1984 Bhopal disaster
Union Carbide India Limited, owned by Union Carbide (50.9%) and Indian investors (49.1%), operated a pesticide plant in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh.[16] This plant was opened in 1969. The pesticides and herbicides they produced were created from a insecticide carbaryl, which is normally produced using a base chemical, methyl isocyanate (MIC).
Initially this plant imported MIC, but in 1979 the company decided to manufacture the ingredients on their own. They built a MIC unit within the Bhopal plant. This plant was located next to a very densely populated neighbourhood, and heavily trafficked railway station. Locating it near this densely populated area was a direct violation of the 1975 Bhopal Development Plan. This development plan posed that hazardous industries such as the MIC plant be located in a different part of the city that was further away, and downwind, from more densely populated areas. According to one of the authors of the Bhopal Development Plan, "Union Carbide India Limited's" initial application for a permit was rejected, yet the company was able to gain approval from centralized governing authorities.[17] In 1982, Carbide's auditors had warned of a possible 'runaway reaction'.
Around midnight on 3 December 1984, gas was accidentally released from the plant, exposing more than 500,000 people to MIC and other chemicals. The Government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 16,000 deaths related to the gas release. It left an estimated 40,000 individuals permanently disabled, maimed, or suffering from serious illness, making it the world's worst industrial disaster.
Following the incident, organizations representing the victims in Bhopal filed a U.S. $10 billion injury claim against Union Carbide. Additionally, the Government of India filed its own $3.3 billion claim against the company. Union Carbide's response was an offer in the range of $300-$350 million. In 1989, the company paid $470 million to the Indian government as a final settlement.[18]
Broken down, the total cost of the settlement to Union Carbide's expenses was 43 cents per share, an amount criticized by some for its comparison to the annual report post-settlement declaring earnings per share. In that 1988 report, Union Carbide claimed to have had its best year yet, citing a record $4.88 earnings per share (this figure included the 43 cents per share charge from the Bhopal settlement).[18]
After the settlement, Union Carbide’s parent company divested its entire stake in UCIL.[18] Carbide insists the accident was an act of sabotage by a plant worker. The plant site has not yet been cleaned up. Hazardous chemicals can still be found in the now abandoned site.
Warren Anderson, CEO at the time of the disaster, refused to answer to homicide charges and remained a fugitive from India's courts. The U.S. denied several extradition requests. Anderson died on 29 September 2014 in Florida. Seven UCC employees were convicted of criminal negligence in 2010 and fined $2,000 each.
