Union Carbide combined Americas first commercial high-carbon
ferrochrome process which had been developed by company founder Major James T
Moorhead in the late 1890s with a metal alloying business acquired in 1906 The
subsidiary created a line of metals composed of iron and one or more other metals
known in the industry as ferroalloys Ferroalloys made the production of alloy steels
more efficient because they could be incorporated more easily with steel to create new
metals with specific properties Union Carbides low-carbon ferrochrome for example
was a precursor of modern stainless steel
BGT
8
Union Carbide had been involved with the Linde Air Products Co through joint
acetylene experiments for about six years before the formation of the UCC holding
company As one of Americas first oxygen-producing concerns and after 1917 part of
one of the countrys largest chemical companies Linde soon became the worlds largest
producer of industrial gases such as acetylene hydrogen and nitrogen These gases
formed the foundation of the petrochemical industry The Prest-O-Lite Company had
been one of Union Carbides primary competitors for most of the two companies
histories but three years of cooperative acetylene experiments among UCC Prest-O-Lite
and Linde made the merger smoother Before the turn of the 20th century National
Carbon Co had produced the first commercial dry cell battery and offered it under the
Eveready trademark The well-known brand would be a UCC staple for the next seven
decades
With combined research efforts and a national push for new technologies to help win
World War I further developments came in rapid succession at Union Carbide New
products included batteries for portable radios and corrosion and heat-resistant ferroalloys
that strengthened the steel used to build skyscrapers bridges and automobiles The
governments need for ethylene during the Great War also generated interest in
hydrocarbon byproducts These substances were made from calcium carbide and would
later become the raw materials for the production of plastics synthetic rubber fibers
solvents explosives and industrial chemicals In 1919 the first production of synthetic
ethylene began Ethylene would develop into the industrys most important industrial
hydrocarbon eventually used in polyethylene (plastics) polystyrene (Styrofoam) and
antifreeze among other products Union Carbides Prestone brand ethylene glycol soon
became the top-selling antifreeze a position it held throughout the 20th century
The new corporate structure enabled UCC to leverage the combined assets of its four
primary subsidiaries and embark on an acquisitions spree that was not halted even by the
Great Depression In 1919 alone the company acquired an acetylene manufacturer
created Canadian subsidiaries of National Carbon Co and Prest-O-Lite and purchased a
new headquarters at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City This new home
served the company until the late 1970s During the 1920s Union Carbide expanded its
BGT
9
overseas interests with the acquisition of a Norwegian hydroelectric plant in 1925 and a
calcium carbideferroalloy plant in that same country in 1929 The holding company
added to its battery business with the purchase of Manhattan Electrical Supply Co in
1926 UCC annexed two domestic industrial gas interests in 1928 and strengthened its
industrial electric furnace business with the acquisition of the Acheson Graphite
Corporation in 1928
US Vanadium Co Acquired
One of the most vital acquisitions UCC made during the 1920s was that of US
Vanadium Cos Colorado mine mill and reduction plant in 1926 Carbides subsequent
vanadium research was a truly corporate venture that coordinated several of the
companys subsidiaries and eventually involved the company in the governments atomic
energy program Uranium-bearing materials were located and provided by US
Vanadium UCC scientists demonstrated that gaseous diffusion could be used to separate
quantities of uranium-235 and contracted with the federal government in 1943 to operate
the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant After intensive research UCCs Linde Company
perfected a refining process for treating uranium concentrates A plant was built and
operated by the Electro Metal-lurgical Company (acquired in 1922) to provide extensive
metallurgical research and manufacture uranium Finally Union Carbide and Carbon
Research Laboratories contributed to the development of the atomic weapon itself
In 1939 UCC acquired the Bakelite Corporation which developed the first modern
plastic phenol formaldehyde In 1941 Carbide made permanent-press fabrics possible
with its development of glyoxal
Union Carbide earned a reputation for developing raw materials for the chemical and
metals industries during World War II Since natural rubber was in very short supply
during the war the company resumed its experiments with butene a hydrocarbon that
was developed into a synthetic rubber Modern neoprene is a familiar example of butenes
application
BGT
10
Postwar prosperity camouflaged nagging problems at UCC the company was chalking
up a bad track record of discovering new substances and processes but not capitalizing on
them For example UCC pioneered urethanes but did not commit enough financial
resources to the new field in time to profit The company also made permanent-press
fabrics possible with its development of glyoxal but could not come up with a consumer
product that maximized its profit potential It often ended up riding the coattails of
movements it had spawned Union Carbides program of internal promotion engendered
company loyalty but it also stifled creativity The company started a slide into relative
mediocrity that with few exceptions would consume the next three decades
Company Perspectives
Union Carbide Corporation is a chemical and polymers company with over 3800
employees The company possesses some of the industrys most advanced process and
catalyst technologies and operates some of the most cost-efficient large-scale production
facilities in the world Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that
undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers Some
of these materials are high-volume commodities while others are specialty products
meeting the needs of smaller market niches The end-uses served include paints and
coatings packaging wire and cable household products personal care pharmaceuticals
automotive textiles agriculture and oil and gas
A succession of well-meaning chief executives kept UCC in turnaround mode Under
the direction of CFO Morse G Dial Carbide absorbed its major operating subsidiaries
and formally relinquished its holding company status in 1949 Dial hoped to reverse the
excessive autonomy at UCC by creating a Presidents Office composed of the
corporations division heads The company name was changed to Union Carbide
Corporation in 1957 to reflect its reorganization from a holding company to a diversified
corporation By that time Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation had established some
400 plants in the United States and Canada in addition to overseas affiliates The
company went from having 18 autonomous divisions to just four primary domestic
groups Union Carbide Chemicals Co Linde Co Union Carbide Plastics Co and Union
BGT
11
Carbide Consumer Products Co Even though these corporate segments were technically
divisions the retention of the word company in each sections name represented the
perpetuation of the decentralized management structure of a holding company and its
detrimental effect on Union Carbide continued
UCC Develops Polyethylene
Polyethylene a plastic used in squeeze bottles (high-density polyethylene) as well as in
films and sheeting (low-density polyethylene) became Union Carbides largest dollar-
volume product after World War II An olefins division was set up in the 1950s to supply
low-cost raw materials for the chemicals and plastics industry in the 1950s For several
years the company sold these plastics to other manufacturers However Carbide finally
did capitalize on this discovery in 1964 when Glad branded plastic wraps bags and
straws were introduced Within just four years Glad became the leading brand in its
market
By the 1960s Union Carbide occupied the top spot in many of its primary fields
including industrial gases carbon electrodes for industrial electric furnaces batteries
atomic energy polyethylene plastic and ferroalloys In 1965 the conglomerates sales
topped $2 billion for the first time From 1956 to 1966 Union Carbide parlayed a few
plants in a dozen countries into 60 major subsidiary and associated companies with plants
in 30 countries serving over 100 markets International operations of the conglomerate
contributed 29 percent of its annual sales and by mid-decade the company name was
changed to Union Carbide International Co to reflect its increased global presence
In spite of consistently rising sales which doubled from 1960 to 1970 to $3 million
Union Carbides profits plummeted and stayed low from 1966 to 1971 Carbide could
claim leading market shares but top shares of low-margin commodities still equaled low
profits Industry-wide overcapacity in ferroalloys ran as high as 70 percent in the early
1960s and prices for these products fell 25 percent The company was compelled to cut
its ferroalloys work force by 40 percent and close a major plant at Niagara Falls To make
BGT
12
matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
BGT
13
container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
BGT
14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
BGT
15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
BGT
16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
BGT
17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
BGT
18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
BGT
20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
BGT
21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
BGT
22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
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52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
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55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
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56
Annexure
BGT
7
Origins
The Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation (UCC) was formed in 1917 from the
combination of four companies Union Carbide Co (incorporated 1898) Linde Air
Products Co (incorporated 1907) National Carbon Co Inc (incorporated 1899) and
Prest-O-Lite Co Inc (incorporated 1913) The new entity was organized as a holding
company with its four members acting relatively autonomously and cooperating where
their businesses converged
The merger combined what had often been competing interests to form an industrial
chemicals powerhouse The oldest member of the quartet Union Carbide had been
formed to manufacture calcium carbide which was used in the production of metal
alloys A by-product of alloying calcium carbide with aluminum was acetylene a gas that
company executives hoped would prove useful for street and household lighting When
Thomas Edisons electric incandescent light bulbs proved more practical for most
lighting however it looked as if Union Carbides acetylene lighting business was
obsolete Luckily a French researcher discovered that acetylene could be burned in
oxygen to produce a hot metal-cutting flame A whole new market for the gas emerged
and UCC was ready to take advantage of it
The company continued to manufacture calcium carbide at plants in Sault Ste Marie
Michigan and Niagara Falls New York and by 1900 the Union Carbides capital stock
stood at $6 million Union Carbide combined Americas first commercial high-carbon
ferrochrome process which had been developed by company founder Major James T
Moorhead in the late 1890s with a metal alloying business acquired in 1906 The
subsidiary created a line of metals composed of iron and one or more other metals
known in the industry as ferroalloys Ferroalloys made the production of alloy steels
more efficient because they could be incorporated more easily with steel to create new
metals with specific properties Union Carbides low-carbon ferrochrome for example
was a precursor of modern stainless steel
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8
Union Carbide had been involved with the Linde Air Products Co through joint
acetylene experiments for about six years before the formation of the UCC holding
company As one of Americas first oxygen-producing concerns and after 1917 part of
one of the countrys largest chemical companies Linde soon became the worlds largest
producer of industrial gases such as acetylene hydrogen and nitrogen These gases
formed the foundation of the petrochemical industry The Prest-O-Lite Company had
been one of Union Carbides primary competitors for most of the two companies
histories but three years of cooperative acetylene experiments among UCC Prest-O-Lite
and Linde made the merger smoother Before the turn of the 20th century National
Carbon Co had produced the first commercial dry cell battery and offered it under the
Eveready trademark The well-known brand would be a UCC staple for the next seven
decades
With combined research efforts and a national push for new technologies to help win
World War I further developments came in rapid succession at Union Carbide New
products included batteries for portable radios and corrosion and heat-resistant ferroalloys
that strengthened the steel used to build skyscrapers bridges and automobiles The
governments need for ethylene during the Great War also generated interest in
hydrocarbon byproducts These substances were made from calcium carbide and would
later become the raw materials for the production of plastics synthetic rubber fibers
solvents explosives and industrial chemicals In 1919 the first production of synthetic
ethylene began Ethylene would develop into the industrys most important industrial
hydrocarbon eventually used in polyethylene (plastics) polystyrene (Styrofoam) and
antifreeze among other products Union Carbides Prestone brand ethylene glycol soon
became the top-selling antifreeze a position it held throughout the 20th century
The new corporate structure enabled UCC to leverage the combined assets of its four
primary subsidiaries and embark on an acquisitions spree that was not halted even by the
Great Depression In 1919 alone the company acquired an acetylene manufacturer
created Canadian subsidiaries of National Carbon Co and Prest-O-Lite and purchased a
new headquarters at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City This new home
served the company until the late 1970s During the 1920s Union Carbide expanded its
BGT
9
overseas interests with the acquisition of a Norwegian hydroelectric plant in 1925 and a
calcium carbideferroalloy plant in that same country in 1929 The holding company
added to its battery business with the purchase of Manhattan Electrical Supply Co in
1926 UCC annexed two domestic industrial gas interests in 1928 and strengthened its
industrial electric furnace business with the acquisition of the Acheson Graphite
Corporation in 1928
US Vanadium Co Acquired
One of the most vital acquisitions UCC made during the 1920s was that of US
Vanadium Cos Colorado mine mill and reduction plant in 1926 Carbides subsequent
vanadium research was a truly corporate venture that coordinated several of the
companys subsidiaries and eventually involved the company in the governments atomic
energy program Uranium-bearing materials were located and provided by US
Vanadium UCC scientists demonstrated that gaseous diffusion could be used to separate
quantities of uranium-235 and contracted with the federal government in 1943 to operate
the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant After intensive research UCCs Linde Company
perfected a refining process for treating uranium concentrates A plant was built and
operated by the Electro Metal-lurgical Company (acquired in 1922) to provide extensive
metallurgical research and manufacture uranium Finally Union Carbide and Carbon
Research Laboratories contributed to the development of the atomic weapon itself
In 1939 UCC acquired the Bakelite Corporation which developed the first modern
plastic phenol formaldehyde In 1941 Carbide made permanent-press fabrics possible
with its development of glyoxal
Union Carbide earned a reputation for developing raw materials for the chemical and
metals industries during World War II Since natural rubber was in very short supply
during the war the company resumed its experiments with butene a hydrocarbon that
was developed into a synthetic rubber Modern neoprene is a familiar example of butenes
application
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10
Postwar prosperity camouflaged nagging problems at UCC the company was chalking
up a bad track record of discovering new substances and processes but not capitalizing on
them For example UCC pioneered urethanes but did not commit enough financial
resources to the new field in time to profit The company also made permanent-press
fabrics possible with its development of glyoxal but could not come up with a consumer
product that maximized its profit potential It often ended up riding the coattails of
movements it had spawned Union Carbides program of internal promotion engendered
company loyalty but it also stifled creativity The company started a slide into relative
mediocrity that with few exceptions would consume the next three decades
Company Perspectives
Union Carbide Corporation is a chemical and polymers company with over 3800
employees The company possesses some of the industrys most advanced process and
catalyst technologies and operates some of the most cost-efficient large-scale production
facilities in the world Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that
undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers Some
of these materials are high-volume commodities while others are specialty products
meeting the needs of smaller market niches The end-uses served include paints and
coatings packaging wire and cable household products personal care pharmaceuticals
automotive textiles agriculture and oil and gas
A succession of well-meaning chief executives kept UCC in turnaround mode Under
the direction of CFO Morse G Dial Carbide absorbed its major operating subsidiaries
and formally relinquished its holding company status in 1949 Dial hoped to reverse the
excessive autonomy at UCC by creating a Presidents Office composed of the
corporations division heads The company name was changed to Union Carbide
Corporation in 1957 to reflect its reorganization from a holding company to a diversified
corporation By that time Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation had established some
400 plants in the United States and Canada in addition to overseas affiliates The
company went from having 18 autonomous divisions to just four primary domestic
groups Union Carbide Chemicals Co Linde Co Union Carbide Plastics Co and Union
BGT
11
Carbide Consumer Products Co Even though these corporate segments were technically
divisions the retention of the word company in each sections name represented the
perpetuation of the decentralized management structure of a holding company and its
detrimental effect on Union Carbide continued
UCC Develops Polyethylene
Polyethylene a plastic used in squeeze bottles (high-density polyethylene) as well as in
films and sheeting (low-density polyethylene) became Union Carbides largest dollar-
volume product after World War II An olefins division was set up in the 1950s to supply
low-cost raw materials for the chemicals and plastics industry in the 1950s For several
years the company sold these plastics to other manufacturers However Carbide finally
did capitalize on this discovery in 1964 when Glad branded plastic wraps bags and
straws were introduced Within just four years Glad became the leading brand in its
market
By the 1960s Union Carbide occupied the top spot in many of its primary fields
including industrial gases carbon electrodes for industrial electric furnaces batteries
atomic energy polyethylene plastic and ferroalloys In 1965 the conglomerates sales
topped $2 billion for the first time From 1956 to 1966 Union Carbide parlayed a few
plants in a dozen countries into 60 major subsidiary and associated companies with plants
in 30 countries serving over 100 markets International operations of the conglomerate
contributed 29 percent of its annual sales and by mid-decade the company name was
changed to Union Carbide International Co to reflect its increased global presence
In spite of consistently rising sales which doubled from 1960 to 1970 to $3 million
Union Carbides profits plummeted and stayed low from 1966 to 1971 Carbide could
claim leading market shares but top shares of low-margin commodities still equaled low
profits Industry-wide overcapacity in ferroalloys ran as high as 70 percent in the early
1960s and prices for these products fell 25 percent The company was compelled to cut
its ferroalloys work force by 40 percent and close a major plant at Niagara Falls To make
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12
matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
BGT
13
container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
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14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
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15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
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16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
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17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
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19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
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20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
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22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
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25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
8
Union Carbide had been involved with the Linde Air Products Co through joint
acetylene experiments for about six years before the formation of the UCC holding
company As one of Americas first oxygen-producing concerns and after 1917 part of
one of the countrys largest chemical companies Linde soon became the worlds largest
producer of industrial gases such as acetylene hydrogen and nitrogen These gases
formed the foundation of the petrochemical industry The Prest-O-Lite Company had
been one of Union Carbides primary competitors for most of the two companies
histories but three years of cooperative acetylene experiments among UCC Prest-O-Lite
and Linde made the merger smoother Before the turn of the 20th century National
Carbon Co had produced the first commercial dry cell battery and offered it under the
Eveready trademark The well-known brand would be a UCC staple for the next seven
decades
With combined research efforts and a national push for new technologies to help win
World War I further developments came in rapid succession at Union Carbide New
products included batteries for portable radios and corrosion and heat-resistant ferroalloys
that strengthened the steel used to build skyscrapers bridges and automobiles The
governments need for ethylene during the Great War also generated interest in
hydrocarbon byproducts These substances were made from calcium carbide and would
later become the raw materials for the production of plastics synthetic rubber fibers
solvents explosives and industrial chemicals In 1919 the first production of synthetic
ethylene began Ethylene would develop into the industrys most important industrial
hydrocarbon eventually used in polyethylene (plastics) polystyrene (Styrofoam) and
antifreeze among other products Union Carbides Prestone brand ethylene glycol soon
became the top-selling antifreeze a position it held throughout the 20th century
The new corporate structure enabled UCC to leverage the combined assets of its four
primary subsidiaries and embark on an acquisitions spree that was not halted even by the
Great Depression In 1919 alone the company acquired an acetylene manufacturer
created Canadian subsidiaries of National Carbon Co and Prest-O-Lite and purchased a
new headquarters at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City This new home
served the company until the late 1970s During the 1920s Union Carbide expanded its
BGT
9
overseas interests with the acquisition of a Norwegian hydroelectric plant in 1925 and a
calcium carbideferroalloy plant in that same country in 1929 The holding company
added to its battery business with the purchase of Manhattan Electrical Supply Co in
1926 UCC annexed two domestic industrial gas interests in 1928 and strengthened its
industrial electric furnace business with the acquisition of the Acheson Graphite
Corporation in 1928
US Vanadium Co Acquired
One of the most vital acquisitions UCC made during the 1920s was that of US
Vanadium Cos Colorado mine mill and reduction plant in 1926 Carbides subsequent
vanadium research was a truly corporate venture that coordinated several of the
companys subsidiaries and eventually involved the company in the governments atomic
energy program Uranium-bearing materials were located and provided by US
Vanadium UCC scientists demonstrated that gaseous diffusion could be used to separate
quantities of uranium-235 and contracted with the federal government in 1943 to operate
the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant After intensive research UCCs Linde Company
perfected a refining process for treating uranium concentrates A plant was built and
operated by the Electro Metal-lurgical Company (acquired in 1922) to provide extensive
metallurgical research and manufacture uranium Finally Union Carbide and Carbon
Research Laboratories contributed to the development of the atomic weapon itself
In 1939 UCC acquired the Bakelite Corporation which developed the first modern
plastic phenol formaldehyde In 1941 Carbide made permanent-press fabrics possible
with its development of glyoxal
Union Carbide earned a reputation for developing raw materials for the chemical and
metals industries during World War II Since natural rubber was in very short supply
during the war the company resumed its experiments with butene a hydrocarbon that
was developed into a synthetic rubber Modern neoprene is a familiar example of butenes
application
BGT
10
Postwar prosperity camouflaged nagging problems at UCC the company was chalking
up a bad track record of discovering new substances and processes but not capitalizing on
them For example UCC pioneered urethanes but did not commit enough financial
resources to the new field in time to profit The company also made permanent-press
fabrics possible with its development of glyoxal but could not come up with a consumer
product that maximized its profit potential It often ended up riding the coattails of
movements it had spawned Union Carbides program of internal promotion engendered
company loyalty but it also stifled creativity The company started a slide into relative
mediocrity that with few exceptions would consume the next three decades
Company Perspectives
Union Carbide Corporation is a chemical and polymers company with over 3800
employees The company possesses some of the industrys most advanced process and
catalyst technologies and operates some of the most cost-efficient large-scale production
facilities in the world Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that
undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers Some
of these materials are high-volume commodities while others are specialty products
meeting the needs of smaller market niches The end-uses served include paints and
coatings packaging wire and cable household products personal care pharmaceuticals
automotive textiles agriculture and oil and gas
A succession of well-meaning chief executives kept UCC in turnaround mode Under
the direction of CFO Morse G Dial Carbide absorbed its major operating subsidiaries
and formally relinquished its holding company status in 1949 Dial hoped to reverse the
excessive autonomy at UCC by creating a Presidents Office composed of the
corporations division heads The company name was changed to Union Carbide
Corporation in 1957 to reflect its reorganization from a holding company to a diversified
corporation By that time Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation had established some
400 plants in the United States and Canada in addition to overseas affiliates The
company went from having 18 autonomous divisions to just four primary domestic
groups Union Carbide Chemicals Co Linde Co Union Carbide Plastics Co and Union
BGT
11
Carbide Consumer Products Co Even though these corporate segments were technically
divisions the retention of the word company in each sections name represented the
perpetuation of the decentralized management structure of a holding company and its
detrimental effect on Union Carbide continued
UCC Develops Polyethylene
Polyethylene a plastic used in squeeze bottles (high-density polyethylene) as well as in
films and sheeting (low-density polyethylene) became Union Carbides largest dollar-
volume product after World War II An olefins division was set up in the 1950s to supply
low-cost raw materials for the chemicals and plastics industry in the 1950s For several
years the company sold these plastics to other manufacturers However Carbide finally
did capitalize on this discovery in 1964 when Glad branded plastic wraps bags and
straws were introduced Within just four years Glad became the leading brand in its
market
By the 1960s Union Carbide occupied the top spot in many of its primary fields
including industrial gases carbon electrodes for industrial electric furnaces batteries
atomic energy polyethylene plastic and ferroalloys In 1965 the conglomerates sales
topped $2 billion for the first time From 1956 to 1966 Union Carbide parlayed a few
plants in a dozen countries into 60 major subsidiary and associated companies with plants
in 30 countries serving over 100 markets International operations of the conglomerate
contributed 29 percent of its annual sales and by mid-decade the company name was
changed to Union Carbide International Co to reflect its increased global presence
In spite of consistently rising sales which doubled from 1960 to 1970 to $3 million
Union Carbides profits plummeted and stayed low from 1966 to 1971 Carbide could
claim leading market shares but top shares of low-margin commodities still equaled low
profits Industry-wide overcapacity in ferroalloys ran as high as 70 percent in the early
1960s and prices for these products fell 25 percent The company was compelled to cut
its ferroalloys work force by 40 percent and close a major plant at Niagara Falls To make
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12
matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
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13
container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
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14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
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15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
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16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
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17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
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19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
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20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
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22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
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25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
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55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
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56
Annexure
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9
overseas interests with the acquisition of a Norwegian hydroelectric plant in 1925 and a
calcium carbideferroalloy plant in that same country in 1929 The holding company
added to its battery business with the purchase of Manhattan Electrical Supply Co in
1926 UCC annexed two domestic industrial gas interests in 1928 and strengthened its
industrial electric furnace business with the acquisition of the Acheson Graphite
Corporation in 1928
US Vanadium Co Acquired
One of the most vital acquisitions UCC made during the 1920s was that of US
Vanadium Cos Colorado mine mill and reduction plant in 1926 Carbides subsequent
vanadium research was a truly corporate venture that coordinated several of the
companys subsidiaries and eventually involved the company in the governments atomic
energy program Uranium-bearing materials were located and provided by US
Vanadium UCC scientists demonstrated that gaseous diffusion could be used to separate
quantities of uranium-235 and contracted with the federal government in 1943 to operate
the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant After intensive research UCCs Linde Company
perfected a refining process for treating uranium concentrates A plant was built and
operated by the Electro Metal-lurgical Company (acquired in 1922) to provide extensive
metallurgical research and manufacture uranium Finally Union Carbide and Carbon
Research Laboratories contributed to the development of the atomic weapon itself
In 1939 UCC acquired the Bakelite Corporation which developed the first modern
plastic phenol formaldehyde In 1941 Carbide made permanent-press fabrics possible
with its development of glyoxal
Union Carbide earned a reputation for developing raw materials for the chemical and
metals industries during World War II Since natural rubber was in very short supply
during the war the company resumed its experiments with butene a hydrocarbon that
was developed into a synthetic rubber Modern neoprene is a familiar example of butenes
application
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10
Postwar prosperity camouflaged nagging problems at UCC the company was chalking
up a bad track record of discovering new substances and processes but not capitalizing on
them For example UCC pioneered urethanes but did not commit enough financial
resources to the new field in time to profit The company also made permanent-press
fabrics possible with its development of glyoxal but could not come up with a consumer
product that maximized its profit potential It often ended up riding the coattails of
movements it had spawned Union Carbides program of internal promotion engendered
company loyalty but it also stifled creativity The company started a slide into relative
mediocrity that with few exceptions would consume the next three decades
Company Perspectives
Union Carbide Corporation is a chemical and polymers company with over 3800
employees The company possesses some of the industrys most advanced process and
catalyst technologies and operates some of the most cost-efficient large-scale production
facilities in the world Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that
undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers Some
of these materials are high-volume commodities while others are specialty products
meeting the needs of smaller market niches The end-uses served include paints and
coatings packaging wire and cable household products personal care pharmaceuticals
automotive textiles agriculture and oil and gas
A succession of well-meaning chief executives kept UCC in turnaround mode Under
the direction of CFO Morse G Dial Carbide absorbed its major operating subsidiaries
and formally relinquished its holding company status in 1949 Dial hoped to reverse the
excessive autonomy at UCC by creating a Presidents Office composed of the
corporations division heads The company name was changed to Union Carbide
Corporation in 1957 to reflect its reorganization from a holding company to a diversified
corporation By that time Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation had established some
400 plants in the United States and Canada in addition to overseas affiliates The
company went from having 18 autonomous divisions to just four primary domestic
groups Union Carbide Chemicals Co Linde Co Union Carbide Plastics Co and Union
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11
Carbide Consumer Products Co Even though these corporate segments were technically
divisions the retention of the word company in each sections name represented the
perpetuation of the decentralized management structure of a holding company and its
detrimental effect on Union Carbide continued
UCC Develops Polyethylene
Polyethylene a plastic used in squeeze bottles (high-density polyethylene) as well as in
films and sheeting (low-density polyethylene) became Union Carbides largest dollar-
volume product after World War II An olefins division was set up in the 1950s to supply
low-cost raw materials for the chemicals and plastics industry in the 1950s For several
years the company sold these plastics to other manufacturers However Carbide finally
did capitalize on this discovery in 1964 when Glad branded plastic wraps bags and
straws were introduced Within just four years Glad became the leading brand in its
market
By the 1960s Union Carbide occupied the top spot in many of its primary fields
including industrial gases carbon electrodes for industrial electric furnaces batteries
atomic energy polyethylene plastic and ferroalloys In 1965 the conglomerates sales
topped $2 billion for the first time From 1956 to 1966 Union Carbide parlayed a few
plants in a dozen countries into 60 major subsidiary and associated companies with plants
in 30 countries serving over 100 markets International operations of the conglomerate
contributed 29 percent of its annual sales and by mid-decade the company name was
changed to Union Carbide International Co to reflect its increased global presence
In spite of consistently rising sales which doubled from 1960 to 1970 to $3 million
Union Carbides profits plummeted and stayed low from 1966 to 1971 Carbide could
claim leading market shares but top shares of low-margin commodities still equaled low
profits Industry-wide overcapacity in ferroalloys ran as high as 70 percent in the early
1960s and prices for these products fell 25 percent The company was compelled to cut
its ferroalloys work force by 40 percent and close a major plant at Niagara Falls To make
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12
matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
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13
container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
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14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
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15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
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16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
BGT
17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
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20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
BGT
22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
BGT
24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
10
Postwar prosperity camouflaged nagging problems at UCC the company was chalking
up a bad track record of discovering new substances and processes but not capitalizing on
them For example UCC pioneered urethanes but did not commit enough financial
resources to the new field in time to profit The company also made permanent-press
fabrics possible with its development of glyoxal but could not come up with a consumer
product that maximized its profit potential It often ended up riding the coattails of
movements it had spawned Union Carbides program of internal promotion engendered
company loyalty but it also stifled creativity The company started a slide into relative
mediocrity that with few exceptions would consume the next three decades
Company Perspectives
Union Carbide Corporation is a chemical and polymers company with over 3800
employees The company possesses some of the industrys most advanced process and
catalyst technologies and operates some of the most cost-efficient large-scale production
facilities in the world Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that
undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers Some
of these materials are high-volume commodities while others are specialty products
meeting the needs of smaller market niches The end-uses served include paints and
coatings packaging wire and cable household products personal care pharmaceuticals
automotive textiles agriculture and oil and gas
A succession of well-meaning chief executives kept UCC in turnaround mode Under
the direction of CFO Morse G Dial Carbide absorbed its major operating subsidiaries
and formally relinquished its holding company status in 1949 Dial hoped to reverse the
excessive autonomy at UCC by creating a Presidents Office composed of the
corporations division heads The company name was changed to Union Carbide
Corporation in 1957 to reflect its reorganization from a holding company to a diversified
corporation By that time Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation had established some
400 plants in the United States and Canada in addition to overseas affiliates The
company went from having 18 autonomous divisions to just four primary domestic
groups Union Carbide Chemicals Co Linde Co Union Carbide Plastics Co and Union
BGT
11
Carbide Consumer Products Co Even though these corporate segments were technically
divisions the retention of the word company in each sections name represented the
perpetuation of the decentralized management structure of a holding company and its
detrimental effect on Union Carbide continued
UCC Develops Polyethylene
Polyethylene a plastic used in squeeze bottles (high-density polyethylene) as well as in
films and sheeting (low-density polyethylene) became Union Carbides largest dollar-
volume product after World War II An olefins division was set up in the 1950s to supply
low-cost raw materials for the chemicals and plastics industry in the 1950s For several
years the company sold these plastics to other manufacturers However Carbide finally
did capitalize on this discovery in 1964 when Glad branded plastic wraps bags and
straws were introduced Within just four years Glad became the leading brand in its
market
By the 1960s Union Carbide occupied the top spot in many of its primary fields
including industrial gases carbon electrodes for industrial electric furnaces batteries
atomic energy polyethylene plastic and ferroalloys In 1965 the conglomerates sales
topped $2 billion for the first time From 1956 to 1966 Union Carbide parlayed a few
plants in a dozen countries into 60 major subsidiary and associated companies with plants
in 30 countries serving over 100 markets International operations of the conglomerate
contributed 29 percent of its annual sales and by mid-decade the company name was
changed to Union Carbide International Co to reflect its increased global presence
In spite of consistently rising sales which doubled from 1960 to 1970 to $3 million
Union Carbides profits plummeted and stayed low from 1966 to 1971 Carbide could
claim leading market shares but top shares of low-margin commodities still equaled low
profits Industry-wide overcapacity in ferroalloys ran as high as 70 percent in the early
1960s and prices for these products fell 25 percent The company was compelled to cut
its ferroalloys work force by 40 percent and close a major plant at Niagara Falls To make
BGT
12
matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
BGT
13
container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
BGT
14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
BGT
15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
BGT
16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
BGT
17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
BGT
18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
BGT
20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
BGT
21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
BGT
22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
BGT
23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
BGT
24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
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52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
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55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
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56
Annexure
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11
Carbide Consumer Products Co Even though these corporate segments were technically
divisions the retention of the word company in each sections name represented the
perpetuation of the decentralized management structure of a holding company and its
detrimental effect on Union Carbide continued
UCC Develops Polyethylene
Polyethylene a plastic used in squeeze bottles (high-density polyethylene) as well as in
films and sheeting (low-density polyethylene) became Union Carbides largest dollar-
volume product after World War II An olefins division was set up in the 1950s to supply
low-cost raw materials for the chemicals and plastics industry in the 1950s For several
years the company sold these plastics to other manufacturers However Carbide finally
did capitalize on this discovery in 1964 when Glad branded plastic wraps bags and
straws were introduced Within just four years Glad became the leading brand in its
market
By the 1960s Union Carbide occupied the top spot in many of its primary fields
including industrial gases carbon electrodes for industrial electric furnaces batteries
atomic energy polyethylene plastic and ferroalloys In 1965 the conglomerates sales
topped $2 billion for the first time From 1956 to 1966 Union Carbide parlayed a few
plants in a dozen countries into 60 major subsidiary and associated companies with plants
in 30 countries serving over 100 markets International operations of the conglomerate
contributed 29 percent of its annual sales and by mid-decade the company name was
changed to Union Carbide International Co to reflect its increased global presence
In spite of consistently rising sales which doubled from 1960 to 1970 to $3 million
Union Carbides profits plummeted and stayed low from 1966 to 1971 Carbide could
claim leading market shares but top shares of low-margin commodities still equaled low
profits Industry-wide overcapacity in ferroalloys ran as high as 70 percent in the early
1960s and prices for these products fell 25 percent The company was compelled to cut
its ferroalloys work force by 40 percent and close a major plant at Niagara Falls To make
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12
matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
BGT
13
container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
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14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
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15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
BGT
16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
BGT
17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
BGT
20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
BGT
22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
BGT
23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
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12
matters worse the market for low-density polyethylene stagnated for the first time in over
20 years
Union Carbide was still the second-largest chemical producer in the United States but it
invariably lagged behind most of its competitors in terms of growth and profitability
during this period Misguided investments in petroleum pharmaceuticals semi-
conductors mattresses and undersea equipment combined with a $1 billion
petrochemicals complex at Taft Louisiana which ran in the red for the last three years of
the 1960s further tarnished Union Carbides standing Not surprisingly the
conglomerates stock dropped from $75 in 1965 to $45 in 1968 as the company earned a
reputation for aimless fumbling according to Business Week
Unfortunately for Union Carbide environmental complaints about the companys
Marietta Ohio ferroalloy plant came to a head in 1971 when consumer champion Ralph
Nader brought a decade of local residents complaints into the national spotlight For four
years the conglomerate had largely ignored public and government efforts to make it
clean up several plants that were polluting the air over West Virginia Union Carbides
resistance to outside influence gave it the public image of a reactionary bully concerned
only with profits and scornful of the environment a stigma that the company would bear
for years to come In 1971 UCC capitulated to federal orders that it immediately use
more expensive low-sulphur coal to reduce noxious sulfur dioxide emissions by 40
percent The company was given a fall 1974 deadline to install $8 million in advanced
emissions scrubbers
The bad news continued as the recession of 1970 and 1971 hammered commodities
companies like UCC with the chemicals and plastics markets entering another cycle of
overcapacity From 1968 to 1973 UCCs sales grew by only 4 percent annually well
below the industry average CFO and president F Perry Wilson who had been promoted
to those offices in 1971 made his bid to turn Union Carbide around His restructuring
plan included three primary changes First he tried to pare back peripheral activities and
focus on plastics and chemicals Among the businesses sold were a bedding company
most of UCCs oil and gas interests a pollution-monitoring devices business a plastic
BGT
13
container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
BGT
14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
BGT
15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
BGT
16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
BGT
17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
BGT
18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
BGT
20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
BGT
21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
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22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
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25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
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52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
13
container line a fibers business a jewelry line and an insect repellant business Second
he worked to shift the corporate focus from market share to profitability Finally Wilson
tried to plan capital and capacity investments so that UCC could avoid the inefficiencies
and plummeting prices that had accompanied industry-wide overcapacity in the past
Key Dates
1917
The company is incorporated as Union Carbide amp Carbon Corporation and
acquires Linde Air Products Company National Carbon Company Inc Prest-
OLite Company Inc and Union Carbide Company
1920
Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation is established
1926
US Vanadium Company is acquired
1939
The company merges with Bakelite Corporation
1957
The companys name is changed to Union Carbide Corporation
1959
Union Carbide Consumer Products Company is formed
1984
A gas leak at a plant in Bhopal India results in tragic loss of life
1986
Amerchol Corporation is acquired
1989
Union Carbide Corporation becomes a holding company owning the subsidiaries
UCAR Carbon Company Union Carbide Industrial Gases Inc and Union
Carbide Chemicals and Plastics Company Inc
1992
BGT
14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
BGT
15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
BGT
16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
BGT
17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
BGT
20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
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22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
BGT
23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
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52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
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55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
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56
Annexure
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14
Union Carbide Industrial Gases is spun-off as an independent company named
Praxair Inc
1994
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Polimeri Europa with EniChem
1997
Union Carbide launches a joint venture Univation Technologies with Exxon
Chemical Company
1998
Union Carbide launches a joint venture in Malaysia with Petronas
1999
Union Carbide launches a joint venture with Tosco Corporation
2001
Union Carbide is acquired by the Dow Chemical Company
A New Business Development department was formed in 1970 to coordinate the three
areas outside of chemicals and plastics that Wilson did not sell Biomedical Systems
Marine Foods and Agricultural Systems Another key organizational change was the
disbanding of the Consumer amp Related Products Division which had contributed 22
percent of UCCs annual revenues The Eveready business was split off into a Battery
Products Division while Glad and Prestone were coordinated in a division with the
production of their raw materials Despite the fragmentation of the Consumer Products
Division Wilson said that he hoped that consumer products would contribute 50 percent
of UCCs revenues in the future He recognized that these relatively stable high-margin
product lines sustained Union Carbide through economic downturns
For a few years it looked as if the new strategy was working From 1973 to 1981
earnings per share rose 100 percent UCC increased productivity dramatically during the
late 1960s and early 1970s to keep its corporate head above water From 1967 to 1973
physical output of chemicals and plastics rose 60 percent while per-pound production
costs were cut by one-third William S Sneath continued these trends when he became
chairman and CEO in 1977 Still the company found itself increasingly strapped for
cash Steadily rising expenses in Europe resulted in a $32 million loss in 1978 which
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15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
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16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
BGT
17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
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20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
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22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
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25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
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52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
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55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
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56
Annexure
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15
forced Carbide to divest virtually all of its European petrochemicals and plastics
operations That same year UCC was forced by its creditors to retire $292 million in
long-term debt which forced it to borrow another $300 million in 1979 That year
Carbides Standard amp Poors credit rating fell from AA to A+ and its stock fell as low as
42 percent below its $61 book value
Chairman Sneath embarked on another round of cost-cutting in 1980 pruning the
executive staff by 1000 and divesting a total of 39 businesses Sneath retained five
primary businesses graphite electrodes batteries agricultural products polyethylene
and industrial gases By 1980 Carbide had 116000 employees at over 500 plants mines
and laboratories in 130 countries bringing in over $9 billion in annual sales Sneath
embarked on a plan to invest profits into high-margin consumer goods and specialty
chemicals
Expansion through Joint Ventures
During the 1990s Union Carbide expanded its business worldwide by engaging in joint
ventures with both American and foreign companies In 1994 Carbide announced a joint
venture with EniChem a European chemicals company to develop manufacture and
sell polyethylene under the name Polimeri Europa Each company would own 50 percent
of the new firm The arrangement would make Carbide and EniChem the largest
producers of polyethylene in western Europe EniChems existing polyethylene plants in
Germany France and Italy were made part of the new company while a new 400000-
tons-a-year plant in Brindisi Italy was planned
The year 1996 saw further expansion internationally when Carbide announced a joint
venture with Chinas Shanghai Petrochemical Co Ltd to manufacture and sell latex
polymer emulsions under the name Shanghai Petrochemical Union Car-bide Emulsion
Systems Co Ltd The new company would construct a plant in Jinshanwei China near
Shanghai A second expansion into the Chinese market came later in 1996 with Carbides
subsidiary Amerchol Corp announcing that it would be constructing a plant in
Guangdong Province China
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16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
BGT
17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
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18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
BGT
20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
BGT
22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
BGT
24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
BGT
26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
16
Carbide teamed with Exxon Chemical Company in 1997 to create the joint venture
company Univation Technologies Combining both Carbides and Exxons patented
polyethylene manufacturing processes Univation would manufacture polyethylene using
these processes and license the technologies Univation would also license the super
condensed mode technology which doubles polyethylene production
Carbide expanded its presence in Asia with the 1999 announcement of a joint venture
with Petronas the national oil company of Malaysia The two firms would build a
petrochemical complex in Malaysia focusing on ethylene oxide and its derivatives and
oxo alcohols and oxo derivatives In 2001 the Kerteh Integrated Petrochemicals
Complex opened with Union Carbide owning 24 percent of the project
Another joint venture was announced in 1999 Carbide and Tosco Corp joined in a 50ndash
50 venture to combine their polypropylene business The deal was expected to take
Carbide ranked eighth in North America among makers of polypropylene into the top
five producers Under the agreement Tosco would build a 775 million-pound-per-year
plant in Linden New Jersey while Carbide would contribute its two plants in Seadrift
Texas and Norco Louisiana
Acquisition by Dow Chemical
On August 4 1999 it was announced that Union Carbide would become a subsidiary of
The Dow Chemical Company The next two years saw negotiations between the two
firms on the terms of the deal Negotiations were also held with the European
Commission and the Federal Trade Commission to get government approval of such a
large merger As part of the agreement Dow was obliged to divest some of its holdings
including its gas-phase polyethylene metallocene technology while Carbide had to divest
its 50 percent ownership in Polimeri Europa its joint venture with EniChem Finally all
discussion was over and Dow acquired Carbide for $116 billion on February 6 2001
The deal created the worlds second-largest chemical company just behind DuPont
According to Michael Parker chairman and CEO of Dow quoted by Robert Brown in
Chemical Market Reporter While the negotiations took longer than first imagined we
BGT
17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
BGT
18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
BGT
20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
BGT
21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
BGT
22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
BGT
23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
BGT
24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
BGT
26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
BGT
27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
BGT
28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
BGT
29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
BGT
30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
BGT
31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
17
are pleased with the outcome and consider it a win-win for everyone involved Union
Carbide chairman and CEO William H Joyce called the deal according to Joseph Chang
in Chemical Market Reporterthe right move at a good time In a consolidating chemical
industry where fewer more powerful companies will exist the combination of Dow and
Union Carbide now sets the standard for the industry
Since the acquisition Carbide has seen generally positive financial growth In 1999 the
company posted net sales of $587 billion and a profit of $291 million In 2000 net sales
were $652 billion with a profit of $162 million The next two years saw losses on lower
net sales 2001 sales were $54 billion with a loss of $699 million while 2002 sales were
$478 billion with a loss of $510 million In 2003 however Carbide moved into the black
again with net sales of $516 billion and a profit of $313 million This trend continued in
2004 with net sales of $586 billion and a profit of $687 million For the first quarter of
2005 Carbide reported net sales of $168 billion and a profit of $280 million As Union
Carbide faced the 21st century with rising sales and profits its chemical products
continued to be essential to the manufacturing of countless other products throughout the
world
Principal Subsidiaries
Amerchol Corporation Amko Service Company Bayox Inc Beaucar Minerals Inc
BEK III Inc Be-Kan Inc Bentley Sales Co Inc Blue Creek Coal Company Inc
Catalyst Technology Inc Cellulosic Products Inc Chemicals Marine Fleet Inc
Dexter Realty Corporation Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Eastern
Pennsylvania Inc Gas Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of New Jersey Inc Gas
Technics Gases and Equipment Centers of Ohio Inc Global Industrial Corporation
Hampton Roads Welders Supply Company Inc Harvey Company Innovative
Membrane Systems Inc International Cryogenic Equipment Corporation Iweco Inc
Karba Minerals Inc KSC Liquidation Inc XTI Chemicals Inc Linde Homecare
Medical Systems Inc Linox Welding Supply Co London Chemical Company Inc
Media Buyers Inc Merritt-Holland Company Mon-Arc Welding Supply Inc Nova
Tran Corporation Paulsboro Packaging Inc Phoenix Research Corporation Polysak
BGT
18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
BGT
20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
BGT
21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
BGT
22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
BGT
23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
BGT
24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
BGT
26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
BGT
27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
BGT
28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
BGT
29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
BGT
30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
BGT
31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
BGT
32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
BGT
33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
BGT
35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
18
Inc Prentiss Glycol Company Presto Hartford Inc Presto Welding Supplies Inc
Seadrift Pipeline Corporation Soilsery Inc South Charleston Sewage Treatment
Company UCAR Capital Corporation UCAR Energy Services Corporation UCAR
Interam Inc UCAR Louisiana Pipeline Company UCAR Pipeline Incorporated
UCORE Ltd Umetco Minerals Exploration Umetco Minerals Sales Corporation
Unigas Inc Union Carbide Africa and Middle East Inc Union Carbide Canada Ltd
Union Car-bide Caribe Inc Union Carbide Communications Company Inc Union
Carbide Engineering and Hydrocarbons Service Company Inc Union Carbide
Engineering and Technology Services Union Carbide Ethylene OxideGlycol Company
Union Carbide Europe Inc Union Carbide Films-Packaging Inc Union Carbide
Grafito Inc Union Carbide Imaging Systems Inc Union Carbide Industrial Services
Company Union Carbide Inter-America Inc Union Carbide International Capital
Corporation Union Carbide International Sales Corporation Union Carbide Polyolefins
Development Company Inc UNISON Transformer Services Inc UOP LLC Vametco
Minerals Corporation VB Anderson Co Welders Service Center of Nebraska Inc
Wolfe Welding Supply Company Inc
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
BGT
20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
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22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
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25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
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55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
19
Product Profile of UCC
Distributor Names for Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Product names Distributor Product Type
Approval Date
Cancellation Date
Aldex Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 11 1986
Dec 8 1994
Asepti-steryl sterilizing amp disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Calgo-cide 28 Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Coecide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 9 1984
Dec 8 1994
Cold instrument sterilant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Dentacide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 3 1987
Dec 8 1994
Disinfectantsterilant 45x1-2
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Nov 4 1985
Dec 8 1994
Glutall Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Aug 4 1986
Dec 8 1994
Hospicide Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Feb 21 1984
Dec 8 1994
Instru-san instrument sterilizer
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jul 29 1986
Dec 8 1994
Metricide 602 activated dialdehyde solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Jun 11 1985
Dec 8 1994
Pharmaseal cold instrument steriliant solution
Union carbide corporation
Distributor Product
Mar 19 1986
Dec 8 1994
Ucarcide 602 sterilizing and disinfecting solution
Union carbide corporation
Parent Product
Nov 3 1983
May 25 1995
BGT
20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
BGT
21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
BGT
22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
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23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
BGT
27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
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52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
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55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
20
Analysis
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy is the worlds worst industrial catastrophe
and occurred on the night of December 2-3 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited
(UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh India At that time UCIL was the
Indian subsidiary of the US company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which is now
a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company Around midnight on December 2ndash3 1984
there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant resulting
in the exposure of over 500000 people Estimates vary on the death toll The official
immediate death toll was 2259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a
total of 3787 deaths related to the gas release Other government agencies estimate
15000 deaths Others estimate that 8000 died within the first weeks and that another
8000 have since died from gas-related diseases
Some 25 years after the gas leak 390 tons of toxic chemicals abandoned at the UCIL
plant continue to leak and pollute the groundwater in the region and affect thousands of
Bhopal residents who depend on it though there is some dispute as to whether the
chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard Over two decades
since the tragedy certain civil and criminal cases remain pending in the United States
District Court Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal India against Union Carbide
(now owned by Dow Chemical Company) with an Indian arrest warrant also pending
against Warren Anderson CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster Greenpeace
asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the
Bhopal plant which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal
but were fixed at the companys identical plant in the US In June 2010 seven ex-
employees including the former chairman of UCIL were convicted in Bhopal of causing
death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2000
each the maximum punishment allowed by law An eighth former employee was also
convicted but had died before judgment was passed
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21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
BGT
22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
BGT
23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
BGT
24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
BGT
27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
BGT
28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
BGT
29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
BGT
30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
BGT
31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
BGT
33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
BGT
35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
21
Background and causes
The UCIL factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal 509 was owned by Union
Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 491 by various Indian investors including public
sector financial institutions It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin) In 1979
a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site MIC an intermediate
in carbaryl manufacture was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive
materials UCC understood the properties of MIC and its handling requirements
During the night of December 2ndash3 1984 large amounts of water entered tank 610
containing 42 tons of methyl isocyanate The resulting exothermic reaction increased the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (392 degF) raising the pressure to a level the
tank was not designed to withstand This forced the emergency venting of pressure from
the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere The
gases flooded the city of Bhopal causing great panic as people woke up with a burning
sensation in their lungs Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and
many were trampled in the panic
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves it
was possible for the water to leak into tank 610 In December 1985 The New York Times
reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of
water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be
negative UCC also maintains that this route was not possible and that it was an act of
sabotage by a disgruntled worker who introduced water directly into the tank
However the companys investigation team found no evidence of the necessary
connection The Trade Union Report failed to mention that the investigation was totally
controlled by the government investigators denying UCC investigators any access to
inspecting the ill-fated tankThe 1985 reports give a picture of what led to the disaster and
how it developed although they differ in details
Factors leading to the gas leak include
BGT
22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
BGT
23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
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24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
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25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
22
The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums
Possible corroding material in pipelines
Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations)
Safety systems being switched off to save moneymdashincluding the MIC tank
refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster
The problem was made worse by the plants location near a densely populated area non-
existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic
rehabilitation Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the
disaster are the two owners Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India
and to some extent the Government of Madhya Pradesh
Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath The closing of the plant to outsiders (including
UCC) by the Indian government and the failure to make data public contributed to the
confusion The CSIR report was formally released 15 years after the disaster The authors
of the ICMR studies on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after
1994 UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas
on human health Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the
investigation by the government The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the
government agencies ndash Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the
directorship of Dr Varadarajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)UCC and the
Government of India maintained until 1994 when the International Medical Commission
on Bhopal met that MIC had no long term health effects
BGT
23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
BGT
24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
BGT
26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
BGT
27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
BGT
28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
BGT
29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
BGT
30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
BGT
31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
BGT
32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
BGT
33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
BGT
35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
23
Contributing factors
Several other factors were identified by the inquiry including the fact that the operators
chose a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides there was large-scale storage of
MIC before processing the location of the plant was close to a densely populated area
there was under-dimensioning of the safety features and the plant depended on manual
operations Deficiencies in the management of UCIL were also identified There was a
lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy there had been a reduction of safety
management due to reducing the staff there was insufficient maintenance of the plant and
there were only very loose plans for the course of action in the event of an emergency
Plant production process
Methylamine (1) reacts with phosgene (2) producing methyl isocyanate (3) which reacts
with 1-naphthol (4) to yield carbaryl (5)
Union Carbide produced the pesticide Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl)
using MIC as an intermediate Until 1979 MIC was imported from the US Other
manufacturers such as Bayer made carbaryl without MIC though at greater
manufacturing costs
The chemical process or route used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with
phosgene to form MIC (methyl isocyanate) which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to
form the final product carbaryl This route differed from MIC-free routes used
elsewhere in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing
order with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester which
is then reacted with methyl amine In the early 1980s the demand for pesticides had
fallen though production continued leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC
BGT
24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
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26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
24
Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factorys employees and their conditions
Kurzman argues that cuts meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety
rules A pipe leaked Dont replace it employees said they were told MIC workers
needed more training They could do with less Promotions were halted seriously
affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled elsewhere[24]
Workers were forced to use English manuals even though only a few had a grasp of the
language
By 1984 only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the
number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half No maintenance supervisor was
placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours rather than
the previous and required one-hour readings[14][24]
Workers made complaints about the
cuts through their union but were ignored One employee was fired after going on a 15-
day hunger strike 70 of the plants employees were fined before the disaster for
refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management
In addition some observers such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database
(TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University have
pointed to serious communication problems and management gaps between Union
Carbide and its Indian operation characterised by the parent companies [sic] hands-off
approach to its overseas operation and cross-cultural barriers The personnel
management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
BGT
26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
BGT
27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
BGT
28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
BGT
29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
BGT
30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
BGT
31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
BGT
32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
BGT
33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
BGT
35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
25
Equipment and safety regulations
Union Carbide MIC plant
It emerged in 1998 during civil action suits in India that unlike Union Carbide
plants in the US its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems No
action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude This
included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals
used and manufactured at Bhopal
The MIC tank alarms had not worked for four years
There was only one manual back-up system compared to a four-stage system
used in the US
The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for five months
before the disaster The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with
sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) which might have brought the concentration
down to a safe level Even if the scrubber had been working according to Weir
investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum
pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the
accident Furthermore the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could
only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984
To reduce energy costs the refrigeration system designed to inhibit the
volatilization of MIC had been left idlemdashthe MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius
(room temperature) not the 45 degrees advised by the manual and some of the
coolant was being used elsewhere
BGT
26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
BGT
27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
BGT
28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
BGT
30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
26
The steam boiler intended to clean the pipes was out of action for unknown
reasons
Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from
leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed Their
installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist
Water sprays designed to knock down gas leaks were poorly designedmdashset to
13 meters and below they could not spray high enough to reduce the
concentration of escaping gas
The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week Other tanks had been
used for that week rather than repairing the broken one which was left to stew
The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the
magnitude of the gas release
Carbon steel valves were used at the factory even though they corrode when
exposed to acid On the night of the disaster a leaking carbon steel valve was
found allowing water to enter the MIC tanks The pipe was not repaired because
it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive
UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems
were not functioning on the night of December 3 1984
Themistocles DSilva asserts in the latest bookmdashThe Black Box of Bhopalmdashthat
the design of the MIC plant following government guidelines was Indianized
by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products It
also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for
the Indian plant Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India the
Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation This is supported with
original government documents which are appended The book also discredits the
unproven allegations in the CSIR Report
BGT
27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
BGT
28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
BGT
29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
BGT
30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
BGT
31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
BGT
32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
BGT
33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
BGT
35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
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52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
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55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
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56
Annexure
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27
HistoryPrevious warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred
In 1976 the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant
In 1981 a worker was splashed with phosgene In panic he ripped off his mask
thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas he died 72 hours later
In January 1982 there was a phosgene leak when 24 workers were exposed and
had to be admitted to hospital None of the workers had been ordered to wear
protective masks
In February 1982 an MIC leak affected 18 workers
In August 1982 a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC resulting
in burns over 30 percent of his body
In September 1982 a Bhopal journalist Raajkumar Keswani started writing his
prophetic warnings of a disaster in local weekly Rapat Headlines one after
another Save please save this city Bhopal sitting at the top of a volcano and if
you dont understand you will all be wiped out were not paid any heed
In October 1982 there was a leak of MIC methylcarbaryl chloride chloroform
and hydrochloric acid In attempting to stop the leak the MIC supervisor suffered
intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the
gases
During 1983 and 1984 leaks of the following substances regularly took place in
the MIC plant MIC chlorine monomethylamine phosgene and carbon
tetrachloride sometimes in combination
Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide
corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which
occurred in Bhopal The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff
Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981
of the potential of a runaway reaction in the MIC storage tank local Indian
authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979
onwards Again these warnings were not heeded
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28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
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30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
BGT
33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
28
The leakage
In November 1984 most of the safety systems were not functioning Many valves and
lines were in poor condition Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC much more than safety
rules allowed[4]
During the nights of 2ndash3 December a large amount of water entered tank
610 A runaway reaction started which was accelerated by contaminants high
temperatures and other factors The reaction generated a major increase in the
temperature inside the tank to over 200 degC (400 degF) This forced the emergency venting
of pressure from the MIC holding tank releasing a large volume of toxic gases The
reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel
pipelines[4]
It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water They were not told by
the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate Because of this and the bad
maintenance the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the
MIC tank UCC maintains that a disgruntled worker deliberately connected a hose to a
pressure gauge UCCs investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection
Timeline summary
At the plant
2100 Water cleaning of pipes starts
2200 Water enters tank 610 reaction starts
2230 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower
0030 The large siren sounds and is turned off
0050 The siren is heard within the plant area The workers escape
Outside
2230 First sensations due to the gases are feltmdashsuffocation cough burning eyes
and vomiting
100 Police are alerted Residents of the area evacuate Union Carbide director
denies any leak
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29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
BGT
30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
BGT
31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
BGT
32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
BGT
33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
29
200 The first people reached Hamidia Hospital Symptoms include visual
impairment and blindness respiratory difficulties frothing at the mouth and
vomiting
210 The alarm is heard outside the plant
400 The gases are brought under control
700 A police loudspeaker broadcasts Everything is normal
BGT
30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
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32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
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33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
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34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
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36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
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37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
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38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
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39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
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40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
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41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
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42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
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43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
30
Health effects
Short term health effects
Reversible reaction of glutathione (top) with methyl isocyanate (MIC middle) allows the
MIC to be transported into the body
The leakage caused many short term health effects in the surrounding areas Apart from
MIC the gas cloud may have contained phosgene hydrogen cyanide carbon monoxide
hydrogen chloride oxides of nitrogen monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide
either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere
The gas cloud was composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air stayed
close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community The initial
effects of exposure were coughing vomiting severe eye irritation and a feeling of
suffocation People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant Those who
ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride Owing to their height children and
other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations Many people were trampled
trying to escape
Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours There were mass funerals
and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river 170000 people
were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries 2000 buffalo goats and other
animals were collected and buried Within a few days leaves on trees yellowed and fell
off Supplies including food became scarce owing to suppliers safety fears Fishing was
prohibited as well which caused further supply shortages
A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being gas affected affecting a
population of 520000 Of these 200000 were below 15 years of age and 3000 were
pregnant women In 1991 3928 deaths had been certified Independent organizations
recorded 8000 dead in the first days Other estimations vary between 10000 and 30000
Another 100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different
degrees
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31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
BGT
32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
BGT
33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
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35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
31
The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes blepharospasm
breathlessness stomach pains and vomiting The causes of deaths were choking
reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema Findings during autopsies
revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema tubular necrosis of the
kidneys fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis The stillbirth rate
increased by up to 300 and neonatal mortality rate by 200
Hydrogen cyanide debate
Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy[31][32]
Exposed at higher temperatures MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN)
According to Kulling and Lorin at +200 degC 3 of the gas is HCN[33]
However
according to another scientific publication[34]
MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts
breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400 degC
Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse
Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or
HCN-derived side products Chemically HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC[35]
HCN is also known to react with hydrochloric acid ammonia and methylamine (also
produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and chloroform) and also
with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes None of the
HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue
The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases
the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate Treatment was suggested
early but because of confusion within the medical establishments it was not used on
larger scale until June 1985
BGT
32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
BGT
33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
BGT
35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
32
Long term health effects
Victims of Bhopal disaster asking for Warren Andersons extradition from USA
It is estimated that 20000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases Another
100000 to 200000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries
The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies Reported and studied
symptoms are eye problems respiratory difficulties immune and neurological disorders
cardiac failure secondary to lung injury female reproductive difficulties and birth defects
among children born to affected women Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed
to the gas exposure but there is no good research supporting this
There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna
Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas or the
subsequent water poisoning and treats the condition with a combination of Western and
traditional Indian medicines and has performed extensive research
BGT
33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
BGT
35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
33
Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC
and the other gases In January 1994 the International Medical Commission on Bhopal
(IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the
health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation
The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[21]
were not completely released
until around 2003
Aftermath of the leakage
Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC
gas inhalation They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to
their patients
The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees Within a few days all
the leaves fell off
2000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of
Operation Faith On December 16 the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the
remaining MIC This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal Complaints
of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread The Bhopal plant
medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases
An Indian Government spokesman said that Carbide is more interested in getting
information from us than in helping our relief work
As of 2008 UCC had not released information about the possible composition of
the cloud
Formal statements were issued that air water vegetation and foodstuffs were safe
within the city At the same time people were informed that poultry was
unaffected but were warned not to consume fish
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
BGT
35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
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44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
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46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
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47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
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55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
34
Compensation from Union Carbide
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the
government rights to represent all victims in or outside India
UCC offered US$ 350 million the insurance sum The Government of India
claimed US$ 33 billion from UCC In 1999 a settlement was reached under
which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum plus interest) in a
full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability
When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL it was directed by the Supreme
Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors Bhopal
Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 It
was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years
Economic rehabilitation
After the accident no one under the age of 18 was registered The number of
children exposed to the gases was at least 200000
Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy
Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period
and ration cards were distributed
Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200per month (later Rs 750) was provided[4]
One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1500 to families with monthly income Rs 500
or less was decided
Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor In court the claimants were
expected to prove beyond reasonable doubt that death or injury in each case was
attributable to exposure In 1992 44 percent of the claimants still had to be
medically examined
From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was
born before the disaster
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the
majority Rs 25000 (US$ 830) For death claim the average sum paid out was Rs
62000
BGT
35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
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49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
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53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
35
Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school more money spent on
treatment more money spent on food improvement of housing conditions
The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many
shortcomings
In 2007 1029517 cases were registered and decided Number of awarded cases
were 574304 and number of rejected cases 455213 Total compensation awarded
was Rs154647 crores
Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the
claimants a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all
claims have been settled
Occupational rehabilitation
33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started All except one was
closed down by 1992
1986 the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal 152 of
the planned 200 work-sheds were built In 2000 16 were partially functioning
It is estimated that 50000 persons need alternative jobs and that less than 100 gas
victims have found regular employment under the governments scheme
Habitation rehabilitation
2486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the Widows
colony outside Bhopal The water did not reach the upper floors It was not
possible to keep cattle Infrastructure like buses schools etc were missing for at
least a decade
Health care
In the immediate aftermath of the disaster the health care system became
tremendously overloaded Within weeks the State Government established a
number of hospitals clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
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45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
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48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
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50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
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51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
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54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
36
Radical health groups set up JSK (the Peoples Health Centre) that was working a
few years from 1985
Since the leak a very large number of private practitioners have opened in
Bhopal In the severely affected areas nearly 70 percent do not appear to be
professionally qualified
The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based
services for gas victims Several hospitals have been built after the disaster In
1994 there were approximately 125 beds per 1000 compared to the
recommendation from the World bank of 10 beds per 1000 in developing
countries
The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded
super speciality hospital Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done Major
specialities missing are gynecology obstetrics and pediatrics Eight mini-units
(outreach health centers) were started Free health care for gas victims should be
offered until 2006[4]
The management has faced problems with strikes and the
quality of the health care is disputed
Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995 The clinic gives
modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims free of charge
Environmental rehabilitation
When the factory was closed in 1985ndash1986 pipes drums and tanks were cleaned
and sold The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there as are storages of different
residues Isolation material is falling down and spreading
The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals In
1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned UCCs
laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near
the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish Several other studies has shown
polluted soil and groundwater in the area
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
37
Reported polluting compounds are among others naphthol naphthalene Sevin
tarry residue mercury toxic organochlorines volatile organochlorine compounds
chromium copper nickel lead hexachloroethane hexachlorobutadiene pesticide
HCH and halo-organics It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative
health effects on those exposed but there is no scientific evidence
In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory
there is a scheme for improvement of water supply
In December 2008 the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste
should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat
Union Carbides defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company Union Carbide denies allegations against it on
its website dedicated to the tragedy The corporation believes that the accident was the
result of sabotage stating that safety systems were in place and operative It also stresses
that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster
Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ At the time workers were cleaning out
pipes with water The workers maintain that entry of water through the plants piping
system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used the
downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged many valves were leaking and the tank
was not pressurized The water which was not draining properly through the bleeder
valves may have built up in the pipe rising high enough to pour back down through
another series of lines in the MIC storage tank Once water had accumulated to a height
of 6 meters (20 feet) it could drain by gravity flow back into the system Alternatively
the water may have been routed through another standby jumper line that had only
recently been connected to the system Indian scientists suggested that additional water
might have been introduced as a back-flow from the defectively designed vent-gas
scrubber However none of these postulated routes of entry could be duplicated when
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
38
tested by the Central Bureau of Investigators (CBI) and UCIL engineers See Steve
Weisman NYT and The Black Box of Bhopal The company cites an investigation
conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D Little which concluded that a
single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the
MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through
the metering port Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its
way into the tank by accident and safety systems were not designed to deal with
intentional sabotage Documents cited in the Arthur D Little Report as well as in the
recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of
the entry of water into the tank This all-important test failed to support this as a route of
water entry UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves
from the incident and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined
to prosecute the employee responsible presumably because that would weaken its
allegations of negligence by Union Carbide
Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning
claiming that documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve
close to the plants water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight Furthermore
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
entering the tank by accident Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982
were all allayed before 1984 and none of them had anything to do with the incident
The company admits that the safety systems in place could not have prevented a
chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak According to Carbide in
designing the plants safety systems a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not
factored in because the tanks gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent
such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system and
process safety systemsmdashin place and operationalmdashwould have prevented water from
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
39
entering the tank by accident Instead they claim that employee sabotagemdashnot faulty
design or operationmdashwas the cause of the tragedy
Response
The company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and their continued
commitment to helping the victims On December 4 the day following the leak Union
Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical
facilities in Bhopal
Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian Prime Ministers
immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984 The corporation established the
Employees Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985 which raised more than $5 million for
immediate relief
According to Union Carbide in August 1987 they made an additional $46 million in
humanitarian interim relief available
Union Carbide states that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the
victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling including
The sale of its 509 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a
charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital The sale was
finalized in November 1994 The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was
opened in 2001 The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale
of its UCIL stock In 1991 the trust had amounted approximately $100 million
The hospital caters for the treatment of heart lung and eye problems
Providing a $22 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a
vocational-technical center in Bhopal which was constructed and opened but was
later closed and leveled by the government
Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross
Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical
industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis which is designed to help prevent
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
40
such an event in the future by improving community awareness emergency
preparedness and process safety standards
Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster
However other issues have also continued to develop These include the problems of
ongoing contamination criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union
Carbide and a 2004 hoax
Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide the US and Indian governments the local
authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe
Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984 the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson
addressed the US Congress stressing the companys commitment to safety and
promising to ensure that a similar accident cannot happen again However the Indian
Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985 allowing the Government
of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster leading to the
beginning of legal wrangling
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure endorsed by plaintiffs US
attorneys of $350 million that would according to the company generate a fund for
Bhopal victims of between $500ndash600 million over 20 years In May litigation was
transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge Following an appeal
of this decision the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer judging in January 1987
that UCIL was a separate entity owned managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India The judge in the US granted Carbides forum request thus moving the
case to India This meant that under US federal law the company had to submit to Indian
jurisdiction
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
41
Litigation continued in India during 1988 The Government of India claimed US$ 350
million from UCC The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement
and start with a clean slate in November 1988 Eventually in an out-of-court settlement
reached in 1989 Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the
Bhopal disaster 15 of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit By the end of
October 2003 according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation
Department compensation had been awarded to 554895 people for injuries received and
15310 survivors of those killed The average amount to families of the dead was $2200
Throughout 1990 the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from
activist petitions Nonetheless in October 1991 the Supreme Court upheld the original
$470 million dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original
decision The decision set aside a portion of settlement that quashed criminal
prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement The Court ordered the Indian
government to purchase out of settlement fund a group medical insurance policy to
cover 100000 persons who may later develop symptoms and cover any shortfall in the
settlement fund It also requests that Carbide and its subsidiary voluntarily fund a
hospital in Bhopal at an estimated $17 million to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal
disaster The company agreed to this However the International Campaign for Justice in
Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
42
Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide Warren Anderson had been arrested and
released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7 1984 The
arrest which took place at the airport assured Anderson would meet no harm by the
Bhopal community Anderson was taken to Union Carbides house after which he was
released six hours later on $2100 bail and flown out on a government plane
It is claimed by the then Deputy Chief of Mission of the US embassy in New Delhi in an
interview with a news channel that communications between the Government of India
and himself relating to the release of Warren Anderson to return to the US went through
the erstwhile foreign secretary Rasgotra has also confirmed meeting Anderson and said
―Well he looked deeply troubled bedraggled very sad sorrowful remorseful And he
said to me I am shattered by what I have seen Mr Rasgotra it will be my endeavour
we cant undo what has happened [but] it will be my endeavour to ensure a generous
compensation package for those who had suffered Rasgotra also claimed that the Home
Ministry under the late P V Narasimha Rao had assured safe passage to Union
Carbide Chief Warren Anderson before he came to India in the aftermath of the deadly
accident Narasimha Raos son Ranga Rao asserted that his father would not have taken
such a decision on his own
In 1987 the Indian government summoned Anderson eight other executives and two
company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court Union Carbide
balked saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction
Beginning in 1991 the local authorities from Bhopal charged Anderson who had retired
in 1986 with manslaughter a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison
Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons He
was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on
February 1 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case
in which he was named the chief defendant Orders were passed to the Government of
India to press for an extradition from the United States with whom India had an
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
43
extradition treaty in place The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that neither the
American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an
extradition A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government which has failed to
pursue the case has also led to strong protests in the past most notably by Greenpeace A
plea by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable
homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts
The US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal
courts in October 1993 meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek
damages in a US court The Rajiv Gandhi government reached an out of court settlement
for compensation for the victims
Meanwhile very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide
went to the survivors On the anniversary of the tragedy effigies of Anderson and
politicians are burnt
In July 2004 the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any
remaining settlement funds to victims The deadline for this release was extended by the
Indian Supreme Court In April 2005 giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006
after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims The fund is
believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest from money remaining after all
claims had been paid
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the
dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v Union Carbide Corporation This
move blocked plaintiffs motions for class certification and claims for property damages
and remediation In the view of Carbide the ruling reaffirms UCCs long-held positions
and finally puts to restmdashboth procedurally and substantivelymdashthe issues raised in the
class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and
several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal In September 2006 the
Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation
claims and revised petitions had been cleared
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
44
Criminal charges were laid against former Union Carbide India Limited employees
including Former UCIL Chairman Keshub Mahindra presently Chairman-cum-
managing Director Vijay Gokhale former Vice-President Functioning In charge Kishor
Kamdar former works manager J Mukund and former Production manager AP
Division SP Choudhury On June 7 2010 an Indian court convicted all five of the
above employees plus plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI
Qureshi of death by negligence which carries a maximum prison term of two years All
seven employees were given bail the same day against a bond of Rs 25000 and all are
expected to appeal against the decision
Federal class action litigation Sahu v Union Carbide et al is presently pending on
appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York The litigation seeks
damages for personal injury medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of
cleanup of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant A
related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending
the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of
New York
On 7 June 2010 seven former employees of the Union Carbide subsidiary all Indian
nationals and many in their 70s were convicted of causing death by negligence and each
sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined Rs1 lakh (US$2124 euro1776) All were
released on bail shortly after the verdict
The names of those convicted are
Keshub Mahindra former chairman of Union Carbide India Limited
VP Gokhale managing director
Kishore Kamdar vice-president
J Mukund works manager
SP Chowdhury production manager
KV Shetty plant superintendent
SI Qureshi production assistant
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
45
Changes in corporate identity
Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary which had operated the Bhopal plant to
Eveready Industries India Limited in 1994
Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $103 billion in stock
and debt Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement
payments have already fulfilled Dows financial responsibility for the disaster However
Dow did not purchase UCCs Indian subsidiary Union Carbide India That was sold in
1994 and renamed Eveready Industries India limited
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition noting the outstanding
liabilities for the Bhopal disaster The acquisition has gained criticism from the
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal as it is apparently contrary to established
merger law in that Dow denies any responsibility for Carbides Bhopal liabilities
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal Carbide remains liable for the environmental
devastation as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement despite
ongoing contamination issues
In June 2010 commentators criticised the disparity between the handling of the Bhopal
disaster and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (BP)
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
46
Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from
the Bhopal disaster but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the
conditions under which those materials were processed The area around the plant was
used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals Between 1969 and 1977 all
effluents were dumped in an open pit From then on neutralization with hydrochloric
acid was undertaken The effluents went to two evaporation ponds In the rainy seasons
the effluents used to overflow It is also said that large quantities of chemicals are buried
in the ground
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned In 1991 the
municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking
Carbides laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from
near the factory were toxic to fish Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be
highly polluted In 1994 it was reported that 21 of the factory premises were seriously
contaminated with chemicals
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil groundwater wellwater and
vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show
contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds
Substances found according to the reports are naphthol naphthalene Sevin tarry
residues alpha naphthol mercury organochlorines chromium copper nickel lead
hexachlorethane Hexachlorobutadiene pesticide HCH (BHC) volatile organic
compounds and halo-organics Many of these contaminants were also found in breast
milk
In 2002 an inquiry found a number of toxins including mercury lead 135
trichlorobenzene dichloromethane and chloroform in nursing womens breast milk Well
water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury
levels to be at 20000 and 6 million times higher than expected levels heavy metals and
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
47
organochlorines were present in the soil Chemicals that have been linked to various
forms of cancer were also discovered as well as trichloroethene known to impair fetal
development at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14 2004 it was reported
that the site is still contaminated with thousands of metric tons of toxic chemicals
including benzene hexachloride and mercury held in open containers or loose on the
ground A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination
500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health
Organization
In 2009 a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE) a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab released latest tests from a
study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory up to 386 times
more pesticides than Indian standards
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump located just north of
the plant The sample tested in UK was found to contain 1000 times the World Health
Organizations recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride a carcinogenic
toxin This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking
from the factory site
Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant
and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste which has been left untouched
Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the
city and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning and diseases
affecting the nervous system liver and kidneys in humans According to activists there
are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region
Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste and have pressed the
government of India to demand more money from Dow
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
48
Carbide states that after the incident UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the
direction of Indian central and state government authorities which was continued after
1994 by the successor to UCIL Eveready Industries until 1998 when it was placed
under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government Critics of the clean-up
undertaken by Carbide such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal claim
that several internal studies by the corporation which evidenced severe
contamination were not made public the Indian authorities were also refused access
They believe that Union Carbide continued directing operations in Bhopal until at
least 1995 through Hayaran the US-trained site manager even after the sale of its
UCIL stock The successor Eveready Industries abruptly relinquished the site lease to
one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department
on an extensive clean up program The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that
they will pursue both Dow and Eveready to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors
The International Campaign view Carbides sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy to escape
the Indian courts who threatened Carbides assets due to their non-appearance in the
criminal case The successor Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) ended its 99-
year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya
Pradesh Currently the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and
EIIL to finance clean-up operations
On 7 March 2009 Indian scientists of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
have decided to investigate the long term health effects of the disaster Studies will also
be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders low birth weight growth
and development disorders congenital malformation and biological markers of
MICtoxic gas exposure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
49
Settlement fund hoax
Bichlbaum as Finisterra on BBC World News
On December 3 2004 the twentieth anniversary of the disaster a man claiming to be a
Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on BBC World News He
claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in
the incident by liquidating Union Carbide for $12 billion USD
Immediately afterward Dows share price fell 42 in 23 minutes for a loss of $2 billion
in market value Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by
that namemdashthat he was an impostor not affiliated with Dow and that his claims were a
hoax The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology The statement was widely carried
Jude Finisterra was actually Andy Bichlbaum a member of the activist prankster group
The Yes Men In 2002 The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow
refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website at
DowEthicscom designed to look like the real Dow website but with what they felt was
a more accurate cast on the events In 2004 a producer for the BBC emailed them
through the website requesting an interview which they gladly obliged
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now Bichlbaum explains how
his fake name was derived Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra
means the end of the Earth He explained that he settled on this approach (taking
responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
50
as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US which had largely ignored the
disasters anniversaries when Dow attempted to correct the statement
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up
interview on the United Kingdoms Channel 4 News During the interview he was
repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal
when producing the hoax According to the interviewer there were many people in
tears upon having learned of the hoax Each time Bichlbaum said that in comparison
what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was
responsible In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World the Yes Men travel to Bhopal
to assess public opinion on their prank and are surprised to find that the residents
applaud their efforts to bring responsibility to the corporate world
2010 Bhopal controversy
On June 7 2010 eight officials of Union Carbide had been convicted for the 1984 Bhopal
gas disaster only for criminal negligence which is punishable with a maximum of two
years jail despite the enormity of the tragedy The eight include Keshub Mahindra
Industrialist CII came for support of Mahindra - The law regarding potential liability of
non-executive and independent directors needs to undergo a change said a statement
issued by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) quoting its president Hari Bhartia
But Bhopal Gas Victims felt the Justice is not done yet saying Indian authorities of
lacking the political will to go after Warren Anderson who headed Union Carbide the
parent company in the US The message is going out that peoples lives dont matter
what matters is foreign direct investment (FDI) You can kill people maim them for life
and get away almost scot-free he said
Congress admitted that it had no choice but to allow Warren Anderson the former
chairman of Union Carbide Corp responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy to leave the
country Pranab Mukherjee made this confession at a time when Congress is under
pressure to explain Andersons release after being arrested on Dec 7 1984 five days after
the gas tragedy Pranab Mukherjee revealed that the decision to let Warren Anderson go
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
51
was taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv Gandhi He said that the release order was provided
by the state government He defended the decisions taken by Arjun Singh and Rajiv
GandhiMukherjee said that the law and order was deteriorating that it was very
important to move Anderson out of the country Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj
Singh Chauhan has written a letter to veteran Congress leader and former Madhya
Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh seeking an explanation for the escape of Union
Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal Gas
TragedyIn the letter Singh asked Arjun Singh to reveal the person responsible
facilitating the safe passage for Warren Anderson days after the Bhopal gas leak Later in
political debates Congresss spokespersons refused to comment on release of Warren
Anderson British Media used Bhopal Disaster to shield British Petroleum for oil spill in
Gulf of Mexico USA On 24 June Group of Ministers for Bhopal Gas tragedy case
announced Rs1265cr package But this will be Indian taxpayers money as Rajiv Gandhi
government has freed UCIL of any liabilities in 1989 This caused more questions to
asked by public and media Till 24 June Congress party or Indian government still have
not disclosed why Anderson was released and Why Indian government let go UCIL
liability free for less money than needed for rehabilitation of Bhopal Gas victims
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
52
Current Scenario in BGT
New Delhi Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has directed the Group of Ministers on the
Bhopal gas tragedy to meet ―immediately and report to the Cabinet within ten days The
GoM has been asked to assess the options and remedies available to the government in
the light of the Bhopal courtlsquos verdict in the gas tragedy case
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad a member of the GoM on Monday said the
panel can probe under what circumstances the industrial disaster took place and how the
punishment for the culprits was reduced
―It can be probed under which circumstances it happened and under what circumstances
he (Warren Anderson former Chairman of the Union Carbide) had to leave What were
the causes and how the punishment was reduced Azad told reporters on the sidelines of
a function here ―Till now the GoM meeting has not been held So I cannot discuss
anything he added
The GoM on the gas leak headed by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has Law
Minister M Veerappa Moily Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri Urban
Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy Science and Technology
Minister Prithviraj Chauhan and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister
Kumari Selja as its members
The minister said when a meeting of the GoM will be held ―we will be briefed by some
competent authority which has been associated with this right through Then we will
come to some conclusions and definitely we will brief you
Asked whether the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh should come out
with his version on the issue Azad said ―You canlsquot force anybody to speak the truth
The GoM was reconstituted last week to go into a range of issues including the relief and
rehabilitation of victims and their families
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
53
Nearly 26 years after the disaster left over 15000 dead former Union Carbide India
Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were sentenced to two years imprisonment
After Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was allowed to leave the country the
opposition slammed the then Congress governments
both at the Centre and the State on the issue
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh who was Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister in 1984
has faced flak from both within Congress as also other parties on the exit of Anderson
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
54
Conclusion
1 From the project analysis we can conclude that Bhopal gas tragedy occurred as a result of
managements cost cutting standards
2 The corporate Governance structure came into picture in 1992 in India which was way
after the tragedy took place which more aggregated the situation
3 Legal system in India had lots of loop holes which was the contributing factor to the
occurrence of disaster
4 The US government too was of no help in providing justice to the people affected by the
disaster and gave shelter to the accused Warren Anderson in the case
5 The disaster was the output of negligence and ignorance on the part of management of
UCC and government
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
55
Bibliography
Websites
httpwwwreferenceforbusinesscom
httpwwwpesticideinfoorg
enwikipediaorg
wwwicmrindiaorg
Newspaper
Times of India
Mumbai Mirror
BGT
56
Annexure
BGT
56
Annexure