Bhopal disaster, the terrible gas tragedy

The night of 2nd and 3^rd of December, 1984 still remains memorable in the minds of the people and the government of Madhya Pradesh because of what happened on that fateful night. This is the day the Bhopal Disaster happened. The Union Carbide India limited which used to manufacture and produce phosgene monomethylamine (MMA), Sevin which is also referred to as pesticide carbaryl and methylisocyanate is the industry involved in this disaster.
What happened is that the MIC storage tank with 40 metric tons of MIC mixed with water which entered the tank by mistake causing a chain reaction that led to;

• Rise in temperature
• Increase in pressure
• Led to further reaction of the steel tank producing a lot of gas
• MIC and vapor to escaped in to the neighboring village killing people in their beds and in the streets

Those who were affected by the gas were easy to note because they showed the following signs

• Vomiting
• Burning sensation in the eyes
• Burning sensation in the throat

When one inhaled this gas, it clogged the lungs by causing internal secretions which made breathing difficulty. In some cases some people experienced spasmodic constriction of the bronchial that led to massive suffocation, the results of the accident led to;

• Dead – 300
• Injured 200,000- 600,000

How it happened?

According to the findings, the disaster was caused by a combination of legal, technological and errors attributed to human beings. The seepage of 500 liters of water in to the MIC tank was massive and is suspected to have triggered chain reactions that led to the disaster.
The effect of the accident was exuberated by the following factors

• Failure of containment
• Lack of safety measures
• Lack of community information
• Lack of community procedures

Aftermaths

The aftermaths of the accidents are many and varied and are still being felt right now.

• The area has not be decontaminated fully
• Compensation was not adequate
• The area is still dangerous
• Another 30,000 people have died after the accident
• Over 500,000 people have been  infected