There’s Something in the Air

On December 2^nd of 1984, residents of the central Indian city of Bhopal were nestled snugly in their beds. Animals had been put in for the night, and several hundred thousand men, women, and children were content in their dreams.

As they slept, water began to backflow into a pipe leading to a storage tank at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant. The tank contained 42 tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC), an ingredient in pesticides and the production of adhesives. Exposure to the compound is considered toxic, and can damage the lungs, sinus tissues, and even burn the skin.

The introduction of water to this tank caused a thermal reaction that released around 32 metric tons of MIC into the immediate atmosphere in under an hour. Due to its nature, it didn’t rise into the atmosphere, but lingered close to the ground, like a deadly fog. It rolled silently through the sleeping city, where over 600,000 people were exposed to the gassy cloud. By the following morning, thousands of people had died. Over 170,000 were treated at local hospitals, and over 2,000 dead livestock animals were buried or burned. Trees and plants began to die, and farmers were advised to not eat their crops. Estimates of the final death toll vary, but it’s estimated that almost 10,000 died from the immediate event, and an additional 8-10,000 have perished from residual effects.

Thirty years later, the accident at Bhopal continues to cause death, disease, and birth defects.

While that disaster is the largest in history, it certainly isn’t the only one:

• For almost 40 years beginning in 1932, a Japanese chemical company routinely dumped waste methylmercury into Minamata Bay, which emptied into the Shiranui Sea. Shellfish and other seafood became contaminated, and this high level of mercury travelled up the food chain and into humans. Locals witnessing the manic spasms and twitches of poisoned pets referred to it as “dancing cat fever.” In addition to the immediate poisoning and diseases of Minamata residents, generations have been born with birth defects due to the lingering effects of the mercury dumping.
• In July of 1976, in an accident eerily similar to Bhopal, a small herbicide plant in Seveso, Italy released 6 metric tons of a dioxin compound onto over 100,000 unsuspecting Italians. Within a few days, thousands of farm animals died, and within a few years almost 100,000 animals were considered contaminated enough to be slaughtered. Thousands were treated for irritation, skin burns, and other effects. A study conducted 14 years later showed residents still exhibiting symptoms of recent exposure.

To be clear, these were horrific accidents. Not all chemicals are inherently bad. Innovations and discoveries in chemistry brought us the cathode ray, batteries, and the x-ray. They helped us to preserve food, increase crop yields, and cure diseases. They brought us clothing and radial tires and Teflon coatings. Observing chemical reactions gave us beer.

So there are certain things that we should applaud.

Chances are not that many of us live near major chemical processing plants. Further, advances in safety and expanded regulations (along with environmental restrictions) have led to safer procedures and processing. Our chances of being exposed to something of the scope of Bhopal is somewhere between slim and none. But every day, people in and around Virginia create their own mini-environmental disasters. Herbicides on crops are washed into our rivers and lakes. The stuff we scatter on our sod seeps into storm drains. Burning leaves and trash releases who-knows-what into our atmosphere.

One would hope that we’ll never again witness an event where hundreds or thousands are inadvertently sickened or poisoned due to an accident or someone’s negligence. Truth be told, we probably will. But it’s our duty as Virginians to ensure that our daily actions, even on the tiniest scale, are not contributing to a silent catastrophe that could be of a much larger scale.