The bhopal disaster learning from failures and evaluating risk. Learning from the bhopal disaster to improve process. A systemic model of process safety management was derived from the interviews and key elements of operational process safety management were identified. It occurred on the night of december23,1984 at the union carbide indialimited, a pesticide plant in bhopal,madhya pradesh, india.
The present article aims to introduce the bhopal gas tragedy and the learning outcomes from the disaster. Legislation for disaster risk management based on analysis of global. Bhopal disaster, chemical leak in 1984 in the city of bhopal, madhya pradesh state, india, during which about 45 tons of methyl isocyanate escaped from an insecticide plant. I shall examine the strikingly different role played by tort law in the riskmanagement complexes of india and the united states, the two sites of the ensuing legal battle. Home browse books book details, learning from disaster. Although equipment failures increased the severity of the bhopal disaster. Learning from piper alpha using a risk assessment model structure can thus be the first step toward improving and updating risk management models for similar platforms and other in dustrial plants. Special challenges for disaster management in developing countries. Operational plan for integrated disaster risk management. Jan 28, 1985 the bhopal gas leak that killed at least 2,000 people resulted from operating errors, design flaws, maintenance failures, training deficiencies and economy measures that endangered safety. Joint forest management in india, discussed by sivaramakrishnan in. Both the plant design and safety management were of a lower quality than. In what has been described by many as the worlds worst industrial disaster, over 40 tons of mic was released at a. Learning from disaster risk management after bhopal.
For those of us who follow the vicissitudes of the multinational corporation as part of our professional responsibilities, it is particularly depressing that it was union carbide. The bhopal disaster of 1984 university of new mexico. Soon after the bhopal disaster, several groups undertook experiments in which experimental animals were exposed, by inhalation, to. Bhopal disaster, chemical industry, methyl isocyanate mic, corpo rate ethics. The terms accident and disaster which have been used to describe bhopal are descriptively incomplete and analyti cally inadequate for comprehending its implications. Varma mcgill university the 20th anniversaryof thebhopal calamity fellon december3,2004.
Since inception, dmi has built vast experience in preparation of both onsite and offsite emergency management plans, safety audit, risk analysis and risk assessment, hazard and operability studies hazop, etc. Introduction bhopal gas tragedy, a disaster that happened by a gas leak is considered as one of the worlds worst industrial catastrophes that occurred on the night of december 23, 1984 at the union carbide india limited ucil pesticide plant in bhopal, madhya pradesh, india. The bhopal disaster, which happened on the night of 23 december 1984, is the worst industrial accident in recent history abbasi and abbasi, 2005, resulting in thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of illhealth. Pdf the 20th anniversary of the bhopal calamity fell on december 3, 2004. Learning from the bhopal disaster to improve process safety. Environmental legislation for disaster risk management m o d u l e i towards a disaster free india national institute of disaster management nidm ministry of home affairs iipa campus, new delhi12. Mar 28, 2014 disaster management a continuous and integrated process of planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing measures which are necessary or expedient for prevention of danger or threat of any disaster. The bhopal gas leak that killed at least 2,000 people resulted from operating errors, design flaws, maintenance failures, training deficiencies and economy measures that endangered safety. All these initiatives mainly address the first part of the national vision on developing a proactive approach for promoting prevention, mitigation and preparedness for disaster management.
The same company implicated at bhopal, union carbide, owned the. It caused the death of at least 2,000 people, and was also responsible for significant ongoing health issues for the bhopal community for many years after the accident. Pdf the paper firstly uses the case study of the bhopal gas disaster to. T1 the bhopal disaster learning from failures and evaluating risk. The national disaster management authority ndma constituted under the. Piper alpha re ceived and sent to the shore the oil and gas production of a group of platforms. On 23 december 1984, methyl isocyanate mic leak from union carbide factory ucil pesticide plant in bhopal, madhya pradesh was considered as one of the worst industrial disaster in the world. Neurological symptoms include depression, impaired associative learning. The bhopal disaster which took place in the early morning hours of 4 december 1984 is undoubtedly the worst industrial accident in history. Jul 14, 20 lessons from the bhopal chemicalspill disaster july 14, 20 october 26, 20 stephen hicks 18 comments affirmative action, bhopal, bureaucracy, chemical disaster, chemical spill, cronyism, india, indian government policy, industrial policy, mic chemical, mixed economy, regulation ethics, safety, third way politics, union carbide. Theworldsworstindustrialdisaster in bhopal, india, happened because of inadequate maintenance by union carbide and poor monitoring. The release of deadly methyl isocyanate gas from a.
No discussion of inherent safety processes isps, process safety management psm, and methyl isocyanate mic is complete without a discussion of the history and legacy of the bhopal incident and the lessons learned. Lessons from the bhopal chemicalspill disaster stephen. This report investigates the main technical causes of the disaster, and also considers whether a lack of. Peterson revised march 20, 2009 during the night of 23 december 1984, a leak of some 40 tons of methyl isocyanate mic gas mixed with unknown other gasses from a chemical plant owned and operated by union carbide india limited, a. Risk management after bhopal by sheila jasanoff university of pennsylvania press, 1994. This paper is an attempt to derive lessons for industrial risk managment based on the issues brought to. Programme on chemical disaster risk management college students bhopal 11 july, 12 ap, ad dks, ad agrawal arvind 30. Risk management after bhopal law in social context at. Learning from disaster risk management after bhopal edited by shelia jasanoff. Paper presented at the institution of engineers conference on preventing major chemical accidents, in london, may. Accident management platform for human resource development.
Often named as the worlds worst industrial disaster, the bhopal gas tragedy has been the focus of many research papers, articles, documentaries, debates and disputes. Commenting after the bhopal incident was international management specialist richard d. The company built the plant in bhopal because of its central location and. Operational plan for integrated disaster risk management 20142020 mandaluyong city, philippines. The veterans expanded their thoughts beyond the bhopal disaster and provided many insights and suggestions critical to process safety management in singapore and other countries. The bhopal disaster which is commonly referred toas bhopal gas tragedy was a gas leak incident inindia, considered one of the worlds worstindustrial catastrophes.
They killed 10,000 people and 500,000 people suffered with poisoning effects. Safety security and risk management aftermath bhopal disaster. The worst industrial accident in history occurred in bhopal, india, on december 3, 1984. May 10, 2005 the bhopal disaster could have changed the nature of the chemical industry and caused a reexamination of the necessity to produce such potentially harmful products in the first place. The bhopal gas disaster occurred in the indian city of bhopal in 1984. 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. Reduction of risk of any disaster or its severity or consequences. Casey and casey, 1993, meshkati, 1991, peterson, 2009. The bhopal disaster has raised questions about the implications of the transfer of potentially hazardous technology to the developing countries. In relation to minimizing the risk of industrial hazards, three main actors. The chemical, methyl isocyanate mic, that spilled out from union carbide india ltds ucils pesticide factory turned the city into a vast gas chamber. Operational plan for integrated disaster risk management 2014.
It is considered to be the worlds worst industrial disaster. It was on the night of december 2, 1984, when bhopal died a million deaths. Prior to the disaster, operating incidents resulting in plant workers being killed or injured, and minor amounts of toxic gases being released, had caused uc to send, in may 1982, a team of us experts to inspect the bhopal plant as part of a safety audit, their report, which was passed to uc s management in the usa indicated that. Deutsche gesellschaft fur internationale zusammenarbeit giz gmbh 3rd floor, b52 safdarjung enclave new delhi110 029. I shall examine the strikingly different role played by tort law in the risk management complexes of india and the united states, the two sites of the ensuing legal battle. In this article, we present what happened and why and what lessons can be learned at this terrible cost. Janpath panchayat dmi, bhopal 1719 july, 12 gvj,dd sd, dd pradeep seema 31. The bhopal disaster could have changed the nature of the chemical industry and caused a reexamination of the necessity to produce such potentially harmful products in the first place. It i the most complete case study of a global corporation operating a much more. Specifically, prevention should include risk reduction in plant location and. Made risk assessment, safety audit, accident postmortem, public education, onsiteoffsite emergency. Bhopal gas tragedy case study development of absolute liability.
Robinson, a professor at the massachusetts institute of technology. The bhopal disaster of 1984 the university of new mexico. The disaster was a result of complex sociotechnological factors which had been studied by many e. The worlds worst industrial disaster in bhopal, india, happened because of. However the lessons of acute and chronic effects of exposure to pesticides and their precursors in bhopal has not changed agricultural practice patterns. Lessons from the bhopal chemicalspill disaster july 14, 20 october 26, 20 stephen hicks 18 comments affirmative action, bhopal, bureaucracy, chemical disaster, chemical spill, cronyism, india, indian government policy, industrial policy, mic chemical, mixed economy, regulation ethics, safety, third way politics, union carbide. Hadden, citizen participation in environmental policy making in sheila jasenoff ed, learning from disaster. Concept paper on capacity development in disaster risk. Even worse, shortly after the bhopal disaster, engineers and regulators were given a test on what they had learned about toxic releases and communicating risk when a release of another toxic gas this time, aldicarb oxime occurred at the institute, west virginia, pesticide plant. After the theoretical foundation for the understanding of disaster risk management has been laid, the emphasis will shift towards an understanding of how disaster risk management functions as an integrated approach within the context of. A comprehensive conceptual model for disaster management sohail asghar, damminda alahakoon and leonid churilov. The bhopal disaster of 1984 india environment portal.
The release of deadly methyl isocyanate gas from a union carbide corp. Risk analysis for unfolding of bhopal disaster environment. Read the fulltext online edition of learning from disaster. Safety security and risk management aftermath bhopal. A leak of methyl isocyanate gas and otherchemicals from the plant resulted in. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate mic gas. List of books and articles about bhopal disaster online. Bhopal disaster changed handling of industrial risks. Tens of thousands of people were killed, some half a million others suffered maladies, and.
The disaster is due to backflow of water into a tank of mic due to some routine pipe maintenance. The us chemical giant dupont learned its lesson of bhopal in a different way. This project attempts to report and analyze the development of environmental policy in india after the bhopal gas tragedy. Environmental legislation for disaster risk management. Reflections on the lessons from bhopal, environmental values 11, pp. The national disaster management authority ndma constituted under. The december 1984 disaster in bhopal, in which upwards of 3,500 persons were killed and as many as 150,000 seriously injured, invites our reflection on many matters. Disaster management institute, bhopal are implementing a pilot project capacity building in industrial disaster risk management 20082010.
Even after nearly 35 years, the aftermath of the tragedy continues to haunt villagers in the area, physically and psychologically. N2 the economic, technological and organizational errors attributable to the root causes associated with the bhopal disaster of the 2nd and 3rd of december 1984. The bhopal disaster learning from failures and evaluating. Bhopal, indiatwenty years ago this month, the world awoke to a new understanding of industrial risk. The bhopal accident was the worst industrial disaster in terms of. Selected by choice magazine as an outstanding academic title the 1984 lethal gas leak at the union carbide pesticide plant in bhopal, india, may be the most. An incompletely reported, doseranging study in human volunteers documented that there were no effects at levels of 0. This paper is an attempt to derive lessons for industrial risk managment based on the issues brought to light by bhopal. The disaster caused the death of 165 men out of 226. Events in bhopal represented a technologically complex, socially disruptive, politically. The lessons learnt from this incident were the only way to avoid future such accidents and explosions. In the aftermath of bhopal gas tragedy in 1984, the failure of litigation attempts. Environmental legislation for disaster risk management m o d u l e i. A comprehensive conceptual model for disaster management.