The World's Deadliest Accident - The Union Carbide Disaster (Bhopal, India)

The scale of human suffering which resulted from the leak of toxic gas from the Union Carbide plant is pretty much unprecedented in the realm of industrial accidents. Poor planning, terrible maintenance and almost non-existent safety procedures led to the deaths of thousands. Forty years later the people of Bhopal are still suffering the effects of the fateful night of Dec 4th 1984.
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Image credits: Pracenaceste, Prakhar Sarwate, Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, Julian Nitzsche, Danish Siddiqui, Peter Kemp, Sondeep Shankar, AP, Getty Images, Reuters, BBC, Danish Siddiqui, Daniel Berehulak, Flickr: Gas Lighting, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org, Julian Nyca, Raghu Rai, India Today, PTI, Sipa, Hamid Photography, iStock,
Screengrabs from "Seconds From Disaster" and "The Railway Men"
Sources:
www.theatlantic.com/photo/201...
www.flickr.com/photos/jbhango...
www.opindia.com/2022/12/union...
www.wuwm.com/podcast/lake-eff...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_...
zeenews.india.com/photogaller...
www.indiatimes.com/news/india...
www.livemint.com/Multimedia/J...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_C...
www.bhopal.com/
www.theguardian.com/global-de...

[@SterkebeerKW]

As someone once wrote: “Imagine how safe factories would be if they could only be build next to management’s houses”

[@ls93780]

Broadly yes, but I think it depends on how high up that manager is, and how well they understand the engineering, amd if they can get the funding necessary from corporate.

[@paulcurrah7385]

I’ve been a chemical engineer designing various plants for over 35 years. Plants are designed to be safe and the design thoroughly verified. However - The greed, arrogance, complacency and laziness of owners, managers and employees can never be underestimated no matter how good the design

[@peternagy-im4be]

Before actually watching I'm gonna guess that the people responsible for this disaster faced no punishment whatsoever?

[@cookiesonastick]

You’re correct

[@nekrominh131]

Wrong!

[@peternagy-im4be]

@@nekrominh131 looks like i was correct.

[@saragrant9749]

@@nekrominh131no, he is correct. The people who should have faced punishment never did. The USA has some answering to do for not extraditing that fool back to face charges also.

[@darabennett4316]

Bingo,... was his name-o.

[@StrongDreamsWaitHere]

Part Ownership by the Indian government is extremely relevant to the shifting responsibility and the fact that money paid by Union Carbide to the Indian government never made its way to the real victims.

[@misteebond]

Not a cent of the compensation went to the victims, India's worst enemy is their own government.

[@bestboy138]

Just like the USA

[@patanouketgersiflet9486]

In that very case, Bhopal's worst enemy was a 100% preventable gas leak from a privately owned company who deliberately ran the factory into the ground to save nickels and dimies.

[@spazzypengin]

@@patanouketgersiflet9486 The Indian government was part owner of that privately owned company. The Indian government was responsible for passing and enforcing safety regulations. The corrupt Indian government doesn't care.

[@Maven0666]

America’s worst enemy is it’s own govt also. As is many countries.

[@mikepalmer2219]

Pretty much every government is the same the world over.

[@senses70]

This “accident” still in my mind the worst injustice ever of an industrial disaster. Just because it was in an area with some of the poorest people in the world, with corrupt officials, no proper indemnisation was ever given to a still suffering community to this day. It makes my blood boil and still haunts me.

[@paweszaduro7946]

The True

[@MrNelmo2]

The problem is that good safety systems cost money and 99% of the time will never be used and in a poor country like India, you can imagine the temptation to skimp - this is an example of that 1%, sadly. I dread to think how many other factories out there are in the same condition, even today.

[@alexanderveritas]

Just remove and sell the unnecessary parts, like the _refrigeration unit._ *What could possibly go wrong?*

[@francesbacon7825]

With the plant in such a mess of unworkable equipment? All executives that knew the condition of that plant should have been arrested.

[@marks_sparks1]

I learned of this disaster growing up, but it still shocks me. Bhopal was rightly called "an environmental catastrophe exported to the 3rd World".

[@PrezVeto]

It was largely _born of_ the Third World.

[@saragrant9749]

Catastrophe? Try travesty. This was so ridiculous it was unbelievable. To think that no one has faced punishment, no one has been forced to clean their mess up is insane.

[@patanouketgersiflet9486]

How can you possibly clean up 10,000 dead people from a 100% avoidable cause?

[@saragrant9749]

@@patanouketgersiflet9486 I’m referring to the site itself, all the contamination that still remains, the structures that are left that should be taken down so the entire area can be cleansed. The Indian government, the owners of the site- absolutely NO ONE has done a damn thing about it and so people continue to suffer.

[@patanouketgersiflet9486]

@@saragrant9749 That's another can of worms, and you're absolutely right about that

[@PrezVeto]

The video stated that several managers were convicted and jailed. Pay attention.

[@saragrant9749]

@@PrezVeto excuse you but I DID pay attention- you obviously didn’t read my comment with any sort of clarity. I did not mention the managers, people who ran the business but had no control over its actual functionality or maintenance. That is the responsibility of the OWNERS, none of whom were ever punished!

[@oscarr.g.509]

I can strongly recommend the book 'Five past Midnight in Bhopal' from Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro. Not just covers in great detail the background of Union Carbide and the technicalities and terrible decisions leading to such a tragedy, but also does a great work letting us know about the human side of the disaster through the personal stories of the residents of the affected neighbourhood.

[@pittsburghpirateshat8950]

My friend Asad and his family are from Bhopal, he told me that in like 40 years since the disaster, the town has recovered as much as it could.

[@skylineXpert]

Money means much to cruel bastards...

[@xxdesertstorm]

Welcome to India its why they are still a 3rd world country with a space program

[@matthewschreck6418]

I've read and seen much on the Bhopal accident, but yours is the best I've seen. Very well done.

[@theravenseye9443]

Thanks - appreciate the comment.

[@bombfog1]

A lot of historical impending disasters have been ignored because of a tea time. The Battle of Gallipoli comes readily to mind.

[@JGCR59]

Chai is a killer

[@JMFuller]

Weirdly this is referenced in the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Eddie asks Clark if it was his company that killed all those people in India.

[@killerfrank8974]

I was going to comment on that myself. I vaguely knew about this disaster growing up but for the longest time I never quite knew what they were talking about until I put two and two together. It's a funny, little scene, but what an unbelievable tragedy.

[@NESW2000]

A hand in things to come is so foreboding

[@Stichting_NoFap]

I have a video about the Vizag gas leak, the 2nd Bhopal.

[@stevenmacdonald9619]

Even when I know of certain incidents and disasters, I'll still watch The Raven's Eye for any story. No channel covers these horrific times with such clarity, and humility as this one does.

[@Truckngirl]

Very good job. The aftermath of the Bhopal catastrophe was the birth of modern Occupational and Environmental Safety culture and practices that are still being cultivated and improved to this day.

[@greebo7857]

the Bhopal disaster was many things. An accident was not one of them.

[@12345678927164]

Testing for the big one.

[@alienrefugee51]

They'll go to war to try and find a fugitive and yet...

[@martindunstan8043]

Same old sorry story unfortunately💵💵💰 Profit over people- money over maintenance- shareholders over safety

[@Shannon_Dobbs]

I’ve been waiting for you to cover this. EXCELLENT WORK!

[@benjaminfinlay829]

Scary that they had to restart the plant, but I can completely understand the need to use up the remaining toxic chemicals at the site. Though I doubt that's of much consolation to the poor families when they heard about it.

[@dsfs17987]

it was probably safer to do, considering everything, since emptying the containers of the dangerous material, that then had to have been disposed somehow, doesn't just happen by itself, there would be other risks involved and most likely they quickly understood what happened when competent people arrived, hence they wanted to use up the rest of the materials to prevent the repeat of the disaster as soon as possible, because leaving it sitting there till they come up with disposal plan, could actually be more dangerous - it's unintuitive, but probably was the right call what was mind boggling, was that ALL safety features had been disabled, and that there was not 1 competent person there to watch over it, probably anyone understanding the dangers of how the operation was run, quickly left for greener pastures, and just the incompetent ones were left, hence the chain of all the failures, this is pretty common with poor management in big companies where top brass surround themselves with yes people and keep on skimming off the top while the underlying mechanism that makes up the business, is crumbling into pieces

[@benjaminfinlay829]

@@dsfs17987 I agree; it absolutely was the right call to use up the chemicals before they could leak. And... yeah. The conditions at the plant were absolutely unacceptable prior to this catastrophe. I'm just glad someone sensible stepped in to order the remaining chemicals disposed of in the safest manner possible, rather than just dropping it like a hot potato.

[@HandyMan657]

When you know the story, but you also know Raven will explain further. Thanks, Raven's i

[@mikepalmer2219]

I remember this on the news as a kid. It is a memory I have never forgotten. It was hard to wrap my head around it at that age.

[@Sabadiver]

Love your videos, make them more often, pretty please ❤️

[@kateemma22]

If you have Netflix I recommend The Railway Men which dramatises the real story of railway workers that managed to save hundreds of lives thanks to their heroic work getting survivors onto trains out of the city. It also shows the depths that both the company went to to cover themselves and what also the government did to sacrifice Bhopal (which had a large and very poor Muslim and other minorities population in a rich Hindu country) for the good of not upsetting the white Americans giving them money.

[@jakemocci3953]

Of course the Netflix series blames white americans, when the plant was part owned by the Indian government and run by Indians.

[@scofab]

I was prepared to say this is old news and done many times... however you did a very thorough job. Thank you and regards.

[@brianedwards7142]

I remember this on the news. It was horrific.

[@andyjay9346]

Remember it very well. Was saturated on the tv and radio news everyday as well as newspapers and magazines> Very sad. No one bought Eveready batteries for years. And this was all a decade + before the Internet and mobile phones were even thought of.

[@Hartford1992]

Nothing like starting my morning with a cup of tea and The Raven's Eye. Wonderful job as always, my friend!

[@WizardofRoblox]

Good thing is that it's closed or more dangerous disaster even worse than Chernobyl Accident. Rest in peace to people who died😢

[@superomegaprimemk2]

I never heard of this disaster until upon seeing the video but it strikes me as a catalog of failures that caused the disaster, and the fact that the CEO of the company was never bought to trial just goes to show that there exists a two tier justice system, one for normal people and another for the rich elite!!

[@PrezVeto]

Why try the Union Carbide CEO before the CEO of the subsidiary, who would've been much more aware of what was going on?

[@blumoontoons2313]

I remember learning about this travesty in Seconds from Disaster and, while the entire series is tragic considering what the series is about, this is one of those episodes that's extremely hard to watch. This is like the ultimate end goal for how much cheaping out on safety measures, all to save a buck can lead to a massive catastrophe that wounds hundreds of thousands of lives for DECADES. It blows my mind that so many people in charge of such a delicate crisis basically got away with this. 2024 will mark the 40th year mark since this tragedy happened, and it really feels like a never-ending nightmare that will never go away. What a travesty...

[@michaelmappin4425]

This is unbelievably the way mishaps work. Mishap investigation always reveals a chain of errors and missed opportunities to avert disaster.

[@Momcat_maggiefelinefan]

I recall hearing of this disaster on the radio and TV news. My best friend, a research chemist, foretold the numerous deaths and suffering, having worked in supervisory roles in Asia. He frequently mentioned the huge differences between operations in the third world as opposed to North America. Poverty, entitlement, lack of education, and disregard of human life results in huge errors, frequent injuries, and loss of lives in many industrial accidents. Compensation for workers, survivors, family members frequently ends up in the pockets of the owners, employers, supervisors, etc. with little to nothing left for the true victims. The suffering goes on … we need to open our eyes and aide the downtrodden of our society. 🇨🇦🖖🏻🇨🇦

[@Zach-ku6eu]

An entire nation of incompetents. Why would anyone let them staff something so dangerous?!

[@Youcanttouchmyhandle]

Best practice for the future is do not create toxic deadly chemicals in the first instance. A complete and thorough clean up and safe destruction of all remaining contaminants and debris should have been completed. Add #industrialgenocide Failure ins a #dutyofcare A company must ensure its products are safe for animals environments and humans Thank you Ravens Eye You Tube channel for covering the story and for all that you do

[@indy_go_blue6048]

In case you're a newby to this tragedy or just want some more info, check out Seconds from Disaster: Bhopal here.

[@NektarVision]

Legendary storyteller 🔥

[@lyedavide]

Anytime a corporate entity or government puts money above safety, it never ends well for people, whether or not they are directly involved in the resulting disaster. There are no words to describe the callous and criminal negligence of this disaster. To think that the combatants during WW1 used poison gas against each other is absolutely incomprehensible. Those responsible for this disaster got off too easily.

[@Wisdom-Nuggets-Tid-Bits]

Very sad!!! It seems that most of these "accidents" that I have heard of over 150 years or so happen by either negligence, cutting corners, or operating cheaply.

[@johnharris6655]

"You the ones that killed all them people in India." I am surprised they left that line in Christmas Vacation.

[@bbd121]

An Indian friend I have defended their government regarding Bhopal for some reason. He also refuses to watch these documentaries I forward to him.

[@littlespinycactus]

I've heard many descriptions of this tragic incident: Yours stand out.

[@cherylmarcuri5506]

I was a teenager when this happened. The only reason I know anything about it is because my uncle Bill was a chemical engineer and was working for UC here in St. Louis when this happened. My dad used it against Uncle Bill for the next year whenever he got carried away with the possibilities of chemical engineering.

[@ATK10155]

Babe wake up, Raven’s Eye just posted

[@davehanson7764]

I remember this very well and has implications to this day

[@FinnishLapphund]

Even if it was sabotage (ETA which I doubt), it was the company's decision to refuse to inform the hospital/doctor about what had actually leaked from their factory. 😢 Sadly I'm not surprised to hear that the grounds are still contaminated, but it's crazy, and horrible to hear that kids are using the presumably still contaminated factory ruins as a playground. 😮 But I suppose that I'm not surprised to hear about that there's tourists visiting. Even though I presume the visits aren't as regulated as e.g. the tourists visiting Chernobyl, I did know about that there's some people that are interested in visiting places like Chernobyl as tourists, so from that viewpoint, I suppose Bhopal is no different.

[@gary1883]

The whole plant was built by English speaking carbide workers and all the manuals and guides were in English. The plant was then handed off and ran by completely green Indian workers with no management or check ins by carbide

[@jamessicard6682]

I visited this plant last year. It was cool yet eerie. Two different Bhopal hotels started booking me until they saw my US passport. Then they abruptly said they did not have availability after all.

[@thejournalist1785]

Can you please cover the Bath School Disaster?

[@lexinexi-hj7zo]

When the company lies and says "Oh its just phosgene WWI chemical weapon gas" because the true nature is much worse is wrong on every level. Just picturing meth-iso-cyanate chem structure in my head makes me think of all 4's on the fire diamond plus 3 extra danger categories in the fourth diamond.

[@thomashunter5707]

This was unforgivable

[@CathodeRayNipplez]

What a mess 😕

[@anthonydivon5571]

I remember seeing this being reported on the news when I was 10 years old

[@mikepalmer2219]

12 years old for me.

[@ashishjoshi8148]

I was a child when this happened but I still remember the vivid banner headlines in the newspapers and magazines in the aftermath of the tragedy. Two years after this, Chernobyl would take place. People never learn, do they?

[@alankeith7866]

They basically built the perfect chemical bomb. They just disabled or removed the safety equipment, simple as that.

[@krishnakatikitala-bw1xo]

Please do a video on LG polymers visakhapatnam gas tragedy 2020

[@dafyddthomas7299]

RIP to the innocents

[@Isabeau8394]

I remember this incident in 1984, then another accident in 1986 at chernobyl.. they need to practice what they preach to avoid these tragedies again. 😢

[@esteemedmortal5917]

I don’t believe in Hell but people like this CEO make for a compelling argument

[@elmin82]

poor people ..

[@labyrinthgirl17]

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but with everything mentioned that had been disconnected, turned off, or whatever so it didn't work properly, it sounds like the plant was designed to fail and 'accidentally' kill all of those poor people.

[@CriticalityIncident]

Agreed. I've read quite a lot about this event, and I refuse to call it an accident. It wasn't an accident at all. It was a massacre.

[@labyrinthgirl17]

I mean how many times did the police and the medical professionals have to ask what had poisoned the people before they finally told them the truth? Seems like a delay tactic to make sure the poison had enough time to kill people.

[@paulannable3734]

Stupid, evidence free bollocks. Please enlighten anyone unfortunate enough to read your comments as to who benefitted from this disaster?

[@mattislindehag3065]

The problem was that maitaining all of those safity features in the plant was expensive and the Bophal plant was a big investment in dire economic straits. Union Carbide thought they could make a big profit by making their pesticide on site in India instead of shipping it over seas but development in the industry was moving fast so when they got heir plant up and running other less toxic pesticides that were selling for similar prices had entered the market. It was still usefull in cases where the insect problem was severe but otherwise their product was unattractive. The shrunken market forced them to cut the price by a lot and since the plant was on the brink of ruin they started skimping everywhere they could. Even in areas where they shouldn't have.

[@stanclark8824]

Wow! Final destination in real life.

[@lexinexi-hj7zo]

Can somebody make #dowcleanbhopal ? You make it ill do the PR, do people still do "hashtag-goodcause" or is twitter something for old people?

[@stephanieparker1250]

Oh.. like 3M! 😬

[@WouldntULikeToKnow.]

A culture emphasizing the importance of safety starts from the top down. The entire C-Suite of the company should have been extradited to India to face punishment.

[@PrezVeto]

Just going to ignore the political incentive of the Indian politicians to pursue them in the first place? Remember the Indian government was a large shareholder of the subsidiary that actually owned and operated the plant.

[@ryansharpe3886]

“People began vomiting, collapsing, and just dying in the street…” “WHERE ARE WE GONNA RESPAWN THIS TIME?!” These ads man, worst fucking timing.

[@stephanieparker1250]

💔💔💔💔

[@deseminvoller]

Unlikely to be sabotage as a worker at the factory would be well aware of the risk to their own person if they did indeed mess with pressurised tanks filled with large quantities of phosgene and methyl isocyanate.

[@tinymetaltrees]

Wtf is a "trained lawyer"? Did he do tricks?

[@autismworldtravel]

He went to university to become a lawyer and obtained a license to practice to law.

[@tinymetaltrees]

​@@autismworldtravelcool. Which tricks?

[@Youcanttouchmyhandle]

#ecocide RIP💕❤️ World healing to India

[@steventhompson399]

I remember seeing a documentary tv show about this disaster when i was a kid in the 90s. In a way that only an innocent ignorant naive kid could, I wondered how greed could lead to this, and how it seemed justice wasn't done... of course now it's more believable and less surprising because I'm a properly cynical adult...

[@chesspiece81]

Why wouldn't you have these storage tanks under water or have the vents going into a controlled body of water? Wouldn't that help disperse the airborne toxin?

[@tomislavvaldec1]

profit and cut the mainteinance cost is the no1 gilt

[@Cam-ns1yi]

Plant manger... Facility manager... Safety director....

[@RJ-luci]

Ignorance is not bliss…………..

[@SteveMacSticky]

Incompetence.

[@gehtdianschasau8372]

12:35 I'm pretty shure, they didn't burry or burn the dying people.

[@chrissmith6919]

The frivolous conduct this company showed and absolute disregard for the publics safety is unbelievably ignorant. All those lives lost once again for companies chasing the Almighty dollar!

[@mrkipling2201]

And the plant is still there i believe. Left to rot away after the disaster. The MIC tanks were dug up and left there.

[@naveenadamarasingu9962]

Actual death rate would be hidden

[@colinlove5062]

Of course Dow Chemical bought Union Carbide. If not for the collapse of the aerospace industry in Saginaw, MI I would have been born there. The company my father worked at was erroneously blamed for enough time that the industrial mixers it made for the rocket fuel were at fault. This is likely to my benefit we all knew that the Tittabawasse River the one that had the dual dam collapse had been horribly polluted with Dixon. When Dow began production in the Tri-Cities area it picked the area for its company town up stream a state wetland where it’s one of the 5 rivers that converge. The Saginaw River which runs their the largest city in the region and empties into Saginaw Bay have had their riverbeds and floodplain declared a super fund site as of 2004. During the early 20th century production of chlorine and its by product Dixon were left to freely flow into the Tittabawasse River. Work is still ongoing 20 years later to clean up the lower reaches of the Saginaw River and work has yet to begin cleaning wherever the silt has been dumped to keep the shipping channel open 10 miles inland into downtown Saginaw. In total contamination has spread 50 miles down stream the Tittabawasse & into the Shiawassee according to the EPA report from 2004. This includes the Shiawassee River National Wildlife Refuge in which the 5 rivers converge to form the Saginaw & then about 20 miles downstream to Saginaw Bay. The bay separates the thumb from the fingers on the hand map of Michigan it covers an area of 1,400 square miles 5% of Lake Huron. Since 1970 the state and Army Corps have been dredging the contaminated sediment. Building up what used to be two small islands into Shelter & Channel Island. For 10 years the allocated space has run out but no one wants that muck near their waterfront home and Dow doesn’t want to pay to create a more permanent space. So the dykes are raised every year the river mouth is dredged. While the dredging and replanting of the Tittabawasse flood plain has apparently reached 21 miles from the Dow site which is good. However the Saginaw River and bay front is contaminated as well Dow has only worked in the city of Saginaw has done is to clean up the residential section of middle island. The island includes a city part youth clubs sugar maple trails & a greenway - boardwalk connecting the nearby neighborhood. As a family member of former residents who were flooded in 1987 it makes me worried about my parent’s exposure during the clean up of the basement. A lot of great friends lived in the neighborhood and did very well for themselves including retiring across the state on Lake Michigan. It’s galling that Union Carbide has never cleaned up its mess or faced charges and Dow knowingly polluted the major cities downstream that provided its workers. Perhaps nature got a little revenge as Stanford Lake one of the dams to fail in 2021 was the waterfront community where Dow executives lived.

[@0Zolrender0]

Are you surprised? This is a USA Corp run factory in India.

[@erichughes284]

I was there

[@musicfanmike]

Is it just me, or is this the voice and work of Rocket Powered Mohawk dulled down a bit and with much less sarcasm than the F1 reviews??

[@bloodraven2887]

its India im not shocked at all

[@davidprince1138]

I doubt much, if any, of that settlement money actually went to or were used for the victims and their familites.

[@Revikra]

That's what I heard years ago. Perhaps another commenter can give an update if the Indian government dispersed those funds to the victims.

[@meetoo594]

The victims never got anything and the government trousered the money. They didn't even bother cleaning the site up, just left it to poison the locals for decades.

[@djphlange]

So this is more on India and their regulations..

[@mjkay8660]

Well here's the thing somebody of great importance to that company happened to say off site what did those idiots expect they knew the chemicals were dangerous and now we're going to have down time because we have to train more.. yes there was no thoughts and prayers for that group

[@colinmccarthy7921]

I don’t believe it.I am a retired engineer.

[@Swishersweetcigarilo]

What a terrible way to die....waking up just to die. I would like to think that the people passed away in their sleep peacefully.

[@ThePursuitofHappiness1988]

This is why we have OSHA, folks.

[@felicetanka]

British capitalism is a special piece of work.

[@jakemocci3953]

You know the plant was run by Indians when it blew up, right?

[@Taketimeout3]

In India, run by Indians, owned by Indian government who still havent bothered to remove and clear the site. The same company had many chemical plants around the world but it happened in India and not elswhere. Yet they dont blame the Indian Government but only the USA. That tells us that the people expect higher standards from the West and not from their own government or staff so effectively giving proof that one is inferior to the other.

[@eS._Te]

are you aware of a tiktik channel, stealing your content and other peoples content?