Bhopal Gas Leak Case Analysis :Was a Catastrophe Waiting to Happen’ -Part-II
The most industrial disasters are preventable provided,proper safety measures are undertaken by the management,what happened in Union Carbide factory,it was deliberate and intentional negligence of the management by ignoring the safety measures of the plant,especially,when plant is storing deadly chemical ,that too in the name of cost cutting measures ,jeopardizing the safety of the entire city of Bhopal.
Some of horrible mistakes by UCC were reported in an UN report ‘was a catastrophe waiting to happen’
- The cooling system supposed to keep MIC at zero degree temperature was turn off six months before accident the same held for the burner in the tower for burning off the poson.Both steps had been taken with approval of company headquarters.The scrubbers capable of neutralizers MIC exhaust fumes had been placed in passive mode ,two months before the accident
- The spray system designed to pull escaping MIC fumes to the ground by surrounding them in a mist was effective only to height of 12 meters, but then MIC fumes were released at height of 33 meters.
- The pipes were made of iron rods instead of stainless steel called by regulations.
The testimony of flagrant violations is that of T.R Chouhan[Chemical plant operator who worked with UCC}, wrote in book Inside the killer carbide plant-A Bhopal worker’s story was published by Apex press of New York in 1994.Even though CBI used services of Mr Chouhan,but he was transferred to minor job as industrial inspector in a small town near Bhopal.
