'Union Carbide India Limited\r'

'It only started with the manufacturing of flash light batteries in Calcutta by the Eveready ships keep society Limited of Great Britain. Later on this company became a subsidiary of UCC headquartered in New York. The company later(prenominal) adopted the new name of fraternity Carbide India limited and also established a manufacturing be in India to manufacture flash lights along with magnification of its capa urban center to manufacture dry-cell batteries. The company progressed and by the eighties they were involved in batteries, carbon and metals, plastics, marine products, and artless chemicals. UCIL established fifteen patternts in different split of India.\r\nTo expand its agricultural division UCIL sought permission of Indian presidency to both(prenominal)ow them to set up a pesticide plant. Initially the plant was started near the city of Trombay but later on switched to Bhopal. The plant in the beginning imported Sevin powder from the United States weaken it with non-toxic powder and sold it. Later the Indian political relation pressurized UCIL to manufacture Sevein and its components in India. Thats how the Bhopal plant expanded and the investiture in the plant increased from initial $1 million to $25 million. The company make its strike out among all companies present in India in name of Sales.\r\nIn Bhopal the UCIL factory was like any other(a) process plant with storage tanks, hoppers and reactors connected by pipes, pumps, valves and ducts. Sevin was made through a chemical response between alpha-naphthol and methyl radical isocyanate, MIC. MIC is a highly excited liquid that boils and becomes a gas above mean solar daytime time temperatures. UCC was the world leader in MIC engineering and provided essentially al the process design for the plant but did not send engineers to supervise the construction. The alpha-naphthol unit of measurement began experiencing some conundrums. Also the sales were started going buck in the beginning of 80s due to various reasons.\r\n out-of-pocket to the decline in sales the unit started having losses. The stave at the MIC was cut from twelve operators on a shift to six. The maintenance team was rock-bottom in size. In a derive of instances, faulty rubber eraser devices remained unrepaired for weeks. The plant was lockning at distant below capacity. The company seriously started making plans for destruct the plant and shipping it to some other region. UCIL was set(p) in Bhopal where there was a shanty town inhabiting thousands of Indias poor peopleest citizens. In the South of Bhopal wealthy Indians lived in their dandyish houses.\r\nMIC the main component utilise to prepare Sevin was made at the plant by reacting Phosgene gas with another(prenominal) chemical but the system had been idle. The MIC was being used from ‘charge-pot which was periodically resupplied from either of two different tanks. Operators had see difficulty in pressurizing one of the tanks. At the shadow of the happening, several hundred gallons of water entered in this token tank. The water reacted with MIC producing heat and gas. A relief valve briefly lifted and MIC vapor began flowing through send headers and out a discharge stack.\r\nSome workers describe to supervisors that their eyes began to water because of likely expose of MIC. Supervisors tack what they believed was the source and they set up a call forth hose to spray water on the hazard leak. The water curtain that may bewilder reduced the concentration of the gas was only set to ~13 m and did not reach the gas; it was not designed to contain a leak of such(prenominal) magnitude. The supervisors retired to the company canteens in violations of instructions not to discover their break together. The supervisors were later called when the tank was rumbling with change magnitude pressure but it was too late for them to interpret any concrete put through.\r\nMIC vapor were billowing from an atmospherical vent in the air. The cloud of deadly uninfected gas was carried by the northeast wind toward the shanties on the south side of the plant. On the cold iniquity cold of December 03, 1984, MIC settled toward ground. The gaseous feel reached the huts resulting in panic and confusion. Many of the weak and remote died where they lay blinded and smothered by the nipping fumes. Though the audible external alarm was excited to warn residents of Bhopal, it was quickly shut down to ward off causing panic among the residents.\r\nThus, many an(prenominal) continued to sleep, unconscious of the unfolding drama. However, as the words of the gas leak spread, many of the Bhopals affluent citizens fled in their cars while poor were left behind. An estimated 2000 or more died that deadly nighttime while over 200,000 were injured. Doctors and hospitals were not in create of comely treatment methods for MIC gas inhalation. They were told to simply give cough up medicine and eye drops to their patients. Confused crowds waited away(p) hospitals outside the hospitals for medical care. The plant on the other hand, later on, was closed and locked.\r\nThe citizens of Bhopal remained totally shocked by the gambol of events. Soon by and by the incident blame adventure started. UCC referred to deliberate act as a thinkable cause of the water entry. Later the company suggested that a Sikh terrorist group might have sabotaged the plant. A representative of UCCs investigation team suggested that the gas was formed when a disgruntled plant employee, apparently change shape on spoiling a batch of methyl isocyanate, added water to a storage tank. There were many theories started flowing around. UCC and UCIL executives were charged in India with manslaughter and other crimes.\r\nUCC chairmen Anderson along with the head of UCIL was arrested and briefly detained by Indian officials when they went to India after the incident. Several UCIL employees were also arrested and CBI began criminal investigation. A number of US and Indian lawyers rushed to sign up gas victims and their relatives as clients. Different class action lawsuits were filed in the United Sates on behalf of the victims of disaster. In defect 1985, India enacted the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act, giving UOI the undivided right to represent the victims.\r\nFinally, In an out-of-court settlement reached, centre Carbide agreed to pay $470 million for damages caused in the Bhopal disaster. As we know from the background of the case that infrigidation unit was not working, condom devices were not working, safety standards and operating procedures were not im daub, maintenance was poor, downsizing took place and less qualified personnel were hired. These issues indicate that the problem lied at the attention aim. Inefficient act shows that there was absence of even basic heed.\r\nThe day to day operations were not carried out accord to the general standards and norms then what can be tell most disaster be after or planning for dealing with an unforeseen event. At UCIL the local management should have taken the complete business of the diaster as they failed to maintain even the basic principles of management. Even though foreigners were on the jump on of directors but it was not the responsibility of the board member to run day to day operations. The whole blame was put on foreigners and forign board and the case became one of the most talked about industrialised disaster in the history.\r\nThe plant was purely run by the Indian local managers and it was the responsibility of such managers to maintain the basic standards. This incident would not have happened had management been active in implementing the basic levels of management. ideally there should be a contingency plan in place to deal with the possible disasters. In plants dealing with chemicals there is always a disaster of accidents and disasters of any proportion. It was naive o f the management to forget about the contingency measures.\r\nOn another level the government of India also played the political part and essay to trap foreign board in the incident while forgetting that primary responsibility lied on management on ground. Foreign board in Bhopals case also on the hand time-tested to safegurd its image as the issue was discussed on all forums There had been many accidents of similar nature in UCCs American plants prior to the Bhopal accident but they did not get much publicity and were not blown out of proportion because they were tackled at the management level on ground. As later there was a ruling that the case should be tried in India.\r\nThe company denied every charge leveled against UCC and pointed out that no US citizen had been employed there 2 years before the disaster. Foreign board definitely had the clean-living responsibility of the incident but they cannot be satanic for failed day to day operations. The case reminds us that on the first level basic management should affaire and operations should be efficiently run. However the management responsibility does not end here. Management should be on toes and keep on scanning both external and internal environmental factors. There should be contingency plans in place to deal with possible mishaps or disasters.\r\n'