RISK AND HAZARD ASSESSMENT (ECW 736)
ASSIGNMENT 1 : ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER
( BHOPAL CHEMICAL DISASTER)
THE BHOPAL DISASTER
INTRODUCTION
The Bhopal Disaster is a disaster that relate with Environment, Human and Economy. The Bhopal Disaster is a well known chemical disaster that have occurred on the night of 2 and 3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. It is known as the worst industrial disaster that had happened in human history. The disaster had killed 2259 innocent citizen and yet 8000 had died after two weeks. Over 500, 000 people were exposed to Methyl iso-cyanate gases and other chemicals.
Methyl iso-cyanate is an organic compound ( intermediate chemical) in the production or Carbaryl, Carbofuran and Methomyl. It have been use widely in rubbers industries and adhesives. It is a highly toxical chemical and extremely hazardous to human health. It is a principal or main chemical that had killed 8000 people initially and approximately 20,000 to 30,000 people in total in Bhopal Disaster.
HOW IT HAPPENED
During the night of December 2-3 1984, a storage tank containing methyl iso-cyanate at the Union Carbide leaked gas into the environment with populated city of Bhopal. It is happened when there is a water leaked into the tank E610 which caused the Methyl iso-cyanate to heat up. It was happened during the routine cleaning of the pipe but the safety valve inside the pipe were faulty and the water leak into the tank. Methyl Iso-cyanate react actively with water and heat up the tank and its pressure gauge. Union Carbide had claim that there are a sabotage by the workers.
Due to high pressure, By 12.15 am, on the morning of December 3, 1984, MIC ( Methyl Iso-cyanate) gas were leaking out from the storage tank. It is estimate that there are 27 tons of MIC gas escaped out of the container and spread across the densely populated city of Bhopal. Although a warning siren was turned on, it was quickly turned off again not to cause panic.
At that night, most of the Bhopal resident is sleeping. Some of them woke up because they heard their children coughing and choking on the fumes. As they jumped up from their bed, they felt their eyes and throat burning. There are some of them fell into the ground unconscious and died.
FIGURE 1.0 : THE SYSTEMS THAT FAIL
HAZARD OF METHYL ISOCYANATE TO HEALTH
There are several Health effect of Methyl Iso-cyanate, one of it is Physological Effect. The people who survive from the disaster had to face trauma for their whole life since the disaster has taken away their family from them. The dies of cattle and economy drop had make them become poorer than before.
Methyl Iso-cyanate is a very toxic gas that can enter into human body through inhalation. Many of the victims killed because they inhaled the toxic gases. There are a few of the victim have a coma, significant lesions in the central nervous system. Generally the health effect of MIC can be divided into two which is Immediate health effect and Long term Health effect. Those two effect are :
Immediate Health Effect ( 0-6 month) Long Term Health Effects
⦁ Ocular: Chemosis (eye irritation), redness, watering, ulcers, photophobia
⦁ Ocular: Persistent watering, corneal opacities, chronic conjunctivitis
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⦁ Respiratory: Distress, pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, pneumothorax
⦁ Respiratory: Obstructive and restrictive airway disease, decreased lung function
⦁ Gastrointestinal: Persistent diarrhea, anorexia, persistent abdominal pain
⦁ Reproductive: Increased pregnancy loss, increased infant mortality, decreased placental/fetal weight
⦁ Psychological: Neuroses, anxiety states, adjustment reactions
⦁ Genetic: Increased chromosomal abnormalities
⦁ Neurobehavioral: Impaired audio and visual memory, impaired vigilance attention and response time, Impaired reasoning and spatial ability, impaired psychomotor coordination
⦁ Neurobehavioral: Impaired associate learning, motor speed, and precision
⦁ ⦁ Cancer and Leukimia
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TABLE 1 : THE HEALTH EFFECT OF METHYL ISO-CYANATE
RISK PEOPLE
Bhopal Disaster name is taken from the name of the city that the disaster happened. Bhopal is the city of Madya Pradesh is one of the fastest growing city in India in the 1960s and 1970s. There are so many unemployed people from the countryside came here looking for jobs and opportunity. The state government was very interested in industrial base. As in other Indian cities, growth was haphazard and planning frequently followed after people had settled on an unoccupied area of land and built themselves improvised shelters.
The resident house is basically made from mud and lacked of basic infrastructure such as piped water, sewage , road and electricity. There are about 300 000 population of Bhopal people when UCIL ( Union Carbide International Limited ) building the first plant. After some times, the population is increasing. The large portion of the area next to the plant is still uninhabited though it was about 2 miles from the center of the old city and very near to neighborhood with hospital and railway station. Because of the first plant, electricity was brought to the city and supplied to many part of the city.
The Bhopal Disaster is risky to approximately 800 000 people around the area especially to the children, woman, and men. There are some people state that there are about 200 000 children affected by the disaster. The gases spread over 40 square kilometer affected all the people at that region.
The next affected or risky people is the workers of Bhopal Disaster. The workers of Union Carbide did not given much information about what they are doing. Many of the expertise had quit from the company due to company situation about workers welfare. The workers is the first risky people that exposed to chemical hazard from Bhopal Disaster. Some of them are trapped and died in the plant area.
HAZARD LIKELIHOOD
Generally there are five type of hazard which is Chemical Hazard, Physical Hazard, Biological Hazard, Psychological Hazard and Radiation Hazard. In Bhopal Disaster, there are two main hazard which is Chemical hazard and Physical hazard. The type of hazard and their likelihood is shown in the table below.
HAZARD TYPE OF HAZARD LIKELIHOOD
Methyl Iso-cyanate Chemical Hazard Unevitable :
Methyl Iso-cyanate ( MIC) is a very toxic chemical and dangerous to human and environment. People who expose to it will suffer several health effect which is eye irritation and cancer.
Generally cause dead to human.
Carbaryl Chemical Hazard Highly Likely :
Carbaryl is a chemical that been used as pesticide. It is classified as a likely human carcinogen.
Carbaryl also can cause cancer. Generally can cause dead if exposed for long time.
Chloroform Chemical Hazard Highly Likely :
Another product from Bhopal Disaster. Chloroform has contaminate the ground water that been drinking by people. Chloroform has been found in woman breast milk at Bhopal. It is immediately dangerous to life and health at approximately 500 ppm, Breathing about 900 ppm for a short time can cause dizziness, fatigue, and headache.
Heat Physical Hazard Possible :
Heat is a physical hazard from Bhopal Disaster. The heat is come from the reaction of MIC with water inside the tank.
Heat can cause Dehydration and heat stress Also can cause fatigue and disorientation. Heat can possibly cause dead to human if exposed for a long time.
Stress Psychological Hazard Possible :
Stress cause by the management of Union Carbide that did not take care about workers. They neglect safety of the workers and citizen. Stress can cause mental disorder to workers and lead to suicide.
Conclusion
The Bhopal disaster was the product of a capitalist system which puts profits before human life and exploits global inequalities. To prevent further such disasters, we need a new system in which workers control production so that they can use safety wisely, and where production is for need not for profit, so there is no incentive. The Bhopal Disaster is a moral story of where sustainable development is important. Three root of sustainable development which is Human, Environment and Socio Economy must be maintain to make sure that the country is in right pathway.
References
⦁ Case Study : Bhopal plant disaster pdf ( M.J Peterson, 2009)
⦁ Greenpeace : Justice for Bhopal
www.greenpeace.org/justice for bhopal (2013).
⦁ Article The Bhopal gas tragedy : An environmental disaster ( S. Sri Ramachari, April 2004).
⦁ Methyl Iso Cyanate Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet,
( http://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1270.pdf )
(New jersey department of health and senior service, April 2002 ).