Worst Industrial Disaster in the World. But the biggest question to arise here who was responsible for this accident? Were the workers at fault? Was it the company that owned this factory? Or was the government responsible for it? The factory where this disaster took place, was a factory of the Union Carbide Company.
This company is older than 100 years, and even if you don’t recognise the name of the company, you’ll know its products. Eveready batteries. Bakelite. Not only batteries and pesticides, this company manufactures rocket fuel as well. It has factories all over the world, and its factories often produce chemicals. To manufacture these products. In 1994, this company was renamed Eveready Industry. That’s the name you’d be more familiar with perhaps. But talking about the olden days, in 1962, Union Carbide had launched a poster advertisement for India. These ads were quite metaphorical.
It depicted some labourers walking down an unpaved road with their cows, And a giant hand comes down and pours a chemical liquid on the road. Seeing this ad now brings a very negative image to mind. Because of this Bhopal Gas Tragedy. But at the time, this ad had a positive meaning. How the pesticides and new technologies of Union Carbide, help in the agriculture development of the country. Union Carbide was a very successful company.
In India, it was known as Union Carbide India Limited or UCIL. And 49% of the stakes in it was owned by Indian investors. Even our government had ownership in it. In 1969, the company started a factory in Bhopal. To produce a special insecticide. It was called Sevin. To manufacture Sevin, a chemical was needed. Methyl Isocyanate or MIC. It is a very dangerous and deadly chemical. MIC was imported into India to manufacture Sevin.
