ICSE Class 10 Answered

Bhopal gas tragedy took place on December 2, 1984 at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The tragedy took place due to the leaking of methyl-isocyanite (MIC) a highly poisonous gas from the Union Carbide Plant.

The Bhopal gas tragedy occurred in 1984 at Bhopal. On Dec. 3, a dangerous chemical reaction occurred in the plant. As a result, water entered into the tank containing methyl isocyanate gas. This resulted in the increase of temperature and pressure inside the tank. This led to the release of methyl isocyanate gas from the tank.

 The gas spread within the radius of eight kilometers. The gas caused coughing, breathlessness, stomach pain, burning in the respiratory tract. By the morning, thousand of people had died.

Many people who survived this disaster, suffered from various diseases for the rest of their lives. People still suffer from cancer, tuberculosis, gynecological disorders etc as the result of the inhalation of the gas.

Within three days of the incident about 8,000 people were reported missing and hundreds of thousands were maimed. It has been reported that this incident was caused due to the ignorance of safety measures in the Union Carbide Plant to cut costs. Most of the people who were exposed to the lethal gas belonged to poor working class families. While thousands of people died, many suffered from respiratory diseases, eye problems and many other disorders.