Ethics: Union Carbide

Ethics Paper: Union Carbide

In the early morning hours of December 1984, 43 tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) Ð'- a chemical commonly used in pesticides Ð'- was accidentally released into the air by the Indian division of U.S. chemical giant, Union Carbide Corporation (Wikipedia, 2007). When the cloud settled on the nearby sleeping town of Bhopal, India, the inhabitants awoke to hell on earth.

With over 500,000 people exposed to the chemical cloud, 3,000 people were initially estimated by the British Broadcasting Corporation to have died. To date, over 20,000 additional people have died from issues directly attributable to the Union Carbide tragedy, and 560,000 injury claims have been settled by Union Carbide. Despite this horrific tragedy entering its third decade, 2,500 people continue to die in and around Bhopal each year from MIC exposure.

The Facts

Prior to the catastrophe, the Bhopal plant had not been profitable for a number of years due to dwindling demand for pesticides in India (Bhopal.org, 2007). This resulted in personnel cuts, mostly in the production and maintenance areas of the facility. At the time of the accident, the plant had been shut down for maintenance and critical safety devices had been deactivated. Unqualified employees with no MIC training were placed in supervisory positions.

Consequently, when water somehow entered a MIC holding tank, the resulting violent chemical reaction caused a leak. This was quickly identified, but defects in the tank, coupled with an unqualified staff to handle the emergency, prevented the toxic fumes from being contained.

Ethical issues arise from the lack of safety standards and maintenance procedures at the Bhopal plant versus its sister plant in Institute, West Virginia. The Indian town Ð'- unlike the U.S. town Ð'- was never provided disaster preparedness procedures (Onlineethics.com, 2001).

Companies that operate in poor countries such as India offer cheap labor and low operating costs, but little incentive to promote and adhere to safety procedures. Oftentimes a company will achieve greater profits by avoiding compliance and paying the penalties of inaction or noncompliance than meeting safety laws or environmental requirements Ð'- if they even exist.

Unresolved Issues and Roles of Key Players

There continue to be unresolved concerns related to this event. The most concerning are the thousands of people who continue to be treated with various health concerns following this massive leak. Although Union Carbide and the Indian government have funded the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Center, many patients remain hospitalized. The cost of this facility and the responsibility for its continued operation remain unsettled. Additionally, the residents of Bhopal continue to have concerns and class action complaints remain as potential issues for Union Carbide.

The India state government also remains involved to ensure that environmental concerns such as adequate healthcare, rehabilitation and drinking water are completely resolved. There have been and still are remediation efforts to insure the proper clean-up and resolution of the site. Union Carbide and other sectors of the chemical industry are working on efforts to implement and support Responsible Care to help in the prevention of this type of event. Community awareness, emergency preparedness and a process for safety standards are part of the Responsible Care.

Warren Anderson was the chairman of Union Carbide at the time of the massive leak. Anderson, together with a technical team, immediately departed to India to assist the government in dealing with the incident. Upon his arrival he was placed under house arrest and urged by the Indian government to leave the country. Anderson however was released shortly after and leads efforts to support the victims while working closely with Indian government. Union Carbide India, Limited, was the primary owner and operator of the plant. Other stakeholders included Indian financial institutes and thousands of private investors in India. Additional stakeholders include the thousands of shareholders of Union Carbide as the financial loss was more than $900 million in market value. In addition, the Government of India was a major stakeholder in how it reacted to its residents and the regulations and disaster relief it would enable for its citizens. How about the many lives lost from this event? Many of the families who were affected became stakeholders as this incident has a long-lasting affect on their health and well-being.

Analytical Evaluation

As previously mentioned, there are several ethical issues surrounding the Union Carbide tragedy. The main issue being the lack of safety procedures and a proper maintenance processes. Much of this catastrophe could have been avoided if the proper measures had been taken. The plant was built in a very densely populated area because the land was less expensive. If the company had chosen to locate the plant in a less populated area, the number of people affected by this event could have been reduced tremendously. The employees were forced to use training manuals that were written in English, even though many did not fully understand the language. The company chose not to reproduce training materials in the native language of the employees because of the expense associated with the reproduction. As a result many of the employees did not fully understand the policies and procedures, nor did they know what to do in the event of an emergency.

When employees reported leaking pipes, they were told not to replace them. All cost cutting measures played a key role in this incident, and the company's ability to recover from it. "Cuts Ð'... meant less stringent quality controls and thus looser safety rules" (Wikipedia.org, 2007). The plant had "poorly trained personnel, rapid turnover, leaking values, shoddy gauges and inadequate water spray protection." This all contributed to the potential for a serious incident to occur.

Union Carbide