1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey y'all, I'm Eves and you're listening to 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:10,040 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class, a podcast for people interested 4 00:00:10,080 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: in the big and small moments in history. Today is 5 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: December second, nineteen. The day was December second, nineteen eighty four. 6 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:30,160 Speaker 1: Late at night, a gas leak accident at the Union 7 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: Carbide pesticide plant in bou Paul, India, caused what was 8 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:38,839 Speaker 1: considered the worst industrial disaster in history. The Union Carbide 9 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,159 Speaker 1: plant at bou Paul was built for the manufacture of 10 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,880 Speaker 1: seven S E V I N, a commonly used pesticide. 11 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,680 Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty four, the plant was manufacturing seven at 12 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: a reduced production capacity because the demand for pesticides was low. 13 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: The plant was slated to be shut down in nineteen 14 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: eighty four, but until then it continued to operate with 15 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: safety equipment and procedures that were below standard. Around eleven 16 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,160 Speaker 1: PM on December two, a couple of employees at the 17 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,760 Speaker 1: plant noticed the pressure increasing inside a storage tank, but 18 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: they didn't think much of it. The instruments often malfunctioned, 19 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: so they assumed the readings were inaccurate. But soon workers 20 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,680 Speaker 1: found a leak of methyl isocyanate and began to feel 21 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: its effects. Methyl Isocyanate is a highly flammable liquid used 22 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: in the production of pesticides that evaporates quickly when exposed 23 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: to air. It's highly toxic to humans with short term exposure. 24 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,399 Speaker 1: They reported the leak to a methyl isocyanate supervisor, but 25 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: he said that he would address the issue after t 26 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:45,800 Speaker 1: nobody looked into the league until about twelve forty a m. 27 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: On December three. By that point, the pressure and temperature 28 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: in the tank had increased to dangerous levels and a 29 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: number of safety measures were out of commission. The vent 30 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 1: gas scrubber that was designed to neutralize toxic discharge from 31 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: the system m was deactivated, a faulty valve allowed warder 32 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: to enter the tank and mixed with methyl isocyanate, and 33 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: a refrigeration unit that cooled storage tanks containing methyl isocyanate 34 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 1: had been disconnected. Among other safety issues, the Beau Paul 35 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: plant did not have a computer system to monitor operations 36 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: and alert staff to leaks like other operations did. Management 37 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: relied on workers sensus and physical reactions to determine that 38 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: there was a methyl isocyanate league. Around one am, a 39 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 1: safety valve gave out instead a plume of methyl isocyanate 40 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: gas into the air. The gas spread through the air 41 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: across the city of Beau Paul. In nineteen eighty four, 42 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: around eight hundred thousand people lived in Beau Paul. The 43 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: plant was very close to the Beau Paul of Railway 44 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: station and close to two large hospitals. It was surrounded 45 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: by densely populated towns. People woke up two symptoms of exposure, 46 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: like coughing, stomach pain, vomiting, and eye irritation. Pulmonary edema 47 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,359 Speaker 1: was the cause of death in many cases. People also 48 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: died from choking. There is no antidote for methyl isocyanate, 49 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: but sodium thiosulfate was given to people and the mistaken 50 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 1: belief that hydrogen cyanide was poisoning people. The exact number 51 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: of deaths in the immediate aftermath of the disaster is 52 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: hard to pin down, but it was likely somewhere between 53 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: twenty hundred and eight thousand deaths, and an estimate of 54 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand people died over the years. Many people developed 55 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: permanent disabilities and chronic respiratory conditions. Short term and long 56 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: term effects of exposure included anorexia, impaired memory and reasoning, 57 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: increased chromosomal abnormalities, decreased lung function, and increased pregnancy loss 58 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: and infant mortality. Hundreds of thousands of people were injured 59 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 1: by exposure to methyl isocyanate. Investigations after the disaster also 60 00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: found that staff at the plant had been cut, tank 61 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: alarms were not functioning, and operators had limited knowledge of 62 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: equipment and the plant and tank six ten, the one 63 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: that leaked, held forty two tons of metho isocyanate, which 64 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: was above the recommended capacity. Union Carbide agreed to a 65 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: settlement of four hundred and seventy million dollars, but little 66 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,559 Speaker 1: money was given to the victims of the disaster. Union 67 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: Carbide maintained that the disaster was the result of an 68 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:29,359 Speaker 1: act of sabotage. The company shut down operations at the 69 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: plant after the disaster, but chemicals that were dumped at 70 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,839 Speaker 1: the plant have leaked into and contaminated local water supplies. 71 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: The water is still affected by contamination today. I'm each Jeffcote, 72 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 73 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you have any insight on 74 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: an accident or a pronunciation spoken in the show. Today, 75 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: feel free to send us a kind note on social 76 00:04:54,680 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: media at t d I h C podcast. Our email 77 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:05,600 Speaker 1: address is this day at I heart media dot com. 78 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll be back tomorrow. 79 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i 80 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,000 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 81 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.