Business Ethics Analysis: The Bhopal Gas Tragedy and CSR Implications

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, a major industrial disaster that occurred in 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. The report delves into the ethical issues that led to the tragedy, highlighting the company's disregard for safety regulations, cost-cutting measures, and lack of concern for the well-being of its employees and the surrounding community. It examines the role of business ethics, emphasizing how the company's unethical practices, including the failure to maintain equipment, provide safety instructions, and address environmental concerns, contributed to the disaster. Furthermore, the report explores the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), critiquing the company's denial of responsibility and its failure to fulfill its obligations to the affected communities. The analysis underscores the importance of ethical conduct, CSR, and adherence to safety standards in business operations to prevent such devastating incidents in the future.

Business Law

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Bhopal Gas Tragedy....................................................................................................................3
Ethics in Business.......................................................................................................................4
Ethical issues that lead to Bhopal Gas Tragedy..........................................................................4
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Bhopal Gas Tragedy................................................5
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Business law is that branch of law that helps in the regulations of business and its
activities. The law defines standards for the company which suggests the behaviour expected out
of any business. To achieve success by the company it is important that business carry out its
activities ethically and make sure that such activities are not adversely affecting environment and
the society at large. The main purpose of ethics in business is to make sure that the business is
consistent with its moral attitude (da Costa, 2017). The business practices must be such that it
has good and positive impact upon the society. This report consist of the Bhopal gas Tragedy
that happened in 1984 at the pesticide plant named: the Union Carbide India Limited in Bhopal,
Madhya Pradesh, India. This report also explains the ethical issues at the union carbide which
lead to this industrial disaster.
MAIN BODY
Bhopal Gas Tragedy
The major gas leak incident that ever took place in the history of world is popularly
known as “The Bhopal Gas Tragedy”. This disaster is world famous industrial Catastrophes.
This disaster took place on December 3rd,1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL)
pesticide plant which was located in the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Union Carbide
company (UCC) is the parent company of UCIL which is situated in the united states (US). The
plant of UCIL was involved in the production of pesticides. To produce the persticide the main
component needed was methyl isocyanate (MIC). It is the most harmful gas and the reaction to it
with water causes explosion.
The situation at the UCIL was such that the company was not generating any profit and
the management of the company was constantly trying to cut the cost and save money. There
were many improvements and repair needed at the industry but the management paid no
attention to it and no repairs were done. This unethical behaviour of the company lead to many
uncertainty at the plant and the workers could not work properly.
The coolant of the MIC gas tank was not functioning properly which resulted in the
leakage of the gas. Soon the gas started causing irritation and burning sensation in the body and
eyes of the people working at the industry (Ashton and Trapeznik, 2019). Soon the MIC gas
came in contact with the water kept in the water tank. The reaction or mixture of both water and

the MIC gas lead to its explosion. This caused severe injury to the people working and also
death of the people. Not only the employees but also the people who lived near the plant were
affected by this explosion.
The unethical practices of the company was the sole result of this Bhopal Gas Tragedy.
The company failed to fulfil its obligations and duty towards the company itself by not
maintaining and repairing any machinery. The company also failed to fulfil its social obligations
as they did not took any safety measures related to the environment and society at large.
Ethics in Business
Business ethics is the behaviour and conduct of any business with relation to other
organisation, its employees and with the people it is connected with, like: investors, suppliers,
etc. The ethical behaviour in business benefits the company in many ways. It increases the profit
of the company, builds strong relationship with other people in association to the business, it also
increases the productivity of its employees, etc (Kazeroony and Barton, 2018). Ethical behaviour
benefit the company either directly or indirectly but unethical behaviour of the company
adversely impact the growth and success of the company. Therefore the company must includes
provisions regarding ethical conduct and behaviour so that the business do not suffer and
continue to grow.
Ethical issues that lead to Bhopal Gas Tragedy
When talking about business ethics, three factors are considered i.e. health, safety and
welfare of the people. All these factors were ignored in the case of Bhopal Gas Tragedy. The
facilities, machineries, equipments, etc. at the plant were all in very poor condition and the result
of it was the leakage of MIC gas in the plant, which lead to disaster. The industry was in such a
condition that the backups of the machines and storage tanks were being used and they too were
demanding repairing. Instead of having 3 safety systems at the industry only one of it was in
function. This was due to the fact that the company was not gaining any profit and they were
continuously trying to cut the cost. The management was so irresponsible that they did not even
paid any attention to the safety and well-being of its employees or the society which was living
near to the area surrounded by the industry.
The MIC tank had a coolant which was not working so the management did not repair it
and instead kept the temperature of the coolant to 20 degree Celsius instead of 4.5 degree
Celsius. The management did not pay attention to it. The company was using MIC gas and the

management did not provide any safety instructions or guidelines related to its employees and to
the people living around the industry. The major ethical question which was asked by the
company was that,why the company started the industry where it was surrounded by houses and
people (Diochon, Mills and Raufflet, 2017). To this the company had no answer.
An inspection was done by the parent company and the reports were made. The report
clearly stated that the company was not earning any profit and lots of improvements and repair
work is to be done. But later this report, no changes or improvements were made as the company
was trying to save money but cutting its cost. This resulted in the leakage of the gas and the
major explosion happened.
When the disaster took place and the company was held liable and responsible, the UCC
completely denied it all. The company stated that they had no connection with the said disaster.
Even if the company was its part, the disaster was stated to be the result of human error. The
statements made by UCC clearly showed that the company behaviour was unethical and the
conduct of it was irresponsible and unlawful.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Bhopal Gas Tragedy
Obligations and responsibilities of a business towards the society and the environment is
termed as corporate social responsibility (CSR). It basically explains the conduct of a business
in relation to the society at large. From any business it is expected that its behaviour or conduct
must be such that it have positive impact on society and must not have any adverse or negative
impact. The process of CSR deals with the management or operations of the business and its
activities and it makes sure that the provisions of the law in regard to CSR are being complied by
the company. The main reason for adopting CSR is that the companies should not only focus on
itself, it should see to the effect of its activities on other people or society at large and on the
environment (Clammer, 2019). It is important as the company is expected to deliver sustainable
values to the society and its people.
In the case of Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the parent company completely denied its
responsibility of the disaster. But later the company agreed on the fact stating that although the
disaster happened at its company but the reason was human error and therefore they are not
liable. This statement showed that the company's act and behaviour was unethical as they were
not taking responsibilities which they actually owe. The company had responsibilities towards

the people who were living in the surrounding areas of the industry. Many people due to the
disaster became blind, few had severe injury, burnt, dead, etc.
After so many years of the industrial disaster, a research on environment was made. It
was found that there still exist toxic in a very large amount in the area where the plant is located.
The toxic is continuously affecting the area and the environment near to it (Meyer-Galow, 2018).
The soil, air and water are still affected by the toxic present and the people living around the area
are using the same environment as they are dependant on it. This is still badly affecting the lives
of thousand of people and the effect of the same is irreversible.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that the company must have ethical behaviour and
conduct not only with respect to the people they are connected with but also with the
environment and the society at large. The business along with generating lots of profit must also
focus on the fact that the activities of the business carried out by them is not harming or
damaging the environment and also see that these activities are not having any negative impact
on the society. The companies main aim is to generate profit therefore to attain success and
growth of the company, they are expected to practice ethically. The company must includes
provisions in relation to the ethical code of conduct and the corporate social responsibilities in
their guidelines and rules.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ashton, P. and Trapeznik, A. eds., 2019. What is public history globally?: working with the past
in the present. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Clammer, J., 2019. Cultural Rights, Business and the Ethics of Development: Bringing Social
Ethics Back In. In Cultural Rights and Justice (pp. 35-52). Palgrave Macmillan,
Singapore.
da Costa, K., 2017. Corporate accountability in the Samarco chemical sludge disaster. Disaster
Prevention and Management.
Diochon, P.F., Mills, A.J. and Raufflet, E. eds., 2017. The Dark Side 2: Critical cases on the
downside of business. Routledge.
Kazeroony, H.H. and Barton, C.D., 2018. THE NEED FOR A NEW BUSINESS ETHICS
MODEL. Management Education for Corporate Social Performance, p.99.
Meyer-Galow, E., 2018. Business Ethics 3.0: The New Integral Ethics from the Perspective of a
CEO. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.