Bhopal disaster

Quick Facts: Who was Bhopal disaster?

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Bhopal disaster

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The 1984 Bhopal gas leak, one of history's worst industrial disasters.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

On December 3rd 1984, over 500,000 people in the vicinity of the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, were exposed to the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate, in what is considered the world's worst industrial disaster. A government affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused approximately 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. Estimates vary on the death toll, with the official number of immediate deaths being 2,259. Others estimate that 8,000 or more died from gas-related diseases. In 1989, Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) of the United States paid $470 million (equivalent to $1.03 billion in 2024) to settle litigation stemming from the disaster.

Career & Major Achievements

The owner of the factory, Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), was a publicly-traded company which was majority-owned and controlled by the UCC, while the remaining 49.1 percent stake was held by the Indian public and Indian government-controlled banks. In 1994, UCC sold its stake in UCIL to Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL), which subsequently merged with McLeod Russel (India) Ltd. Eveready ended clean-up on the site in 1998, when it terminated its 99-year lease and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya Pradesh. Dow Chemical Company purchased UCC in 2001, seventeen years after the disaster. Civil and criminal cases filed in the United States against UCC and Warren Anderson, chief executive officer of the UCC at the time of the disaster, were dismissed and redirected to Indian courts on multiple occasions between 1986 and 2012, as the US courts focused on UCIL being a standalone entity of India. Civil and criminal cases were also filed in the District Court of Bhopal, India, involving UCC, UCIL, and Anderson.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

In June 2010, seven Indian nationals who were UCIL employees in 1984, including the former UCIL chairman Keshub Mahindra, were convicted in Bhopal of causing death by negligence and sentenced to two years' imprisonment and a fine of about $2,000 each, the maximum punishment allowed by Indian law. All were released on bail shortly after the verdict. An eighth former employee was also convicted, but died before the judgement was passed. The UCIL factory was built in 1969 to produce the pesticide Sevin (UCC's brand name for carbaryl) using methyl isocyanate (MIC) as an intermediate. An MIC production plant was added to the UCIL site in 1979.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1969: 1969 Milestone — The UCIL factory was built in 1969 to produce the pesticide Sevin (UCC's brand name for carbaryl) using methyl isocyanate (MIC) as an intermediate.
2. 1979: 1979 Milestone — An MIC production plant was added to the UCIL site in 1979.
3. 1984: 1984 Milestone — On December 3rd 1984, over 500,000 people in the vicinity of the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India, were exposed to the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate, in what is considered the world's worst industrial disaster.
4. 1986: 1986 Milestone — Civil and criminal cases filed in the United States against UCC and Warren Anderson, chief executive officer of the UCC at the time of the disaster, were dismissed and redirected to Indian courts on multiple occasions between 1986 and 2012, as the US courts focused on UCIL being a standalone entity of India.
5. 1989: 1989 Milestone — In 1989, Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) of the United States paid $470 million (equivalent to $1.
6. 1994: 1994 Milestone — In 1994, UCC sold its stake in UCIL to Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL), which subsequently merged with McLeod Russel (India) Ltd.
7. 1998: 1998 Milestone — Eveready ended clean-up on the site in 1998, when it terminated its 99-year lease and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya Pradesh.
8. 2001: 2001 Milestone — Dow Chemical Company purchased UCC in 2001, seventeen years after the disaster.
9. 2006: 2006 Milestone — A government affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused approximately 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries.
10. 2010: 2010 Milestone — In June 2010, seven Indian nationals who were UCIL employees in 1984, including the former UCIL chairman Keshub Mahindra, were convicted in Bhopal of causing death by negligence and sentenced to two years' imprisonment and a fine of about $2,000 each, the maximum punishment allowed by Indian law.
11. 2024: 2024 Milestone — 03 billion in 2024) to settle litigation stemming from the disaster.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Bhopal disaster

True or False: “The initial cause of the disaster was solely due to a failure in the plant's nitrogen gas pressurization system.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While tank E610 lost its pressure ability, the runaway reaction was triggered by water entering the tank and accelerated by contaminants and high ambient temperatures.

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