Ethical Issues in Bhopal Gas Leak

Business Law and
Ethics

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................1
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................3
.........................................................................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION
This report revolves around the ethical issues that Union Carbide faced in the gas leak of
2-3 December 1984 . According to the data collected at the time almost 5,00,000 people were
exposed to a toxic gas named Methyl Isocyanate (MIC). The incident is also known as the
Bhopal Disaster. The incident took place in a subsidiary of the organisation, US Union Carbide
named Union Carbide India Limited. The report revolves around the ethical position and
responsibilities associated with the parent company and how they were fulfilled. The report also
focuses on the magnitude of the issues that arose due to the ignorance of moral and ethical
values associated with the operations of the organisation.
MAIN BODY
This report is an accumulated sum of the ethical values related with the Bhopal Gas leak
on the night of 2-3 December 1984. This is considered to be one of the biggest industrial disaster
all over the globe. A business is considered to be an extension of society's will and wants in
which the organisation operates within. The safety, health and security of the stakeholders along
with the public associated with Union Carbide India Limited, a subsidiary of US Union Carbide
should be their top most priority (Nanda, 2020). An analysis determined that it was the lack of
instruments along with their poor quality of facility that caused the leak.
The conclusions that are drawn in this report as in accordance to NSPE which an
abbreviation for National Society of Professional Engineers. In accordance to this framework
the safety, health and security of the general public associated with Union Carbide India Limited,
a subsidiary of US Union Carbide should be their topmost priority. An organisation should not
only consider these dynamics when it comes to establishing the operational code of conduct, but
in addition to that an organisation should put efforts when it comes to putting efforts in the
development of the stakeholders (Howland, 2020). This aforementioned case all of these ethical
values were neglected. According to a report by NSPE, two out of the three main safety systems
were underdeveloped and therefore were unable to cope up with the situation. The very first of
those safety precautions being the flare tower. An analysis on the situation shows that water
sprays were not working properly at the time of disaster. The refrigeration units that were
developed especially to store the toxic gas, that effected almost 5,00,000 people living around
the organisation was shut off months before the actual disaster took place. In order to store
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