LSC UoS BA - Case Study: Ethical Issues at Union Carbide Bhopal

This case study delves into the ethical issues surrounding the Union Carbide Bhopal disaster of 1984, where a gas leak at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant exposed over 500,000 people to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, resulting in thousands of deaths and long-term health complications. The report examines the contributing factors, including cost-cutting measures, inadequate safety protocols, and unethical decisions made by both the Indian subsidiary and the parent US Union Carbide company. It highlights the negligence in safety audits, corporate responsibility, and the exploitation of uneducated workers. The study also considers the roles of key parties, such as the Indian government and the affected environment. The report concludes with suggestions for improving employee recruitment, maintaining workplace safety, and emphasizing ethics in leadership, stressing the importance of ethical conduct and robust safety measures to prevent similar disasters in the future. Desklib provides access to similar case studies and study resources.

Ethical Issues at Union Carbide US
Bhopal Disaster

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Ethical principle...........................................................................................................................4
Contributing factors regarding Unethical Issues..........................................................................5
Unethical issues key parties.........................................................................................................6
Suggestions..................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Every firm needed to follow some ethics that consists of various policies as well as
practices that can be followed through them. The policies and practices are set through
government. It includes trading, discrimination, governance, CSR and many more. In addition to
this It also creates a negative influence regarding its brand image within marketplace, ethics are
not followed (Brown, Eato. and Ranjan, 2018) . Thus it also leads to take the legal action against
that.
Present Report focuses on Bhopal gas tragedy as on the night of 3 dec 1984, there is split
out a chemical isocyanate( MIC) from Union Carbide India Limited factory that turned the whole
Bhopal into a poisonous gas chamber as there are 40 tons of methyl isocyanate is emerged out
from the factory and around more than 150000 people killed as it is known as one of the most
dangerous industrial disaster. Report also focuses on unethical issues that was becomes major
part of such disaster.
MAIN BODY
There was a gas leak in India known as The Bhopal disaster also known as Bhopal gas
tragedy considered as the worst industrial disaster within world. After the incident there were
around 100,000 died. It was said that official death of the people was around 3000 but unofficial
8000 to 10000 deaths. The incident begins from when the ventilation of the poisonous gas
namely Methyl isocyanate ( MIC) to the environment. As the gas density is more as compare to
the air itself as it has caused the toxic gas accumulation within cloud form but it is nearby ground
(Bisht, 2020). Thus, the gas MIC gas also streamed through the whole city of Bhopal such as a
sand storm on desert while living no chances for the Bhopal's citizens to save themselves. People
who lived nearest to the factory faced instant deaths while several others have to be suffered
from acute syndromes mainly because of respiratory systems. As they didn't die instantly but at
the same time face the suffering from other acute syndromes such as suffocation within lungs as
they are filled with fluids. Such effects were more painful as compared to instant death.
The firm included within such disastrous tragedy is Union Carbide India Limited that is
the Co- partner with Union Carbide Corporation ( UCC) that also belongs to USA chemical

firms which is most influential firm as its main objective within United States was to import,mix
as well as package pesticides manufactured. MIC is considered as the highly toxic gas that can
reacts more strongly with other agents such as water. In the whole process of MIC there is a
requirement of detailed security process and monitoring within order so that save it from
sabotage Kavitha Chalakkal (2019). On 1984 3 Dec, MIC stored in a tank that came contact with
water as it starts to flow into the tank alongside stored MIC by a open pressurized valve as this
resulted in an exothermic high volatile reaction that was catalysed by ferrous corrosion regarding
tank lining. On the next day at 12.40 am the tank ruptured and 40 tons of Vapour was
discharged within an hour. The women who were pregnant that time were well exposed to the
MIC has babies with Birth defects and one fourth of them were miscarried. Within this children
also developed chronic respirator issues and smaller children as well as suffered from ongoing
illness as well as lack of nutrition as well as died (Bisht, 2020). Here also people are suffering
from several lung diseases and especially Tuberculosis. It is also considered as the dilemma
issues for Bhopal Union carbide corporation as they are well aware about the business was not
considered as profitable for them but the government asked them to run in order to enhance
within the productivity regarding Indian Farmers as well as support Indian economy through
such plant. Thus because of such dilemma BUCC also avoids the responsibility regarding
environment in order to save money through keeping business running and ignored the working
conditions. In addition to this there are several ethical negligence that were not followed through
UCC (Chalakkal, 2019).
Ethical principle
Ethics are also known as moral philosophy, the discipline concerned with what is morally
right or wrong and morally good or bad. The term also implied to any principles or moral values
and any system. The Disaster of Bhopal gas provides points to the violations that are associated
to the ethical principles.
The Subsidiary of India was also known as different firm and also avail the tax benefits
given by Indian government in order to escape the complexities that will be included if the Union
carbide takes entry directly.
Contributing factors regarding Unethical Issues
To reduce the expenses influenced Bhopal Corporation's employees and situations as they did
several things that are mention below

In relation to this it was considered as highly unethical for the employee's immediate
supervisor in order to instruct employees to continue inspite of knowing all things. It was also
considered as unethical for the employees to report the wrong superior, but he still could be fully
blamed as there were no appropriate code of conduct or educational courses regarding response
protocol for the employees within plant. The supervisor needed to stick to the general safety
protocols as well as analysed the risk regarding malfunction happened that day. An appropriate
judgement made by the supervisor relied on proper moral principles before making foolish
decision that day. Therefore after the breakdown of disaster, the UCC's director within UCIL
denying the breakdown at the factory was associated to his for his firm and packed up his
belongings and moved back to America. According to him breakdown was caused due to the
human errors that came from the worker's side at workplace, not the top personnel nor the
management. The UCC's chairperson put the whole blame on the workers of low class that was
professionally unethical. As they took benefit of the uneducated and illiterate workers of the
factory in order to escape from blame. As an outcome, the Indian government fined UCC all the
loss of lives within US for all the loss of lives associated to the factory alongside the amount of $
470 million and distributes such amount to the deceased's families. After that promotions cant to
end as it can influence seriously to the workers morale and driving skilled in order to find a
factory job. Workers were also forced to uses English Manual Book as few of them have the
good grasping power regarding English language (Reid, 2020).
Because of such situations , UCIL influence several situations such as
Various vent gas scrubbers as well as flare tower had been out of service regarding five months
before Bhopal gas disaster. The MIC Tank's alarm had not worked around 4 years.
 The MIC tank alarms cannot work for four to five years.
 Flare tower and various vent gas had been out of the service for five months before the
disaster( Bhopal gas leakage).
It was also noticed that there was only one gas scruuber that was not operating in
a right manner in order to treat MIC 's large amount with Caustic soda (Sodium Hydroxide) that
may be brought for the safest level regarding concentration. In addition to this flare tower only
handle a quarter of gas that was leaked within the 1984 year as it was known as out of order
during the time of incident. So that to reduce the energy cost the refrigeration system was known

as idle one. The MIC was not kept at 4.5 degrees but was kept at 20 degree Celsius (Chalakkal,
2019).
Unethical issues key parties
There are key parties that can be occurred as due to the Bhopal gas tragedy as they are
mention below
Indian government as Government was the one who was accountable for make policies
between the business and environment safety.
Environment
The one who is impacted by tragedy is environment all over the pesticide plant as it
considered as ecosystem such as trees, water, soil as well as civilizations all over the Pesticide
Plant as well as secondary civilizations all over the plants (pesticide) such as Shanty towns
(Robinson, 2018).
Corporate negligence argument- Within this way it as founded that the government (local) did
not invested in huge amount within safety because of that leads to creating of a dangerous
environment (Fang, Jin. and Slavin, 2018).
Safety audits- There were no safety audits that was done in the UCC report as it was founded
that within MIC there are several defects. Therefore, in order to prevent catastrophic failure unit
storage tank was not enough.
Suggestions
 It is suggested that based from above tragedy industries should improves the quality of
employee's recruitment for the important roles through proper and strict inspection of
their education, past working experiences, qualification as well as literacy. As Primarily
it can avoid any kind of negative conduct of work.
 Employers of the industries also sustain the worker's quality through keeping the
workplace healthy in order to protect such skills that can be crucial regarding any
business. The employees should be well educated and well-prepared in case of
emergency, safety procedures as well as operations procedures (NYE. and SHADAAN,
2018). Also there is professional engineer be recruited so that the main task force
maintaining a secure and safe workplace while following the code of engineering ethics.
 It is also suggested that the future leaders from all over the world be stressed up and
educated up the significance of ethics and professionalism, human safety, environment

and human welfare during their tertiary education as they accomplished judgement phase
that day and also achieved a sensible amount of maturity.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it had been concluded that Bhopal gas tragedy has several ethical
negligence that were not followed such as safety audits, corporate negligence. UCC was also not
liable for the whole tragedy as it needed for firm in order to pay compensation for those who loss
their lives within this. In the end code of ethics are vital for any professions within world in order
to assure the maximum safety and security of the environment within workplace.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Bisht, P., 2020. In Between Old and New, Local and Transnational: Social Movements, Hybrid
Media and the Challenges of Making Memories Move. In Social Movements, Cultural
Memory and Digital Media (pp. 173-196). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Brown, B., Eaton, M. and Ranjan, S., 2018. The Bhopal gas tragedy site: amelioration and the
way ahead.
Chalakkal, K., 2019. Access to Justice Under International Law: Claims Against Environmental
Crimes of Transnational Corporations.
Fang, J., Jin, B. and Slavin, N.S., 2018. Ethics-When the East Meets the West. Journal of
Leadership, Accountability & Ethics, 15(2).
Kavitha Chalakkal (2019),“Access to Justice under International Law: Claims against
Environmental Crimes of Transnational Corporations”, ELCOP Yearbook of Human
Rights.
NYE, M. and SHADAAN, R., 2018 Solidarity in Struggle. UnderCurrents, p.4.
Reid, M., 2020. The Piper Alpha disaster: a personal perspective with transferrable lessons on the
long-term moral impact of safety failures. ACS Chemical Health & Safety, 27(2), pp.88-
95.
Robinson, S., 2018. The ethical environment: corporate responsibility. The Business
Environment: Themes and Issues in a Globalizing World, p.184.