The leak began at a Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India on December 3rd, 1984. At about 12:30 A.M., a deadly gas began escaping from the pesticide plant, covering approximately fifteen square miles. Within hours, thousands of Bhopal residents were affected by the asphyxiating gas. Symptoms included chest congestion, vomiting, paralysis, sore throat, chills, coma, fever, swelling of legs, impaired vision, and palpitations. Estimates of the total death toll are between 3,000 and 10,000, a figure loosely based on what medical professionals described.
It is thought that 200,000 people were affected either directly or indirectly by the gas leak. Fortunately, emergency services responded swiftly, closing the plant and arresting its manager and four of his assistants. The five men were charged with "culpable homicide through negligence". Simply put, they could have prevented the deaths but were just negligent.
Upon learning about these horrific tragedies, U.S. President Ronald Reagan sent a message conveying the grief shared by him and the American people. Soviet news agencies accused Union Carbide and other such companies of marketing "low-quality products and outdated technology to developing countries." Long term effects would continue to affect the people of Bhopal, leaving a constant reminder that chemical companies are incredibly unsafe, as demonstrated by the Hooker Petrochemical Plant in a previous post.
Union Carbide:
Sources: Hudson, David. The Handy History Answer Book. Canton, MI, Visible Ink Press, 2013
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