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Originally Posted by Slraep It is a worldwide problem. In the Bhopal tragedy the Indian government and Union Carbide sunk to an all time low. The disgusting attempts at a coverup and the lack of human compassion are just unbelievable and revolting. Yet it happened! Everyone should know the true story.
Slraep |
The story of Bhopal.
It starts with Union Carbide selling pesticides to India. The Indian Government decided that they did not want to buy pesticides, instead they wanted them manufactured in India. Union Carbide was told to build a plant or leave India.
Union Carbide tried to convince India that the process was to dangerous. But they were not successful. Finally, Carbide agreed to build the plant in a remote part of India with a 5 kilometer no man's land (not individual could live within 5 km of the plant).
The 5 km restriction was not enforced by the Indian Government. The shanty town was started the same day plant construction began. The Indian Government ignored all protests and demanded that construction continue.
Before the "accident" the Indian management turned off the chiller that maintained the temperature of the MIC storage tank at 0 degrees Centigrade. The temperature was allowed to rise to 25 C. The temperature alarm was disabled. The storage tanks were equipped with vents that piped any escaping material to a scrubbing tower. A scrubbing tower is a large stack that is flood with water spray at the rate of 1000's of gallons per minute. The scrubbing town had been disassembled by the Indian management.
At this point, the MIC is at a very reactive temperature with only one safety line. The MIC unit and storage tanks were surround by water cannon capable of knocking any release of MIC>
Approximately 2000 gallons of water was pumped into the storage tank. The result was an exothermic reaction that broke the cap on the tank (the cap was 5 feet of reinforced concrete). A low cast Indian tried to warn the Unit Engineer who was having tea with the Plant Manager (neither of them were Low Cast). The man was sent berated for interrupting Tea, his message was never delivered.
The results are well known. All three safety measures failed. The chiller was broken, the scrubbing tower was removed, and the water cannons were never turned activated.
Thousands of people were killed, not one of them was a plant employee, all of the dead lived within the 5 km no man's land.
The plant at Bhopal was owned by Union Carbide India. 51% of the stock was owned by the Indian government, 49% was owned by Union Carbide USA. Not one employee of the plant was American, all were Indian Nationals. The Indian Government controlled the hiring process at the plant. Numerous protests by Union Carbide USA concerning the operation of the plant were ignored.
After the disaster, Union Carbide USA provided 200,000,000 USD in immediate aid of which only a small percentage reached Bhopal.
Does Union Carbide USA bare any responsibility? Yes, they put a hand grenade in the hands of infants and the infants pulled the pin. They are guilty of not having the moral will to resist blackmail. They are guilty of wanting to make a profit. There were many other stupid mistakes that Union Carbide USA made after the accident, the result is that Union Carbide no longer exist.
A complete analysis of all of Union Carbide's data was conducted by Arthur D. Little, London, their conclusion was that Union Carbide USA was not responsible for the tragic events in Bhopal and had, in fact, tried to resist the actions of the Indian Government and it plant management personnel that lead to the death of thousands.
Who pumped the water into the storage tank. A low caste employee seeking revenge against his supervisor. This fact is an investigative result of the interviews conducted by Indian investigators.
When talking about Bhopal, always remember that not one water cannon was activated and NOT ONE PLANT EMPLOYEE WAS INJURIED.
The end.......
