In march 1985, the indian government enacted the bhopal gas leak disaster act as a way of ensuring that claims arising from the accident would be dealt with speedily and equitably. Bhopal gas tragedy and investigation complete report. The bhopal disaster of 1984 indiaenvironmentportal. In december 1981, phosgene gas leak caused death of a plant operator, another leak affected several people. Bhopal gas tragedy 1984 inside story the bhopal disaster or bhopal gas tragedy was an industrial disaster that occurred on the night of december 3, 1984 at the. A history of massacre union carbide started out as a carbon company in 1886 and diversified to gases and chemicals during world war i.
The bhopal disaster which is commonly referred toas bhopal gas tragedy was a gas leak incident inindia, considered one of the worlds worstindustrial catastrophes. The economic times newspaper led its front page with the headline after 25 years, another tragedy strikes bhopal. Approximately, one third of its one million inhabitants live in closely compact housing in. Bhopal gas tragedy case study development of absolute.
This was the beginning of years of legal machinations in which the ethical implications of the tragedy and its affect on bhopal s people were largely ignored. In the early hours of december 3, 1984, methylisocyanate mic gas leaked from a plant owned, managed and operated by union carbide india limited ucil in the central india city of bhopal. View bhopal gas tragedy research papers on academia. Bhopal gas tragedy and its ethical issues 3035 words. In this article we attempt to piece together material which throws light on issues related to corporate responsibility. Corporate culpability, bhopal the bhopal gas tragedy 1984 to. Ethical case study bhopal disaster construction essay. Corporate culpability, bhopal the bhopal gas tragedy.
Union carbide maintains that they only had limited contact to the sight and it is now the responsibility of the indian government to take charge and help the people and the environment. In 1984, the bhopal gas tragedy caused death to more than 2,000 people in the first few days, but many thousands more died later on from the. Government responsibility for bhopal gas tragedy radhika ramaseshan the mass of technical detail thrown up by all the speculation, explanations and theories emanating from official and private quarters in the aftermath of the bhopal gas tragedy has established the culpability of union carbide for the mass killing. The tragedy was a result of the leak of the methyl isocyanate mic gas from the union carbide india ltd ucil plant which manufactured pesticides. The above factors are those which we have identified in our investigation of largemagnitude incidents, and many of these factors played a role in the investigation of the bhopal incident. The bhopal disaster and its aftermath as a case study in.
The 2003 annual report of the madhya pradesh bhopal gas tragedy relief and rehabilitation department stated that by october 2003 a total of. In december 1984, a union carbide pesticide plant in bhopal, india, leaked over forty tons of the poisonous gas methyl isocyanate into the community surrounding the plant. It happened at a union carbide subsidiary pesticide plant in the city of bhopal, india. Bhopal disaster simple english wikipedia, the free. In a file picture taken on december 4, 1984 soldiers guard the entrance of union carbide factory in bhopal after a deadly poison gas leak.
Every corporate has a special continuing responsibility towards the people of the area in which it is located and in. Over 20,000 people are estimated to have died from exposure to this gas since 1984, with some 120,000 chronically ill survivors. The supreme court order dated july 19,2004, ordering relief for bhopal gas victims is a case of the long arm of justice 20 years after the event. Having considered what happened on the night of 2 december 1984, you now need to turn your attention to the consequences of the leak of toxic gas. Values, ethics and business decisions marc le menestrel. Bhopal disaster, chemical leak in 1984 in the city of bhopal, madhya pradesh state, india. The bhopal disaster bhopal gas tragedy happened by gas leak incident occurred at the night time of 23 am in december of 1984. The bhopal gas tragedy the numerous safety systems with which this type of plant is equipped enable us to control any ofthe mic s potentially dangerous reactions. This paper describes the inadequacies in the response of the union carbide corporation to the accidental release of the highly toxic gas, methyl isocyanate, from its plant in bhopal, india in 1984. A leak of methyl isocyanate gas and otherchemicals from the plant resulted in.
The bhopal disaster or bhopal gas tragedy was an industrial accident. Gupta of the indian institute of technology kanpur organized the international conference on the 20th anniversary of the bhopal gas tragedy, in kanpur, india 16. The bhopal gas tragedy is, till date, the worlds worst industrial disaster. It occurred on the night of december23, 1984 at the union carbide indialimited, a pesticide plant in bhopal,madhya pradesh, india. It may have caused some industrial safety procedures to improve, but the survivors of the tragic bhopal gas disaster are still fighting for compensation. It occurred in december of 1984 at bhopal in madhya pradesh. On the date the tragedy occurred, i e, 2 december 1984, the bhopal plant was operated by union carbide india ltd ucil as a subsidiary of union carbide corporation of us ucc. Bhopal disaster industrial accident, bhopan, india 1984. No less than the law minister and a former chief justice have said justice has been delayed and denied.
Bhopal gas tragedy corporate social responsibilty posted on august 20, 2010 by avisheknoel corporate social responsibility csr, a term widely used in the corporate world to showcase ones contribution to the society on the whole through different selfregulated mechanisms and activities concerning the environment, consumers, employees. For a full report on what union carbide corporation says about the bhopal gas disaster, please visit. Bhopal gas tragedy and its ethical issues summary bhopal gas tragedy was a gas leak incident in india, considered one of the worlds worst industrial catastrophes. Disaster management in india by ministry of home affairs, recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation, bhopal gas tragedy, at 127. The result of this gas leak caused risks for more than half million people by exposing them to chemicals hazards. On whether and how the indian companies act, 1956 can be used to make a case for imposing social responsibility on corporations. Bhopal disaster bhopal disaster took place in the early morning of december 3, 1984. Union carbide corporation managed to wrangle out of the bhopal gas tragedy by exploiting. It was due to the release of 27 tonnes of methyl isocyanate mic gas from union carbide india, limited. The 1984 bhopal gas disaster involved a catastrophic failure at union carbide corporation ucc, pesticide manufacturing plant at bhopal, india.
Survivors of the worlds worst industrial disaster in. At the time, it was called the worst industrial accident in history. Lessons for corporate social responsibility article in social responsibility journal 4. Bhopal gas tragedy and investigation complete report reality views by sm wednesday, june 09, 2010 updated on tuesday, march 01, 2011 the bhopal gas disaster or tragedy occurred in 1984 at the union carbide india limited ucil pesticide plant in bhopal, madhya pradesh, india. It is considered to be the worlds worst industrial disaster. This as an industrial disaster with a complexity of violations of civil, political, economical social rights carried over a period of twenty years which necessarily demanded unitarianism approach and called for corporate social responsibility cars 2 the papal gas tragedy on the night of 3 december, 1984.
Bhopal gas tragedy worlds worst industrial disaster. It is important, however, not to overlook the role of the government. The evasion of corporate responsibility barbara dinham with satinath sarangi summary. Sprick says union carbide accepted moral responsibility for the tragedy and. Bhopal, the state of madya pradesh is the central city of india populated by around 1 million people. Unending disaster, enduring resistance by bridget hanna forthcoming in nongovermental politics edited by michel feher, zone books, april 2007 introduction on march 23, 2006, fifty survivors of the bhopal gas disaster and subsequent water contamination trudged into new delhi and requested a. The focus of the conference was the bhopal tragedy and its effects on process safety. The leakage of a poisonous gas, methyl isocynate mic from the pesticide plant of union carbide india ltd, bhopal, on december 3, 1984,resulted in a loss of 10,000 lives and permanently disabled nearly 50,000 people. A union carbide official commenting on the safety systems in the bhopal pesticide plant. What happened on the night of december 2nd3rd 1984 in bhopal. On the night of 23 december 1984, the plant released approximately 40 tonnes of toxic methyl isocyanate mic gas, exposing more than 500,000 people to toxic gases.
On december 3, 1984, about 45 tons of the dangerous gas methyl isocyanate escaped from an insecticide plant that was owned by the indian. Synopsis although bhopal gas tragedy has become a synonym for bhopal but even after 34 years there has not been a single structure built to commemorate the tragic. Madhya pradesh government commission on gas tragedy wound up, the hindu, 18 december 1985, p. Corporate responsibility for bhopal how union carbide exploited a government loophole k subramanian vol. The bhopal disaster, also referred to as the bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident in india, con. The bhopal disaster, also referred to as the bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident on the night of 23 december 1984 at the union carbide india limited ucil pesticide plant in bhopal, madhya pradesh, india. The bhopal disaster and its aftermath as a case study in misapplication of csr the previous articles in this module have discussed how corporate social responsibility csr as a business imperative is no longer a luxury and instead, it has become a necessity. Over 15,000 people died, and 500,000 injured in the accident. The outcome of the case has ignited outrage and disbelief across india. It s not a deadly gas, just irritating, a sort of tear gas.
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