"It felt like somebody had filled our bodies up with red chilies, our eyes had tears coming out, noses were watering, we had froth in our mouths. The coughing was so bad that people were writhing in pain... People were only concerned as to how they would save their lives so they just ran."
The above words are the actual words of one of the victims of the worst industrial disaster in history, Bhopal gas tragedy which occurred in the year 1984. Also known as Bhopal disaster, the tragedy occurred on the night of 2-3 December at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
On the 31st anniversary of the disaster, listed is all you want to know about it and some facts on the Bhopal disaster.
What is Bhopal gas tragedy?
In November 1984, most of the safety systems of the pesticide factory were not functioning properly
Some of the MIC tanks contained more MICs than the safety rules allowed
It is reported that during the night of December 2-3, 1984, water entered a side pipe that was missing its slip-blind plate and entered Tank E610, which contained 42 tons of MIC
The reaction which had already started was accelerated by contaminants, high temperatures and other factors, and sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel pipelines
The reaction increased the temperature inside the tank to over 200 degrees Celsius
About 30 metric tons of MIC escaped from the tank into the atmosphere in 45 to 60 minutes
It has been reported that apart from MIC, the gas cloud may have contained phosgene, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride, oxides of nitrogen, monomethyl amine and carbon dioxide
The initial effects of exposure were coughing, severe eye irritation, suffocation, burning in the respiratory tract, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting
Thousands of people had died, the following morning
Before the tragedy, multiple leaks were reported from the factory in the years 1982, 1983 and 1984
The reported reasons for these multiple leaks was that the safety systems had become faulty, lack of maintenance, pollution, and over filing of the tanks with MIC.
Some facts you should definitely know about the tragedy:
The leak affected a population of 5,20,000
Medical staff were unprepared for thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed/aware of proper treatment methods for MIC gas inhalation
The gases immediately caused damage to the trees and within a few days, all the leaves fell off
2,000 bloated animal carcasses were disposed off, the following day
Following the disaster, the next generation of children were born with conditions like brain damage, twisted limbs and musculoskeletal disorders.
Know more @ http://www.yupptv.com/india-today-live.html
Article Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/bhopal-gas-tragedy/1/537424.html
The above words are the actual words of one of the victims of the worst industrial disaster in history, Bhopal gas tragedy which occurred in the year 1984. Also known as Bhopal disaster, the tragedy occurred on the night of 2-3 December at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
On the 31st anniversary of the disaster, listed is all you want to know about it and some facts on the Bhopal disaster.
What is Bhopal gas tragedy?
In November 1984, most of the safety systems of the pesticide factory were not functioning properly
Some of the MIC tanks contained more MICs than the safety rules allowed
It is reported that during the night of December 2-3, 1984, water entered a side pipe that was missing its slip-blind plate and entered Tank E610, which contained 42 tons of MIC
The reaction which had already started was accelerated by contaminants, high temperatures and other factors, and sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel pipelines
The reaction increased the temperature inside the tank to over 200 degrees Celsius
About 30 metric tons of MIC escaped from the tank into the atmosphere in 45 to 60 minutes
It has been reported that apart from MIC, the gas cloud may have contained phosgene, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride, oxides of nitrogen, monomethyl amine and carbon dioxide
The initial effects of exposure were coughing, severe eye irritation, suffocation, burning in the respiratory tract, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting
Thousands of people had died, the following morning
Before the tragedy, multiple leaks were reported from the factory in the years 1982, 1983 and 1984
The reported reasons for these multiple leaks was that the safety systems had become faulty, lack of maintenance, pollution, and over filing of the tanks with MIC.
Some facts you should definitely know about the tragedy:
The leak affected a population of 5,20,000
Medical staff were unprepared for thousands of casualties
Doctors and hospitals were not informed/aware of proper treatment methods for MIC gas inhalation
The gases immediately caused damage to the trees and within a few days, all the leaves fell off
2,000 bloated animal carcasses were disposed off, the following day
Following the disaster, the next generation of children were born with conditions like brain damage, twisted limbs and musculoskeletal disorders.
Know more @ http://www.yupptv.com/india-today-live.html
Article Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/bhopal-gas-tragedy/1/537424.html
