Union Carbide India, Bhopal 1984
Union Carbide India Ltd, Bhopal, India. 3rd December 1984
Accident summary
In the early hours of 3 December 1984 a relief valve on a storage tank containing highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) lifted. A cloud of MIC gas was released which drifted onto nearby housing.
Prior to this, at 23.00 hrs on 2 December, an operator noticed the pressure inside the storage tank to be higher than normal but not outside the working pressure of the tank. At the same time a MIC leak was reported near the vent gas scrubber (VGS). At 00.15hrs a MIC release in the process area was reported. The pressure inside the storage tank was rising rapidly so the operator went outside to the tank. Rumbling sounds were heard from the tank and a screeching noise from the safety valve. Radiated heat could also be felt from the tank.
Attempts were made to switch on the VGS but this was not in operational mode.
Approximately 2,000 people died within a short period and tens of thousands were injured, overwhelming the emergency services. This was further compounded by the fact that the hospitals were unaware as to which gas was involved or what its effects were. The exact numbers of dead and injured are uncertain, as people have continued to die of the effects over a period of years.
The severity of this accident makes it the worst recorded within the chemical industry
 
India
Wendy.
ndbsdnm
Union Carbide company
It was the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), a subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC).
Warren Anderson - CEO of Union Carbide.
20,000 have died to date 120,000 continue to suffer
bhopal
The Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide manufacturing plant leaked a mixture of deadly gases in Bhopal.
methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas 1984
The Bhopal Disaster was caused by a cloud of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, which weighed 42 tonnes, released by an Union Carbide Pesticide plant.
Like any major accident, the union carbide accident was caused by negligence in handling/storing of Methyl IsoCyanat (MIC) by a personnel of UC Corp. a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemicals, USA. Ignorant regulators, meant to oversee the safety practices, did what they are best at, resulting into a disaster known globally as Bhopal Gas Tragedy killing over 3'000 people overnight and leaving over 40'000 permanently disabled.