Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Unethical Issues and Solutions

Business Law and
Ethics

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
Main body........................................................................................................................................3
Bhopal Gas Tragedy....................................................................................................................3
Unethical Issues..........................................................................................................................4
Factors contributing to Unethical Issues.....................................................................................5
Solving Unethical Issues.............................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Business law is that law which defines standards on the expected behaviour of the
company. It is very important for any business to practice ethically. The law explains the way in
which a business should be carried, legal obligations of a business towards others and its
employees. There are several rules which are made under the law obligatory for the business.
The ethical behaviour directly impact the reputation of the companies (Bujaki and Durocher,
2019). If the activities in the business are not carried according to the framework then it is
termed as unethical behaviour and this unethical behaviour impact companies in many ways.
This report consist of the major Gas leak that ever took place in the world. It explains the
Bhopal Gas tragedy in details and the unethical behaviour of the parent company of the United
States (US) that contributed the major leak of Methyl Isocyanate (MIC).
Main body
Bhopal Gas Tragedy that happened in India is considered as the major gas leak incident
that ever took place in the world. It is considered as one of the worst industrial catastrophes. This
incident occurred in 1984 at Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), which is a pesticide plant
situated in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. In the pesticides plant of UCIL at Bhopal, there was
a major leakage of Methyl Isocyanate Gas (MIC) and other dangerous chemicals which resulted
in its exposure to number of people. This leakage also resulted in damaging environment by
affecting air, water and soil (Maslen, 2019). This case of leakage was result of poor maintenance
and failure of safety systems as the company was cutting of its expenses.
Bhopal Gas Tragedy
Bhopal is the capital city of an Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is famously known as
City of Lakes and is also famous for being the greenest cities in India. Bhopal is also one of the
industrial area. It has main industries that manufacture heavy electronic equipments, printing &
weaving of cotton clothes and flour mills. It was in 1969 when an American union Carbide
Corporation, which has its headquarters in Danbury, Connecticut, entered into an agreement with
Indian government to construct plant of Union Carbide in Bhopal. This agreement states that
Union Carbide will hold 51% shares ownership through its Indian Subsidiary. This agreement
was seen as an opportunity by the Indians to grow and increase its economy as this agreement