Tragic Event
On December 2, 1984, a calamity occurred in a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, that caused the release of almost thirty tons of the toxic gas, methyl isocyanate, along with a few others along with several other toxic gases into the environment. The pesticide plant had been nestled at the center with a spattering of small towns, exposing in excess of six lac people to several fatal gases. Due to the weight of the gas, it stayed low causing throat as well as burning eyes and multiple deaths in the area. The immediate death toll was estimated at anything between 3,800 to an upper limit of 16,000. However recent government calculations show roughly 15,000 died over the years as a direct consequence of the accident. Due to the toxicity that remained in the area even 30 years later, physical and mental disabilities have been recorded in newborn children (Taylor 2014).
Direct and indirect Organizational and Individual Actions that contributed to the Tragedy
Safety of procedures and people involved or in direct contact is the major ethical responsibility of any industry. Damage to the environment is perhaps the most far reaching consequence of such an event. The users of such technology that can have such catastrophic consequences need to focus on the safety aspects of their operation. The human life. The quality of labor and lack of any 'risk assessment' measures factored greatly in this incident. UCIL stood to profit hugely from minimization of cost which led to the hiring of cheaper and inexperienced labor and poor security and safety setups.
Local and Federal Actions related to the Tragedy
The actions of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) were steeped in controversy as well. The criminal probing of the event was handed over to the CBI to an unsatisfactory end.
An Indian court convicted eight of those accused for tragedy, after a long drawn-out trial in 2010. Since the catastrophe was multifaceted, the investigations were immediately initiated with three major parties at the center, the UCC, the United States and the Indian government. Even the local Bhopal authorities and the victims were involved immediately.
The local government had prior knowledge of safety issues with the chemical plant but…
