Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Revisited after Twenty-five Years
| Case Code: BECG115 Case Length: 34 Pages Period: 1984-2010 Pub Date: 2012 Teaching Note: Available |
Price: Rs.500 Organization: Union Carbide Corporation, Dow Chemicals Company Industry: Chemicals Countries: India Themes: Business Ethics, Corporate Accountability, Multinational Corporations in Transnational Accountability |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
Background Note
The history of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) dates back to 1917 when four U.S. companies – Union Carbide Co., Linde Air Products Co., National Carbon Co., Inc., and Prest-O-Lite Co., Inc. producing batteries and arc lamps for street lighting and headlamps for cars were merged to form UCC. UCC manufactured industrial gases such as nitrogen, oxygen, methane, ethylene, and propane, used in the petroleum industry as well as chemical substances like ammonia and urea used in the manufacture of fertilizers.
In the 1950s, UCC along with other companies worked on creating a pesticide that would eradicate parasites since the fodder crops and plantations in the U.S. were being destroyed by pests. UCC developed 'Experimental Insecticide Seven Seven' which came to be known as 'Sevin'. Sevin was manufactured through the reaction of phosgene gas with monomethylamine gas. The two gases reacted to form a new molecule called MIC. MIC was known to be one of the most dangerous compounds ever formulated in the chemical industry. It was reported that animals which had been exposed to MIC vapors during experiments had faced a sudden death. It was also noted that when MIC came into contact with water or metal dust, it led to an uncontrollable violent reaction, resulting in the formation of a fatal cloud in the atmosphere. To prevent any hazard, MIC had to be stored permanently at zero degrees Celsius. Hence, provisions were made to store the MIC in drums or tanks.....
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