The Industrial Disaster: The Bhopal Disaster In India

1. Introduction

Air pollution is defined as the presence of any substance in the atmosphere in such a concentration that it may or may tend to be injurious to humans, plants, property and to atmosphere itself. And the substance itself is called air pollutant.

Air pollution occurs due to anthropogenic activities like industrialization, increase in vehicular traffic etc.

Air pollution episodes were rare and highly local with almost no causalities before 1960.

Industrial mishaps are broadly contributing to the air pollutional episodes.

Industrials accidents occur due to lack of safety measures in the industry, poor maintenance of equipment, lack of skilled labour, lack of supervision, negligence etc. The rules for location of industries have to be strictly followed to avoid accidents. The effluents released into the atmosphere from the industries have

The major industrial accidents occur due to gas leakages, mine crash, leakages from nuclear reactors, explosions and fire accidents.

The Bhopal disaster, also known as the ‘Bhopal Gas Tragedy’, was a gas leak incident in India, considered as the world’s worst industrial disaster. This industrial disaster not only causing air pollution, it is also responsible for loss of lives.

On the night of 2-3 December 1984, a poisonous gas named methyl isocyanate leaked from a pesticide plant run by Union Carbide India Ltd., in Bhopal, turning the city into a gas chamber (40 tonnes gas leaked). Thirty years on from the Union Carbide gas leak tragedy, Bhopal is a city defined by the disaster.

On the basis of deaths that took place between 3-6 December 1984 from the leak of MIC gas from the pesticide making factory of Union Carbide India, the State government divided the capital city into two, i.e. area of victims and area not influenced. A total of 62.6% of the population of Bhopal was affected, while the rest was