Bhopal Gas Plant Tragedy
Synopsis
- Introduction
- Warren Anderson
- Convictions
- Company Short History
- Conclusion
Introduction
The Bhopal Gas Plant was inaugurated in 1969 and owned by Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL). Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), a U.S. company, held 50.9% of the shares, while Indians, including the Government of India, owned the remaining 49.1%.
UCIL was involved in the production of batteries, plastics, chemicals, and pesticides (Sevin). In 1984, a tragic incident occurred at the Bhopal Gas Plant, leading to the leakage of 40 tons of toxic Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas. This event resulted in the death of nearly 5,000 people and caused injuries to thousands more, making it one of the world's worst industrial disasters.
Even today, residents of Bhopal continue to suffer from prolonged body pain, cancer, stillbirths, miscarriages, asthma, and heart diseases as a result of the gas leak. After the 1984 tragedy, the Bhopal Gas Plant never resumed operations, and the government restricted access to the plant site.
UCC documents indicate that the use of 'Unproven Technology' led to the Bhopal Gas leakage. Subsequently, UCC CEO Warren Anderson, a U.S. citizen, was charged with manslaughter by the Government of India. Anderson came to India for a custodial inquiry, but he was allowed to return to the USA by the government, sparking political tensions in India.
In 1992, he was declared a fugitive by the Bhopal Chief Judicial Magistrate for failing to appear in the culpable homicide case hearings. In 2003, an extradition request was issued to hand over Warren Anderson, but the U.S. declined, citing a lack of evidence.
In 2009, the Bhopal Chief Judicial Magistrate issued an arrest warrant for Warren Anderson. However, continuous legal proceedings against him were not successful, and he peacefully passed away in 2014 at the age of 92 in Florida.
Convictions
In 2010, eight UCIL employees were convicted for causing death by negligence and were sentenced to two years' imprisonment along with a fine of approximately $2,000 each. The convicted individuals were,
- Keshub Mahindra - Chairman
- Vijay Gokhale - Managing Director
- Kishore Kamdar - Vice President
- J. Mukund - Works Manager
- R.B. Ramachandran - Instrument Engineer
- S.P. Rai Choudhary - Production Manager
- K.V. Shetty - Plant Superintendent
- S.I. Qureshi - Production Assistant
Notably, Warren Anderson, who was initially named as an accused and later declared an absconder by the court, was not mentioned in the verdict. It's important to mention that S.P. Rai Choudhary was already deceased at the time of the verdict.
Company Short History
In 1917, Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) was established in the United States as a chemical manufacturing company. In 1934, Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) was founded in India, with UCC holding 50.9% shares and India holding 49.1%. The year 1986 saw UCC, a major UCIL shareholder, selling Eveready Batteries to Ralston Purina, a US Pet Foods Company. Subsequently, Ralston Purina produced batteries under the brand names Eveready and Energizer.
In 1999, Ralston Purina spun off its Eveready and Energizer Battery division into a new entity, Energizer Holdings Inc, listing it on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Ralston shareholders received one share in the Battery business for every three Ralston shares they owned, in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission laws.
Meanwhile, in 1994, UCIL, which owned the Bhopal Gas Plant, was sold to McLeod Russel, an Indian Tea Company. McLeod Russel renamed UCIL as Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL). EIIL obtained a license from Energizer Holdings Inc (US) to manufacture batteries under the Eveready brand in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The production of Indian Eveready Batteries was undertaken by the B.M. Khaitan Group, the flagship company of McLeod Russel.
By 1999, UCC underwent a change in ownership, being sold to The Dow Chemical Company (TDCC). TDCC took on the responsibility of cleaning up the Bhopal Gas Plant site wastes, and the site is currently owned by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. UCC, UCIL, Eveready Battery, Energizer, TDCC, and McLeod Russel are collectively identified as "chemical companies," involved in the production of chemicals, polymers, batteries, paints, natural gas, liquids, and more.
We overlooked UCIL and the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, yet we continue to rely on "Eveready Batteries," which is owned by UCIL. Life is impossible without chemicals, making it crucial to implement and monitor chemical industries properly to prevent future accidents.
Reference
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