Bhopal, India Disaster Of 1984 - 1028 Words

Introduction This paper will examine the Bhopal, India disaster of 1984 focusing on the ethical responsibility of Union Carbide. In the rest of this document is the case that a corporation has a responsibility to behave ethically if for no other reason than increase in long term profitability. Background In 1969 the Union Carbide plan was built in Bohpal India. The plant was operated by Union Carbide India Ltd (Leonard, 2010). 50.9% of the plant was owned by Union Carbide (of which Union Carbide India Ltd was a subsidiary), 22% of the plan was owned by the Indian Government and the remaining 27.1% ownership was spread over approximately 23500 Indian Citizens (Trotter, Day, Love, 1989). In 1977 an additional plant began construction though before completion in 1979 some portions of the plant were redesigned. The plant was built to have a maximum annual production capacity of 5000 tons of Sevin though this production level was never reached. In 1982 an audit of the plant pointed out 10 safety deficiencies, of which 2 remained unresolved by 1984. However the plant managers at the plant had writing Union Carbide in the US stating that all problems from the 1982 audit had been rectified. (Trotter, Day, Love, 1989) The Union Carbide plant in Bhopal had been losing money and a number of cost saving measures were taken. These measures resulted including the reduction of equipment operators in 1983 from 12 to 5 employees per shift. This change caused many operators to quit whichShow MoreRelatedUnion Carbides Bhopal Disaster1301 Words   |  6 PagesUnion Carbide s Bhopal Disaster In 1984, as if in a nightmare, a cloud of poison gas reached out and snuffed the lives of thousands of people in the sleeping city of Bhopal, India. The residents awoke to a terrible disaster, a chemical explosion whose memory could never be erased. At the center of the tragedy was the Union Carbide pesticide plant, and surrounding the accident were doubts and accusations of negligence and unethical practices. The Disaster On December 3, 1984, one of the worldRead MoreEssay about Bhopal Ethical Issues1307 Words   |  6 Pages1. Introduction: In the morning of December 3, 1984 a tragic event occurred in the city of Bhopal, the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It has been known as the worlds worst industrial disaster. A Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL)s plant released 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas which instantly killed over 3,000 people and carrying on causing the death of more than 20,000. This tragic event involved not only the technical, safety issues at the time, but also ethical issues on the responsibilityRead MoreBhopal Ethical Issues1350 Words   |  6 Pages1. Introduction: In the morning of December 3, 1984 a tragic event occurred in the city of Bhopal, the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It has been known as the world s worst industrial disaster. A Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL) s plant released 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas which instantly killed over 3,000 people and carrying on causing the death of more than 20,000. This tragic event involved not only the technical, safety issues at the time, but also ethical issues on the responsibilityRead MoreBhopal Gas Disaster Of 19841247 Words   |  5 PagesThe Bhopal Gas Disaster of 1984 INTRODUCTION On the Night of December 2, 1984, there was a horrific accident at the Union Carbide Pesticide Chemical Factory in Bhopal, India. The factory produced a chemical called methyl isocyanate (MIC) also know by Union Carbide as â€Å"Liquid Dynamite†. It is an organic compound with the molecular formula CH3NCO MIC is a highly reactive intermediate chemical used to manufacture various pesticides. This chemical reacts exothermically with water and produces a poisonousRead MoreBhopal, Bhopal And Its Effects900 Words   |  4 Pagesyears ago in Bhopal, India, an accident at the Union Carbide pesticide plant led to around thirty tons of highly toxic gases to fill the air and spread through the nearby towns. When the accident occurred, over 600,000 people were exposed to the very deadly gas. Over the past years, 15,000 people have been killed by the disaster and it’s effects. (Union Carbide Corporation, 2001-2014) Toxic material still remains in Bhopal to this day. (Taylor, 2014) This accident occurred in 1984 at the Union CarbideRead MoreBhopal Gas Tragedy984 Words   |  4 PagesBhopal Gas Tragedy Product - Brand name Sevin (Union Carbide) - Third most used insecticide in US - Not fatal to people Carbaryl - Does not cause cancer Chemistry TLV = 0.02 ppm Methyl isocyanate Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) Clear, colourless, b.p. 39oC, odour threshold 2.1 ppm Effects of 0.4 ppm - Coughing - Chest pain - Breathing pain (dyspnea) - Asthma - Eye irritation - Nose, throat, skin damage Effects of 21 ppm - Lung oedema - Emphysema (damage of lung tissue) - hemorrhaging - bronchialRead MoreComparing and Contrast the Chemical Disasters at Bhopal in India and Seveso in Italy1362 Words   |  6 Pagessome serious mistakes which caused a huge damage and large amount of death to people. In this essay, I am going to write about the two disasters that caused a lot of injures by the explosion of poisonous chemicals, which located in India and Italy. According to Shrivastava (1996), on the night of 2/3 December 1984, an enormous accident happened in Bhopal, India, the highly poisonous and unbalanced chemical gas was escaped from the factory and continue to spread over the city which caused by theRead MoreThe Gas Leak Tragedy Of Bhopal1071 Words   |  5 PagesThe Gas Leak Tragedy of Bhopal, India is considered the worst industrial disaster in history. Originally, the Bhopal pesticide plants were to be some of the best and most beautiful plants which would have huge production capabilities. However, in 1984 there was a massive leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) which spread out to local communities and has negatively affected the health of hundreds of thousands of people. The reason why the pesticide plant was created was for the â€Å"Green Revolution† in theRead MoreThe Bhopal Disaster of 19846444 Words   |  26 PagesBulletin of Science, Technology Society http://bst.sagepub.com/ The Bhopal Disaster of 1984 Roli Varma and Daya R. Varma Bulletin of Science Technology Society 2005 25: 37 DOI: 10.1177/0270467604273822 The online version of this article can be found at: http://bst.sagepub.com/content/25/1/37 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com On behalf of: National Association for Science, Technology Society Additional services and information for Bulletin of Science, Technology Read MoreBhopal Gas Tragedy : A Terrible Gas Leak1642 Words   |  7 PagesSutton November 11, 2015 Bhopal Gas Tragedy A terrible gas leak on December 2nd and 3rd, 1984 had some of the worst impacts on the central part of India. It happened in the late night and early morning hours on those days when the clouds where filled with gray smoke which contained Methyl Isocyanate(MIC), one of the most poisonous gases from Union Carbide plant in the city of Bhopal. It was called one of the world’s most dangerous environmental disasters. The people of Bhopal had no idea what was coming