1984-Union+Carbide+chemical+plant+explosion

On the night of December 2 leading into December 3 water leaked into a drum of a chemical called Methyl Isocyanate (MIC), in Bhopal, India. This caused a toxic cloud of MIC to leak around the shanty town, the results were devastating. Many woke up coughing with burning skin and eyes and by the morning many were dead and others were severely injured. The final death toll was 3,800 people and 11,000 with chemical mutations. The final cause of the the incident was determined as a disgruntled employee wanted to spoil a drum of MIC so he decided to combine the chemical with water. But what wasn't known was the combination of the two caused heat to build up in the drum and then caused an explosion. The Chemical Methyl Isocyanate is used for the production of plastics, pesticides, and polyurethane foam. This chemical is extremely toxic and has a strong intoxicating odor, but has such a quick response time that before anything can be done, damage has already occurred to the body. Some ways that one can come into contact with this chemical is to smoke cigarettes, work in or around a manufacturer, or to live around an area that produces this substance. If one were to become poisoned by MIC they would experience burning skin, chest pain, and vomiting; but these symptoms occur only when a person has been exposed for a long amount of time or a too large amount. And their is no vaccine for this kind of poisoning but their are pain medicines, intravenous fluids, and basic care to treat the problem.

Company History: The Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) is a company based out of the United States and is one of the worlds largest producers of polyethylene, petrochemicals, and is the grandfather of acetylene. This company is also responsible for producing the two most popular plastics used today. The UCC was first created to produce and manufacture calcium carbide which aided in the production of metal-alloys and from this they were able to create acetylene which in this time the company executives hoped it would be used for forms of lighting; but Thomas Edison's light bulb threw their efforts to the way side and they needed to find a new market for their product. Luckily the by-product that the UCC created found a new purpose in the gas market; if the acetylene was mixed with oxygen then it could create a hot burning flame that could cut metal.

Work Cited: Browning, Jackson B. "Union Carbide: Disaster at Bhopal." Union Carbide Corporation, 1993 Web. 15 Feb. 2011. [|www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/report-1.pdf].

"Bhopal Investigation." //Welcome to Geography. The Web Site of Hampstead School's Geography// //Department.// Union Carbide. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. [].

Ward Jr., Ken. "Tours of Bhopal Disaster Site Bring Outrage « Sustained Outrage." //Gazette Blogs//. 12 Nov. 2009. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. .