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The
Bhopal Gas Tragedy, 1984 was a catastrophe that had no parallel in the world’s
industrial history. In the early morning hours of December 3, 1984, a rolling
wind carried a poisonous gray cloud from the Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal,
Madhya Pradesh (India). Forty tons of toxic gas (Methy-Iso-Cyanate, MIC) was accidentally
released from Union Carbide’s Bhopal plant, which leaked and spread throughout
the city. The result was a nightmare that still has no end, residents awoke to
clouds of suffocating gas and began running desperately through the dark
streets, victims arrived at hospitals; breathless and blind. The lungs, brain,
eyes, muscles as well as gastro-intestinal, neurological, reproductive and
immune systems of those who survived were severely affected. When the sun rose
the next morning, the magnitude of devastation was clear. Dead bodies of humans
and animals blocked the street, leaves turned black and a smell of burning chili
peppers lingered in the air. An estimated 10,000 or more people died. About
500,000 more people suffered agonizing injuries with disastrous effects of the
massive poisoning. None can say if future generations will not be affected.
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