ssm@cmu-ri-leg.ARPA (Sesh Murthy) (03/28/85)
An unusually large amount of water contaminated a storage tank and triggered
a chemical reaction that released the methyl isocyanate gas which killed
more than people 2,000 at Union Carbide Corp.'s plant in Bhopal, India, the
company said today.
Analysis of residue in the tank and laboratory experiments indicated
that 120 to 240 gallons of water reacted with the gas and higher than
normal levels of chloroform to produce temperatures up to 392 degrees
Farhenheit and pressure to an average of 180 pounds per square inch,
said Ronald Van Mynen, leader of Carbide's investigative team.
The tank normally operates under pressure of from 2 psi to 20 psi,
said Van Mynen, corporate director of occupational health and
personnel safety. The reaction corroded the inside of the stainless
steel tank and apparently burst a relief valve, releasing the MIC.
Although the company's report did not try to assess blame for the
accident, Carbide Chairman Warren Anderson said at a news conference
that operations at the plant were ''not in compliance with standard
operating procedure'' at the time of the leak.
Union Carbide is being sued for billions of dollars in connection
with the Dec. 3 Bhopal leak, considered one of the worst industrial
accidents in history.
Anderson said Carbide has instituted corporatewide changes since the
leak, including intensified sampling procedures, training and
retraining sessions, process reviews and administrative and physical
changes, along with increased safety audits at overseas and domestic
plants.
It also has formed a new committee of its board of directors, headed
by former Environmental Protection Administration chief Russell
Train, to focus on health, safety and environmental affairs.
An event similar to Bhopal could not occur at Carbide's plant at
Institute, W.Va., the only other plant manufacturing methyl
isocyanate, which is used in insecticides, said Jackson B. Browning,
vice president for health, safety and environmental affairs.
''Now, after the investigation, we are even more certain of our
answer based on comprehensive analysis of what happened in the tank
in India,'' Browning said.
The company report was to be given to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and to state agencies investigating safety at
Carbide's Institute plant.
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