WHAT WAS BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY
Bhopal Gas Tragedy
On the night of December 2, 1984, chemical, methyl isocyanate (MIC) spilt out from Union Carbide India Ltd’s (UCIL’s) pesticide factory turned the city of Bhopal into a colossal gas chamber. It was India's first major industrial disaster. At least 30 tonnes of methyl isocyanate gas killed more than 15,000 people and affected over 600,000 workers. Bhopal gas tragedy is known as world's worst industrial disaster.
In 1969, the UCIL factory was made to produce Sevin (a pesticide) using methyl isocyanate as an intermediate. In 1976, trade unions in Bhopal complained of pollution within the plant. A few years later, a worker accidentally inhaled a large amount of toxic phosgene gas, leading to his death a couple of hours later. Observing the events, a journalist began investigating the plant and also published his findings in Bhopal's local paper, saying - 'Wake up people of Bhopal, you are on the edge of a volcano'. Two years before tragedy struck Bhopal, around 45 workers who were exposed to phosgene were admitted to a hospital. Between 1983 and 1984, thee were leaks of phosgene, carbon tetrachloride, methyl isocyanate and mono methylamine.