Period+4+-+Bhopal

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__Bhopal Disaster__         **CAUSES**    ====== 

**- Large amounts of water entered a tank filled with methyl isocyanate, a poisonous gas.** **made the tank reach a temperature of over 400 F, forcing the emergency release of pressure.**

**-This pressure let out this poisonous gas that would burn peoples lungs resulting in death.**

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<span style="DISPLAY: block; FONT-SIZE: 250%; COLOR: rgb(255,0,19); FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,1,10); FONT-FAMILY: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,60,255)">  ====== <span style="COLOR: rgb(26,168,44)">**Factors leading to this mega-gas leak include:**

<span style="COLOR: rgb(26,168,44)">*** The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones** <span style="COLOR: rgb(26,168,44)">*** Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of several smaller ones** <span style="COLOR: rgb(26,168,44)">*** Possible corroding material in pipelines** <span style="COLOR: rgb(26,168,44)">*** Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980's** <span style="COLOR: rgb(26,168,44)">*** Failure of several safety systems**

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; COLOR: rgb(0,109,255); FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 60%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; COLOR: rgb(0,109,255); FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 60%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">  <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; COLOR: rgb(0,109,255); FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif">  <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; COLOR: rgb(0,109,255); FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; COLOR: rgb(0,109,255); FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif"> MAIN DETAILS

**On December 3, 1984 in Bhopal, India, a disaster killed over 19.000 people. The people were exposed to toxic gasses from methyl isocyanate in a chemical factory owned by the Union Carbide company. This was such a devastating event because the plant was built in a heavily-populated area and the gasses reached many people. Also, the plant had not been kept up well; sales had been decreasing and safety precautions proved to fail.**
 * Some survivors still suffered from after-effects such as blindness, difficulty breathing and gynecological disorders. People are also still harmed by polluted groundwater and wellwater with high levels of cancer-causing chemicals, mercury and other chemicals that affect fetal development. Many civilians were too ill to work. Some women were even found to have mercury a**

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<span style="DISPLAY: block; FONT-SIZE: 250%; COLOR: rgb(255,0,19); FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,1,10); FONT-FAMILY: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif"><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,60,255)">  ====== <span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; COLOR: rgb(0,109,255); FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif"> **nd lead in breast milk.** **Here is an example of what it was like on the night of the disaster- “At about 12.30 am I woke to the sound of my baby coughing badly. In the half light I saw that the room was filled with a white cloud. I heard a lot of people shouting. They were shouting 'run, run'. Then I started coughing with each breath seeming as if I was breathing in fire. My eyes were burning.”**

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; COLOR: rgb(215,4,154); FONT-FAMILY: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif">CHANGES IN LAWS AND POLICIES

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 90%; COLOR: rgb(255,56,56)">* The US felt an increased demand by communities to have the right to information, which led to the Right to Know Act being passed in the late 1980’s. Another step forward was the creation of the Toxic Releases Inventory which allowed greater access for the public to information on toxic chemical releases. The knowledge that a similar disaster could happen here in the US also helped to pass parts of Superfund. Union Carbide India, Limited conducted clean up work at the site of the disaster under the direction of the government of India. Chemical industries, including Union Carbide, implemented Responsible Care globally, which tries to prevent future occurrences by improving community awareness, emergency preparedness and safety standards. India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act, which allowed the government to represent all victims in or outside of India. A settlement was reached in 1989, in which UCC paid four hundred and seventy million dollars in order to be released of all civil and criminal liability. This amount was the insurance sum and full interest.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster http://www.bhopal.com/ http://www.bhopal.org/whathappened.html http://www.asmalldoseof.org/historyoftox/1970-2006/Time_Bhopal.jpg http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/aidaustin/bhopal/bhopal.JPG


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