Bhopal Tragedy

Bhopal India Disaster
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Abstract

The essay offers a comprehensive overview on Bhopal India Disaster and ethical responsibilities of the incident. Thousands of people were killed in Bhopal because of methyl isocyanate gas leakage from a pesticide plant. Union Carbide, the parent company of the subsidiary, took years to take moral responsibility of the incident and reached a settlement. It paid $470 million as the damage compensation the long-term health consequences of the Bhopal gas tragedy. The paper offers a brief overview of the case and discusses the thecal responsibilities of the parties involved. One looks at questions such as to who should be held ethically responsible, who should do cleaning up of the mess and why? Can one place the whole blame on the American company Union Carbide, or the Indian government too should share some moral responsibility. The disaster indicates the essentialities of setting up international standards for environmental safety and a growing awareness regarding preparedness for industrial disaster as well as how to avoid similar accidents.









Introduction
Tons of methyl isocyanate gas seeped from the Union Carbide plant (UCC) in Bhopal, India one December night in 1984. As the safety systems were not working, the gas soon spread throughout the city of Bhopal, thus exposing half a million people to the gas and. Because of the exposure to the deadly gas, about twenty-five thousand people died and more than 120,000 people suffered from disorders and ailments caused by the accident as reported (Union Carbide's Disaster, 2014). Within hours, the Bhopal city was littered with human corpses as well as carcasses of animals. The local hospitals were overwhelmed with the number of the patients and were unprepared to deal with the catastrophe of this level. Bhopal disaster is known as one of the worst chemical disasters in history and the city name has become synonymous with the tragedy.
Cause of the accident
According to Broughton (2005), the safety device designer that was meant to neutralize toxic discharge from the MIC system was turned off about three weeks before. Seemingly, because of the faulty valve, water intended for cleaning internal pipes mixed freely with forty tons of MIC. The refrigeration component that worked as a coolant for the MIC storing tank had been emptied of its coolant for use in a different part of the plant. The forceful exothermic reaction in the tank led to a rise in pressure and heat. Moreover, the gas flare safety system has been inspirational for the last three months.
The aftermath
Peterson (2009) states that the people smelled the gas about 1 am but due to the lack of information about what to do and a poorly organized Bhopal police led to only a panic. Medical staff made efforts to treat the patients but could do nothing much because of their limited knowledge. As most of the households impacted were very poor, the families have to bear the extra financial strain to survive. Those affected by the disaster suffered ailments such as difficulty in breathing, blindness, and gynecological disorders. High mercury levels were recorded in the groundwater and well-water. Chemical that can cause brain damage, cancer and birth-defect-causing were found in the water.
The reactions
UCC immediately began to dissociate itself from the responsibility of the disaster in Bhopal. It stated that the running of the unit was the sole responsibility of the Indian subsidiary. There were made-up scenarios related to attacks by unknown extremist groups or the disgruntled employees. UCC tried to manipulate and withhold scientific data at every stage. Even till this date, the company has not stated what was in the toxic cloud. The bright color of blood and viscera of the victims indicate acute cyanide poisoning.
The legal battles
The first multi-billion dollar lawsuit was filed in a U.S. court by an American attorney as Broughton (2005) states. This was the beginning of the long year of legal battles involving the ethical implications of the tragedy. Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act was initiated by the Indian government so as to speed up the legal proceedings. All legal cases were later placed completely under Indian jurisdiction. UCC accepted moral responsibility and agreed to pay $470 million to the Indian government. Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department states that the compensation was awarded to the survivors and families of the dead.
Utilitarian approach can be seen in the case as what forced the UCC to accept responsibility for the disaster as there were too many people impacted by the incident. Thousands had lost their lives and many more were suffering from various and serious health conditions. Utilitarianism ethical theory proclaims that the right course of action in any given situation depends on the amount of pleasure and pain experienced by everyone. Most analysts, legislators and managers base their business decision on the utilitarian principles.
Dow Chemical bought Union Carbide in 2001and thus acquired its properties and responsibilities. However, the company refused to compensate the victims, clean up the operation site or offer safe and clean drinking water for Bhopal people. It discontinued operation at Bhopal plants and did not clean up the industrial site completely. The plant continues to leak some toxic chemicals into local aquifers, and the people of Bhopal are left with no choice (Union Carbide's Disaster, 2014).
Ethical Responsibilities of the incident
The Bhopal plant shut down after the incident and never started its operations. The site of the plant is closely monitored by Indian courts and the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board and the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (Environmental Studies of the Bhopal Plant Site, 2014).
Who should be held ethically responsible for the Bhopal disaster and who should handle cleaning up of the mess? The tragedy of Bhopal is exceptional because of a large number of human casualties involved as well as the long-term ill effects on the health of the residents. It also draws attention to so many of those socio-legal issues that are often ignored in terms of environmental, and corporate justice as stated by Chopra (1994).
The Union Carbide was blamed locally and globally as it was a widespread belief that the multinationals have close control over their subsidiaries (Peterson, 2009). UCIL was made responsible ultimately for the tragedy as well as the condition of that plant and the level and training of staff. However, one cannot place the whole blame on Union Carbide. India and the authorities in Bhopal too have to shoulder a percentage of the blame and shoulder the ethical responsibility. As a developing nation, the Indian government should have assured that the transfer of technology is safe to conduct, so as to protect its citizens.
The cost-benefit approach, in this case, holds both the importers of hazardous technology as well as transnational corporations (TNCs). In this case, it is Indian government and the Union Carbide. The Indian government is satisfied because the imported technology is not only cheaper but will create more jobs. Union Carbide takes interest as it can expert cheaper and redundant technology to its foreign subsidiaries. Both parties are only concerned with the monetary gains and are not too bothered about the long-term ill effects on the human population in case a tragedy occurs (Chopra, 1994). Thus, one can hold the American company Union Carbide as well as the Indian government ethically responsible for the tragedy. The authorities in Bhopal carried a moral responsibility before agreeing to the low safety standards for the American plant. It was found that even regular maintenance schedule had been ignored. The failure of multiple stopcocks and corroded pipe allowed the water to flow freely into the main tank of MIC, thus spewing a deadly cloud of chemicals (Union Carbide's Disaster, 2014).
UCIL was a foreign company that was set up in India and thus subjected to Indian laws, and policies. The Indian directors looked after the day-to-day business of the company. This is a perfect example of a developing country seeking cheaper technology according to the local needs and expertise (Chopra, 1994). Dow Chemical is certainly responsible for cleaning up the mess, even if it bought out Union Carbide many years later. The 1989 settlement never addressed the environmental damages, and the contamination continues to spread. Dow paid the outstanding claim against Union Carbide for the Union Carbide workers in Texas but stated that it is not liable for the Bhopal accident.
Contractarianism refers to the legitimacy of political authority and how the people give up their rights to preserve social order. The moral norms here derive their force based on the idea of mutual agreement. In the Bhopal tragedy case, the common and poor people suffered as the legal battles raged, and no one was ready to take responsibility. The impact of the poisonous gases passed on to the second and even third generations. The Indian judiciary agreed to a paltry compensation and those who had suffered had little option but to accept whatever compensation was given to them.
I would have reacted in the same way in a similar situation and hold both the transferor and the transferee of hazardous materials responsible. In order to justify claims to mankind's overall social progress, one needs to set in place clear cut standards of international legal literature for such situations and demonstrate the capabilities to negotiate intellectually for the benefit of the humanity. It is seen that there are very weak links between the law and ethics and there are no fixed principles. Laws can change or even disappear with the changes in the ethical beliefs and the in the absence of any ethical delivery, the same law can be used as a tool for deceit.
Developing countries like India are particularly vulnerable to maintain technology as they lack the infrastructure but are eager to set up industrial plants to boost the economy and make jobs for the locals.
Conclusion
The Bhopal tragedy is a huge warning sign for other developing countries that are combating environmental and economic perils. The government and the multinational heavy industry organizations should work together to ensure complete protection of the public's health. With thousands dead in Bhopal, there are important lessons to be learned here. There is a lot more that needs to be done here for public health in the context of industrialization. In countries like India, it takes ages for the government to takes any serious action. The plant is still there, rotting and rusting as stated by Hayden (2014). Thirty. Neither Union Carbide nor the Indian government has taken any concrete steps in this direction or shoulder ethical responsibility. And, even decades after the Bhopal's Union Carbide Disaster, the survivors are still suffering.
According to Broughton, (2005), there were some positive changes seen after the Bhopal disaster and it was seen as a warning sign for developing countries in the path to industrialization. Attention was drawn to human, environmental and economic perils and pay increased attention to health and safety standards of the environment and the population.


















References
Broughton, E. (2005). The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: a review. Environmental Health, 4,
6. http://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-4-6
Chopra, S. K. (1994). Multinational Corporations In The Aftermath Of Bhopal: The Need For A
New Comprehensive Global Regime For Transnational Corporate Activity. Valparaiso
University Law Review, 29, 235-1417.
Environmental Studies of the Bhopal Plant Site. (2014). Retrieved from
http://www.bhopal.com/Environmental-Studies-of-Bhopal-Plant-Site

Hayden, S. (2014). Thirty Years After Bhopal's Union Carbide Disaster, Gas Leak Survivors Are
Still Suffering " VICE News. Retrieved from https://news.vice.com/article/thirty-years-after-
bhopals-union-carbide-disaster-gas-leak-survivors-are-still-suffering

Peterson, M. (2009). Bhopal Plant Disaster – Situation Summary. International Dimensions of
Ethics Education in Science and Engineering, 1(1), 1-8.
Union Carbide's Disaster. (2014). Retrieved from http://bhopal.org/what-happened/union-
carbides-disaster/














BHOPAL INDIA DISASTER 9

Running Head: BHOPAL INDIA DISASTER 1