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__ // How and why did it happen? // __ By Brianna and Kate

Bhopal happened when a pesticide plant, owned by Union Carbide (UCIL), released methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins. There are currently civil and criminal cases related to the disaster ongoing in the United States District Court, Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal, India against Union Carbide, which is now owned by Dow Chemical Company, with an Indian arrest warrant pending against Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster. No one has yet been prosecuted. Bhopal was an industrial accident that occurred and killed many thousands of people. The Bhopal disaster also happened because, during the night of December 2-3, 1984, large amounts of water entered tank 610, containing 42 tonnes of methyl isocyanate. The resulting exothermic reaction increased the temperature inside the tank to over 200°C (392°F), raising the pressure to a level the tank was not designed to withstand. This forced the emergency venting of pressure from the MIC holding tank, releasing a large volume of toxic gases into the atmosphere. The reaction sped up because of the presence of iron in corroding non-stainless steel pipelines. However, laboratory experiments conducted by CSIR and UCC scientists do not support the effect of iron as having any effect in speeding up the reaction. A mixture of poisonous gases flooded the city of Bhopal, causing great panic as people woke up with a burning sensation in their lungs. Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and many were trampled in the panic. Theories of how the water entered the tank differ. At the time, workers were cleaning out pipes with water, and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves, it was possible for the water to leak into tank 610. In December 1985 the //New York Times// reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of water was tested by the Central Bureau Investigators and was found negative. UCC also says that this route was not possible, and it was sabotage by a “disgruntled worker” who put water directly into the tank. Factors leading to the gas leak include:

The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC), Storing the chemicals in big tanks instead of in over 200 steel drums, Corroding material in the pipelines, Bad maintenance after the plant stopped production in the early 1980s, Failure of more than one safety system (due to poor maintenance), Safety systems were switched off to save money – including the MIC tank refrigeration system, which could have prevented the disaster all together.