The Catastrophe and Its Aftermath

The Bhopal gas tragedy of December 1984 remains unparalleled in history as one of the world`s worst ever industrial accidents, in terms of the magnitude of destruction and the number of deaths. The tragedy that shook the world took place on the nights of 2-3 December 1984 at the pesticide plant of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), a US-based multinational company, located on the outskirts of Madhya Pradesh`s capital, Bhopal.

In the early hours of 3 December 1984, 42 tonnes of toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) were  accidentally released from the Union Carbide pesticide plant, exposing more than 5,00,000 people through the city to toxic gases. The result was nightmarish, quickly making the city a graveyard, with hundreds of dead human and animal bodies filling the streets.

Though the estimates of casualties vary considerably among sources, it is indisputable that the tragedy had a devastating impact in terms of the number of deaths and people affected. Even `official` and conservative estimates claim that about 2,500-4,000 lives were lost whereas there are reports stating that the actual death toll was between  8,000- 10,000, within the first 72 hours of the leakage, and about 25,000 have since died from gas-related diseases.

 The immediate victims of the disaster included city dwellers, who fled their houses en masse, as well as rail passengers who collapsed in the waiting halls and platforms of Bhopal railway station. Estimates suggest that more than 85,000 residents fled Bhopal in the wake of the gas leak. Most deaths were due to respiratory failure, following pulmonary oedema (fluid in the lungs). The lungs of the gas victims had 250 cc of fluid and weighed 900 gm against the normal lung weight of 400 to 500 gm. The local cremation grounds were kept busy round the clock for several days following the leakage. The collective cremation of corpses to clear the backlog and the burial of unclaimed bodies were also reported.

The disaster became much more severe because it left several thousand inhabitants of the city with permanent or partial disabilities. Genetic and reproductive after-effects of the disaster were devastating, with pregnant women exposed to the gas having abortions or giving birth to stillborns. Even those who survived the tragedy have been living through the horrible reality of incapacitated bodies, crippled children being born to gas-affected parents, contaminated drinking water and poverty. Even two decades after the mishap, about 30,000 to 50,000 people in Bhopal find themselves too ill to ever return to their jobs. Groundwater contamination, arising out of toxic waste from the Bhopal gas tragedy, threatens the health of an entire new generation of the city`s inhabitants. About 8,000 tonnes of toxic waste still lie scattered and exposed on the premises of the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal.

Corporate Negligence and Deficient Rehabilitation

The main reason for the disaster was the inadequate provision and maintenance of safety measures. None of the six safety systems at the Union Carbide plant were functional at the time of tragedy. Further, it is evident that the company designed the plant with unproven and untested technology and paid inadequate attention to safety measures in order to cut costs. Indian authorities are also accountable for the laxity in monitoring and implementing safety standards.

Experts opine that the impact of the disaster would have been much less had the plant been located far away from the city and if there were proper information about the identity and toxicity of the gas. The magnitude of the death toll could have been mitigated to a great extent if the doctors in the Bhopal hospitals had some clue about the exact chemical composition of the killer gas. Union Carbide, the company which is responsible for the accident, showed the highest degree of corporate negligence by not divulging the formula of the toxic gas, methyl isocyanate (MIC), zealously guarding it as an industrial trade secret! Reports from various sources suggest that because the doctors in Bhopal had no clue to the formulation of MIC, they largely administered drugs for cyanide poisoning, which did not help the victims.

The US multinational stonewalled all queries apropos the antidotes to MIC poisoning, while the death toll skyrocketed. The company showed more interest and diverted much resources and attention to under reporting the death toll and the severity of the accident. All that the Union Carbide divulged, regarding the composition of the MIC, was a statement saying, “It had nothing to do with cyanide and that the two substances had entirely different effects on tissues and human health.”

The same attitude of indifference was maintained by Union Carbide in the legal recourse that followed the disaster. Whereas the criminal case against the company was protracted without any conclusion, the civil case, seeking due compensation to the victims, was closed after the company arrived at a settlement before the Supreme Court in 1989. Under the settlement, the company paid $470 million to the Government of India on behalf of all the victims. Accordingly, the victims, on an average, received Rs 25,000 in case of illness and Rs 1,00, 000 in case of a death in the family.

The unjust nature of the above settlement and the improper consideration of the claims of the victims and the survivors have been themes for detailed discussion since then. The settlement is a classic example for the double standards of the Union Carbide company in treating victims of similar industrial disasters. Whereas the company, along with other parties involved, paid a much higher amount to compensate the potential damages of Silicon Breast Implants, the compensation in the case of Bhopal was too meagre; only US $ 200 if the award amount of $470 million were to be distributed equally among all the victims. The company also managed to successfully realise its merger with Dow Chemicals in 2001 and thereby vanished as an entity that could be readily held  accountable for the damages due to the disaster. Although Dow Chemicals acquired Carbide`s liabilities, it refuses to address its social responsibilities in Bhopal, naturally expected from a firm that sowed disaster in the locality.

Twenty-four years after the tragedy, its victims are yet to receive adequate succor. Many of them continue to battle deadly diseases and are leading pitiable lives due to lack of adequate compensation. Periodic protests and the regular observance of the anniversary of the tragedy remind us of the promises that are not kept in terms of relief to and rehabilitation of `the living dead in Bhopal`.

Alongside the medical care of the gas tragedy victims and their children not having been adequately addressed, the authorities have even failed to provide a clean and healthy environment for the thousands of citizens in the tragedy affected locality. The local community still depends on water sources polluted by the toxins left behind by the US multinational. Recent environmental studies indicate that tons of toxic materials dumped at the old plant have now seeped into the groundwater, raising a threat to the health of a new generation of Bhopal citizens. All these point to the possibility of a second disaster in the making, failing effective and immediate intervention from the authorities.

The Message of Bhopal

The Bhopal gas disaster is a strong warning to rapidly industrialising economies in the third world. The tragedy raises crucial and fundamental issues related to development as well as adoption, transfer and dissemination of potentially hazardous technology. On the one hand, it is an eye opener to the development planners in developing countries, who do not attach much attention in maintaining and monitoring occupational safety standards at workplace, in their craze for attracting foreign capital. On the other hand, it openly mirrors the criminal indifference of the multinational corporations, while addressing the welfare of working poor and local community of their host countries.