Bhopal Tragedy

Bhopal Tragedy 

"When I saw the leaves on the trees curl and turn black and birds fall dead out of the sky, I knew that this was death" - Survivor

December, 3rd, 1984.

Darkness fell over the city of Bhopal, India; parents kiss their children goodnight, the city slept soundly, unaware of the approaching poisonous gas which slowly crept its way into their homes.

The Union Carbide Corporation faced nuclear emergency as water inadvertently entered the MIC storage tank, resulting in an extreme rise in temperature. This caused a rapid chemical reaction which resulted in the breaching of the containment tank. The chemical manifestation was 500 times more toxic than cyanide. Both liquid and vapour forms leaked out of the plant into the atmosphere and pipelines.

On the streets of Bhopal, the sun dawned across the city, a photographer named, Raghu Rai, walked amongst the corpses of civilians. Raghu, recalls one father in particular burying his daughter in a nearby graveyard. The father, unable to bear the pain of parting from her, brushed the earth from her face to see her one last time. Many parents were never presented with this opportunity as they suffocated along with their children as they slept.

Over 3,000 civilians died by the immediate exposure to the poisonous gas but it is estimated that between 200,000 and 500,000 have been affected in terms of injuries, the figure continues as reports of damaged births are still occurring today. A large percentage of the injured civilians, known by Bhopal doctors as "Gaisees", suffer from kidney problems, diabetes and some newly formed cancers.

The plant owner, Dow Chemical, to this day, denies the responsibility of the accident and refuse to clean out the factory.

In Bhopal today, monsoons (26) in total have washed the toxins from the plant into the nearby rivers and crop fields. The Bhopal disaster was the result of a combination of legal, technological, organisational human errors. The lack of communication in terms of raising the alarm is another key factor which could have saved many lives. The factory still remains closed to this day.