Article | REF: SE1050 V1

Lessons from major accidents in the chemical industry

Author: Jean-Louis GUSTIN

Publication date: October 10, 2002

You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!

Already subscribed? Log in!


Français

2. Bhopal accident

The Bhopal accident is the biggest industrial disaster to date. It perhaps surpasses the Chernobyl accident, whose exact number of victims is unknown. It is the result of a process involving major technological risks, implemented in an area inhabited by a very large and vulnerable population.

The manufacturing process for methyl isocyanate (MIC), an intermediate in the manufacture of insecticides, involved storing the product in storage tanks, each capable of holding 40 t of MIC. This intermediate is a volatile product, capable of reacting exothermically with water to produce carbon dioxide, and of polymerizing. These properties led to its release into the environment following a series of malfunctions. But it is above all MIC's toxicity that is responsible for the large number of victims. MIC vapors react with the skin,...

You do not have access to this resource.

Exclusive to subscribers. 97% yet to be discovered!

You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!

Already subscribed? Log in!


The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference

A Comprehensive Knowledge Base, with over 1,200 authors and 100 scientific advisors
+ More than 10,000 articles and 1,000 how-to sheets, over 800 new or updated articles every year
From design to prototyping, right through to industrialization, the reference for securing the development of your industrial projects

This article is included in

Safety and risk management

This offer includes:

Knowledge Base

Updated and enriched with articles validated by our scientific committees

Services

A set of exclusive tools to complement the resources

Practical Path

Operational and didactic, to guarantee the acquisition of transversal skills

Doc & Quiz

Interactive articles with quizzes, for constructive reading

Subscribe now!

Ongoing reading
Bhopal accident