Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Its Ethical Issues - 3035 Words

CASE STUDIES: BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY AND ITS ETHICAL ISSUES SUMMARY Bhopal Gas Tragedy was a gas leak incident in India, considered one of the world’s worst industrial catastrophes. It occurred on the night of the last year of 1984 at the Bhopal Union Carbide Corporation (Union Carbide India Limited – UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. A leak of methyl isocyanides gas and other chemicals from the plant resulted in the exposure of hundreds of thousands of people. It also causes environmental issues such as pollution of soil and water. The gas leak in India was caused by bad maintenance and failure of several safety systems to cut off the expenses. HISTORY Bhopal is a city in central India with population of 800,000†¦show more content†¦However, by the end of the first year, Mr. Anderson told Business Week, â€Å"I overreacted. Maybe they, early on, thought we’d give the store away. [Now] we’re in litigation mode. I’m not going to roll over and play dead.† Following the accident, Union Carbide’s stock fell 16 points and it became, in the go-go 80s, a takeover target. When GAF Corporation made an offer, Union Carbide incurred $3.3 billion in debt in order to buy 56 percent of its own stock to avert a takeover. Through 1992, Union Carbide remained in a defensive mode as it coped with litigation, takeover attempts, and the actions of the Indian government in seeking to charge officers, including Anderson, with crimes. U.S. lawyers brought suit in the United States against Union Carbide on behalf of hundreds of Bhopal victims, but the case was dismissed because the court lacked jurisdiction over the victims as well as the plant. Union Carbide did settle the case with the Indian government for a payment of $470 million. There were 592,635 claims filed by Bhopal victims. The victims received, on average, about $1,000 each. The ordinary payment from the Indian government, as when a government bus harms an individual, is $130 to $700, depending upon the level of the injury. Individual awards were based on earning capacity, so, for example, widows of the Bhopal accident received $7,000. TheShow MoreRelatedEssay about Bhopal Ethical Issues1307 Words   |  6 Pagesthe city of Bhopal, the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It has been known as the worlds worst industrial disaster. A Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL)s plant released 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas which instantly killed over 3,000 people and carrying on causing the death of more than 20,000. This tragic event involved not only the technical, safety issues at the time, but also ethical issues on the responsibility of those who would have been able to prevent the tragedy from happeningRead MoreBhopal Ethical Issues1350 Words   |  6 Pagesthe city of Bhopal, the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It has been known as the world s worst industrial disaster. A Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL) s plant released 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas which instantly killed over 3,000 people and carrying on causing the death of more than 20,000. This tragic event involved not only the technical, sa fety issues at the time, but also ethical issues on the responsibility of those who would have been able to prevent the tragedy from happeningRead MoreBhopal Ethics1316 Words   |  6 PagesThe Bhopal gas leak was a terrible tragedy in which thousands of helpless civilians were killed and hundreds of thousands were injured as they slept. Determining who was at fault and, consequently, who should compensate the victims and clean up the site are questions that have plagued the affected parties, my Rotman classmates and the world at large for over 25 years. The analysis to follow, in attempting to present the roles and responsibilities of each major player, will demonstrate the incredibleRead MoreCase Study Action Plan: Union Carbide Bhopal Accident2186 Words   |  9 PagesCase Study Action Plan: Union Carbide Bhopal accident Learning Team A: Michael Proffitt, Amanda Garrity, Sean Riedel, Cippy Seidler La Shonta Fuller University of Phoenix PHL 323/Ethics in Management History: Controversy Union Carbide In December of 1984 controversy surrounded Union Carbide, a chemical and polymer company founded in 1917, when the company had a poisonous gas leak from their pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. (Union Carbide Corporation, 2011) This incident killed thousandsRead MoreBhopal Gas Tragedy7928 Words   |  32 Pages[pic] TERM PAPER ON BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY : IS THE GOVERNMENT SLEEPING Submitted to :- Submitted by :- Lect.Vishwas chakranarayan Harpreet singh Roll no. A18 Section :- S1001 INDEX 1.Preface 2.Acknowledgement 3.Contents 4.IntroductionRead MoreBhopal Gas Disaster84210 Words   |  337 PagesExecutive Summary On December 3, 1984, toxic poisonous methyl isocyanate gas leaked from Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL s) pesticide plant in Bhopal. The gas leak triggered a disaster that is now widely recognized as the world worst industrial catastrophe. Thousands of people were killed instantly and more than 25,000 people have died of gas-related illnesses, several thousands more maimed for life since. Union Carbide negotiated a settlement with the Indian Government in 1989 for $470 millionRead MoreThe Bhopal Tragedy23347 Words   |  94 PagesEXECUTIVE SUMMARY FOR THE BHOPAL TRAGEDY HISTORY AND BACKGROUND Bhopal is the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, the largest and one of the most economically depressed states in the nation. At 1970s, the public health infrastructure, sewage and waste system in Bhopal are still in very poor condition . Besides, mass casualty emergency response system also lacking in Bhopal. Union Carbide Corporation is one of the largest chemical and polymer companies in the united state. In 1984, Union Carbide operatedRead MoreBhopal Union Carbide Case analysis Essay1250 Words   |  5 Pages One of the worst cases of catastrophic event in history is the Bhopal Union Carbide case. Nearly three decades ago, the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal India had a devastated tragedy. The toxic chemical and methyl isocyanate gas leak from the plant killed thousands of civilians who were sleeping and injured hundreds of thousands of people in the nearby neighborhood. For those who survived from this catastrophic incident had injuries ranging from blindness to suffering burns of the skinsRead MoreUnion Carbide s Chemical Plant981 Words   |  4 Pages After the tragic explosion in Bhopal, India, due to Union Carbide’s chemical plant, many citizens suffered tragedies such as death and severe injuries due to the toxic gas that was released upon the explosion. When citizens of Bhopal decided to sue against the Union Carbide Corporation, they combined all individual lawsuits against the plant together, as well as exercising their forum non conveniens, which handed the lawsuit to Indian courts. Moving the court case to India benefitted the companyRead MoreEssay on India: The Cause of the Bhopal Disaster2606 Words   |  11 PagesUnion Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, made the history witnessed the worst industrial disaster ever in the world. The Bhopal disaster (Bhopal Gas Tragedy) happened by gas leak incident occurred at the night time of 2-3 AM in December of 1984. The result of this gas leak caused risks for more than half million people by exposing them to chemicals hazards; one of these chemicals is methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas. Not only this, it caused an immediate deaths reached