Shortly after 12 midnight on December 2, 1984, an industrial accident began to occur at the Union Carbide chemical plant in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal – which has gone down in history as the world’s worst industrial disaster.

A toxic gas known as methyl isocyanate began to leak from the plant, resulting in what is now known as
Bhopal Gas Tragedy where an estimated 3,000 people died, while thousands, if not millions, continue to suffer from the ill effects of the gas even today – 40 years after the accident.

What went wrong? How did the gas leak? Who was responsible for the world’s worst industrial disaster? And where does the matter stand today?

We go back in time and give you all the answers.

The night of the deadly Bhopal gas leak

The Union Carbide factory on the outskirts of Bhopal was a pesticide manufacturing company, a subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), an American company.

On the night of December 2, 1984, an engineer at the plant was flushing water through a corroded pipe when a series of valves failed, allowing the water to flow freely into one of the three-story tanks containing the toxic liquid chemical. This caused a quick and violent reaction. The tank shattered in its concrete casing, spewing out a deadly cloud of MIC, hydrogen cyanide, monomethylamine and other chemicals.

Soon, people living around the plant began to complain of a burning sensation in their eyes, while others reported difficulty breathing, resulting in fainting and unconsciousness. As Aziza Sultan told a survivor The Guardian“Around 12:30 I woke up to the sound of my baby coughing badly. In the dim light, I saw that the room was filled with a white cloud.

– I heard many people screaming. They shouted ‘Run! Term!’. Then I started coughing, with each breath it seemed like I was breathing in fire. My eyes burned.”

No one understood what was happening and along with the toxic gases mixed in the air came panic. All you could see was doomsday – people vomiting in the street, others convulsing and dropping dead. Few were even suffocated by their own bodily fluids.

Those who managed to get to hospital were confronted by doctors who did not know what to do. In many cases, the hospitals did not have the equipment to handle such a situation.

It is difficult to put a death toll on the event – ​​Union Carbide put the number at 3,800. However, municipal workers said there were 15,000 bodies.

The Bhopal Gas tragedy lives on

And even 40 years later
the tragedy continues to live on. People who survived the first night of terror struggle with various ailments and diseases. Take Gas Devi, who was born on the night of terror. A day laborer, Gas struggles with constant pain in her chest, one of her lungs is not fully developed and she keeps getting sick.

“My life is a living hell,” Devi said AFP. “I wish I had died that night.”

And Gas is not alone. Rashida Bi, a survivor, said The Guardian“The lucky ones are those who died that night.”

Also Read: At Remember Bhopal Museum, the story of those affected by the 1984 disaster is preserved against apathy, neglect

That’s because while the Union Carbide plant was closed, there was no cleanup. The gases continue to mix in the air and have now mixed with the groundwater. Tests of groundwater near the site previously revealed cancer- and birth-harm-causing chemicals 50 times higher than what is accepted as safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This has led to many suffering from cancer and brain damage. A 2023 study found that the accident affected a generation of babies still in the womb.

A 2019 report by the United Nations’ International Labor Organization (ILO) said at least 30 tons of the toxic gas affected more than 600,000 workers and nearby residents.

Another NGO’s study pointed out that those diagnosed with diabetes, coronary artery disease, neuropathies and arthritis were three times higher among people exposed to the gas leak.

And if you want proof of the tragedy, a visit to the people who live there will prove it. Ask Tasleem Bano, a 48-year-old who was exposed to the gas as a child. To talk to AFPshe said, “My son’s twin died in my womb. And even the one who survived couldn’t speak until he was six years old.”

“Doctors say he’s like this because of the gas,” Tasleem said.

Mortality among the exposed population is also much higher. Satinath Sarangi, founder of Sambhavna, a clinic, says: “In 2011, we had done an inventory through our registered cohorts and we found that there was 28 percent more mortality among those exposed to the gas.”

Demand compensation for Bhopal Gas tragedy

In the aftermath of the accident, a legal battle began, with activists demanding damages and for Union Carbide to take responsibility for its actions in the tragedy.

In 1985, due to lack of legislation on the same, India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act, which allowed the Indian government to act as the legal representative of the victims.

A case was brought against Union Carbide and its chairman, Warren Anderson, was arrested but subsequently released on bail, after which he left the country. In 1991, he was charged in India with “culpable homicide not amounting to murder”. However, he was never brought to trial and
died at age 92 at a nursing home in Florida in 2014.

Five years after the tragedy, in February 1989, the government and Union Carbide reached an out-of-court settlement of $470 million. According to the Supreme Court, the family of the dead would get Rs 1,00,000-3,00,000. Fully or partially disabled would get Rs 50,000 to 5,00,000 and those with a temporary injury would get Rs 25,000-1,00,000.

In 2010, the Indian government filed a curative petition seeking additional compensation from Dow Chemicals – the company that bought Union Carbide. The plea stated that the previous settlement was based on incorrect data about deaths and losses. Furthermore, the environmental damage had not been taken into account.

On March 14, 2023, a
Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice SK Kaul and comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Abhay S Oka, Vikram Nath and JK Maheshwar dismissed the petition.

Rachna Dhingra, a social activist, notes that justice eludes the survivors of the tragedy. In one AFP report, she says, “Until today, not a single individual has gone to jail – not even for a day – for killing more than 25,000 people and injuring half a million people and polluting the land and groundwater. Bhopal has taught companies how you get away with murder.”

With input from agencies