Bhopal Gas Tragedy Gas name?
VerifiedAnswer: Methyl isocyanate
Explanation:
The Bhopal Gas Tragedy, one of the world's worst industrial disasters, occurred on the night of December 2-3, 1984, when a toxic gas leak from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, killed thousands of people and affected hundreds of thousands more. The deadly gas responsible for this catastrophe was methyl isocyanate, commonly abbreviated as MIC.
Methyl isocyanate is a highly toxic, colorless liquid chemical compound with the formula CH₃NCO. It has an extremely pungent smell and is primarily used as an intermediate in the production of pesticides, particularly carbamate pesticides like Sevin. At the Union Carbide plant, MIC was being used to manufacture the pesticide Carbaryl, which was meant to help Indian farmers protect their crops.
The disaster occurred when water accidentally entered a storage tank containing approximately 40 tons of MIC. This water contamination triggered a violent chemical reaction that caused the temperature and pressure inside the tank to rise dramatically. The safety systems failed to contain the reaction, and a massive cloud of methyl isocyanate gas was released into the atmosphere around midnight.
The toxic properties of methyl isocyanate made it particularly deadly. When inhaled, MIC causes severe damage to the respiratory system, leading to fluid accumulation in the lungs, breathing difficulties, and often death from suffocation. The gas also causes severe eye irritation, skin burns, and damage to internal organs. Many victims experienced immediate symptoms like coughing, chest pain, and difficulty breathing, while others suffered long-term health effects including respiratory problems, eye damage, and various cancers.
The leaked methyl isocyanate gas spread rapidly across the densely populated areas surrounding the plant, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. The immediate death toll was estimated to be between 3,000 to 5,000 people, though some estimates suggest the numbers were much higher. The disaster exposed serious flaws in industrial safety protocols and highlighted the dangers of storing large quantities of hazardous chemicals like MIC in populated areas.
