Bhopal disaster was the worst industrial accident in history. It occurred on Dec. 3, 1984, at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. The disaster left thousands of people dead. Hundreds of thousands of others were poisoned.
On the night of Dec. 2, 1984, water entered a tank containing the poisonous gas methyl isocyanate (MIC). The MIC and water reacted, causing the pressure and temperature in the tank to rise rapidly. Around 1:00 a.m. on December 3, the pressure blew open a safety valve. A cloud of MIC and other toxic chemicals spilled into the air.
The deadly cloud spread through the city. Experts have estimated that some 3,000 people died within days of the leak. Thousands more became ill from exposure to the cloud. About 50,000 people suffered severe or permanent injuries. More than 200,000 people were forced to flee their homes. Through the years, the death toll from the disaster has risen, by some estimates, to about 15,000.
Lawsuits over the incident dragged on for years. In 1989, Union Carbide Corporation settled out of court. It agreed to pay some $470 million in compensation to the victims of the disaster. Campaigners for the victims claimed the amount was not enough.
In 2010, eight former executives at the company were found guilty of “causing death by negligence” in connection with the disaster. One of the executives had died prior to the ruling. The other seven defendants were sentenced to short prison terms and ordered to pay fines.
