In science and technology are fundamentally altering the way people live, connect, communicate and transact, with profound effects on economic development. Science and technology are key drivers to development, because technological and selecting revolutions underpin economic advances, Improvements in health systems, education and infrastructure. Through breakthroughs In health services and education, these technologies have the power to better the lives of poor people in developing countries.However, we ought to know that when man overuses r misuses something thinking that he has all the control over nature, this leads to destruction and suffering. We have already seen how the over use of science and technology has led to a tremendous climatic changes all over the world.
Elevated carbon dioxide emissions from industries, factories, vehicles etc. Have contributed to the greenhouse effect, causing warmer weather that lasted long after the atmospheric shroud of dust and aerosols had cleared. Opal Gas Tragedy was one thousand people In Opal. It was the most devastating Industrial disaster.It Is a Tory of betrayal and an American dream that turned Into an Indian nightmare with a terrifying legacy. Union carbide a great American corporation, In the ass and ass's promoted a dream to feed the world's hungry million's by developing pesticide to protect crops.
Union carbide decided to pursue this dream in the vast and lucrative densely populated Madhya Pradesh province in Opal, India for their new product methyl consonance gas and formally known as MIMIC. MIMIC is an organic compound and is an intermediate chemical in the production of pesticides. Its molecular formula isCHINO and maybe manufactured from mono amphetamine and phosgene. Some brands of cigarettes also contain about jug/ cigarette MIMIC in the Tobacco smoke. Its physical properties are a colorless, lachrymose (tear gas) and a sharp-pungent dour that vaporizes and which has relatively low boiling point (39.
1 co) and also Is soluble In water. In the ASS the government of India Initiated policies to encourage foreign companies to Invest In Its Industry and asked the American giant to build a production plant to manufacture "Seven". The production plant was zoned for light industrial and commercial use.With immense decreased demand for pesticide, the production plant was only operating at a 25% production capacity when the incident occurred. With the decreased demand Union Carbide directed the plant to be closed and prepared the plant for sale. However with no readily available buyer the production plant continued to operate under its health and safety means.
Also Madhya Pradesh local government knew of the safety concerns however was unforthcoming to place burdens on the production plant because of the struggling economy and loss of an American giant corporation at the time. While mostAmerican's were getting ready for lunch, nearly all of Opal's one million residents were sleeping at that period of time. A worker named Raman Khan was cleaning the pipes with water which lead to the MIMIC storage tanks. Although a routine function for Raman Khan, union Carbide failed to provide a vital instruction which would have of metal that fits between two pipe flanges to stop the flow of water in its line if there are any leaks in the pipe valves. Water which can create a violent reaction to the MIMIC chemicals, raised the temperature where the catastrophic chain of event started.
As he pressure and exothermic reaction increased inside the MIMIC Storage tank, a refrigeration unit which served as another safety precaution to cool the MIMIC storage tank had been drained of coolant for use in another part of the plant and is the first of four safety systems that would have avoided the catastrophes. A second safety system, a gas vent scrubber could have helped to neutralize the toxic discharge from the MIMIC tanks however it had been placed on standby. The third safety system which went off and had failed is the alarm which had been turned off by the plant managers because they did not want to fear the residents.The fourth safety device which would have worked is by burning off the gas that had escaped however the gas flair tower was not working and has not worked for three months before the catastrophe, a sign Union Carbide over looked safe precautions. Aware of the catastrophe that had occurred in Madhya Pradesh province, Executives at Union Carbide Corporation had begun efforts to dissociate its American counterpart from its Indian subsidiaries, Union Carbide India Limited (CULL) for gas leak responsibility.Their foremost tactic was to fault the CULL, stating that the plant was built by the Indian subsidiary.
Union Carbide Corporation in America also went to lengths to fabricate scenarios involving Sikh extremist groups and discontented its own employees. In the aftermath of the poisonous cloud on December 7th 1984 a multi- billion dollar lawsuit was filed. Union Carbide Corporation discontinued investment operations following the tragedy and has also failed to clean up the industrial site completely.The production operations centre continues to leak poisonous chemicals and heavy metals. The simplistic of all necessities, water, has to be shipped because hose poisonous chemicals have found their way into local water aquifers.
One of the principal legacy that has been added to this Opal incident is that the water is so dangerously contaminated and has been left by the company for the people of Madhya Pradesh to clean up. The exothermic reaction triggered numerous short term health and long term health effects for the people of Opal.The poisonous plume cloud was principally composed of material that was denser than the surrounding air consequently stayed close the ground, affecting children that went running though some of the densest patches. Pregnant women amidst the devastations suffered convolutions and extreme stomach pains. Many women ended up miscarrying. As the gas cloud continued to set in individuals struggled for air, vomiting violently, and their eyes burning.
MIMIC breaks the walls of the lungs causing people to ooze white foam from their mouth causing many to drown in their own bodily fluids.Other deaths were caused some circulatory collapse and pulmonary edema. After autopsies were performed, the tragedy revealed the changes to the lungs, cerebral edema, tubular necrosis of the kidneys, fatty degeneration of the liver and engrossing enteritis. Stillbirth rate and neonatal mortality rate have massively increased.
Today in Opal there is abnormal skin, lung and Castro intestinal cancer increases. The women in Opal continue after decades to have serious menstrual problems.Miscarriages in are seven times higher than the continue to suffer from poor coordination, memory loss, paralysis, partial blindness and impaired immune systems. Scientific estimates say that most of the people have reported symptoms, including cardiac failure secondary to lung injuries, female reproductive difficulties and some women have been known to not have periods until age 20. The catastrophe in Opal India has changed the nature of the chemical industry and has caused a re-examination of the necessity to produce such harmful chemicals.However the lessons of Opal have not changed the agricultural practice patterns and the use of pesticides and it is estimated that three million people per year suffer from pesticide poison mostly in developing nations.
The tragedy of Union Carbide Corporation in Opal India continues to be a warning sign for large corporations doing chemical business in developing countries. Opal and its aftermath was a warning that the path to industrialization, for developing Mounties is oppressed with human, environmental and economic liabilities.The government of India has offered some protection to public health with the establishment of the MOVE. The economy of India has seen remarkable growth however at a significant cost to environmental health and public safety. Much more could be performed in developing countries for community health in the context of industrialization safety to show that the lessons of Opal and the countless thousands who have perished in the midst of the horror that December night at AIM in 1984 could have been prevented.
