

Twenty-five years later, the first convictions in the Bhopal disaster - dkarl
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/world/asia/08bhopal.html?ref=world

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yummyfajitas
According to a chemical engineering professor I took a class with, it was
virtually impossible for the Bhopal disaster to have been accidental. Chemical
plants use different types of pipe connectors to ensure that the wrong kinds
of chemicals aren't mixed - getting water into the tank would have required
connecting a "square" pipe to a "round" flange [1]. The government
investigation and an independent investigation confirmed this.

Fun fact: UC was involved in a dispute with one of their unions just before
the disaster occurred. I'm sure that was a completely unrelated event.

[1] They aren't actually square and round, they use a sequence of locks which
don't fit together. A "square pipe into a round flange" is merely an easy to
describe visual which gives the general idea.

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cabalamat
So are you saying that someone deliberately killed thousands of people? Or
what?

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MichaelSalib
I think he's saying that the accident resulted from egregious negligence.
Sometimes accidents really are extremely difficult to prevent, like when you
strike and kill a pedestrian who emerges suddenly while you're driving slower
than the speed limit in very poor visibility. But sometimes accidents come
about because deliberately undertake actions that a reasonable person can
expect will result in killings. Like when you decide to drive home after
consuming 8 shots of Jägermeister and accidentally kill a pedestrian. Both
situations are accidental. But in one case, the police won't do anything while
in the other case, you're going to go to prison for a long time.

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BoppreH
Coincidentally, I was just reading about the fake press release made by The
Yes Men on this subject (
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yes_Men#Dow_Chemical> )

Five years ago they pretended to be actual spokesman admitting the company's
fault and saying they would sell the place and use the $ 12 billion to pay
everyone and fix the whole mess left behind.

The hoax made the company lose $ 2 billion and served to raised awareness.

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techiferous
Here's the video: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiWlvBro9eI>

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lutorm
In some places, nations are invaded over 3000 dead. In others, you get 2 years
in jail after 25 years... The different values attached to different lives are
mindblowing.

~~~
nreece

      In others, you get 2 years in jail after 25 years...
    

And bailed out in 2 hours - [http://www.hindustantimes.com/Eight-accused-
jailed-for-two-y...](http://www.hindustantimes.com/Eight-accused-jailed-for-
two-years-bailed-out-in-two-hours/H1-Article1-554180.aspx)

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henning
A pittance of a fine and a slap on the wrist? There's no justice in that.

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CapitalistCartr
To quote Gladstone, "Justice delayed is justice denied." In this case, it's
almost certainly deliberate.

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patrickgzill
This is an interesting case to study, it is not as open and shut as it seemed.

The Indian Government, wanting Indians in more senior positions, pushed UC
into placing Indians into levels of responsibility that it appears they were
not ready for.

Thus when the accident occurred, many of those in charge were actually
Indians... not heartless money-grubbing foreigners.

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MichaelSalib
I have not seen that accusation before. Can you cite any references to support
that claim?

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patrickgzill
It is difficult to find the case study reference, I believe it was in a
business textbook I read some 15 years ago.

The human factors surrounding the disaster are rarely considered, as articles
tend to focus on either the environmental pollution, or the large loss of
human lives.

The best I can find for a web-available resource is this:

<http://www.umass.edu/sts/pdfs/Bhopal_AChrono.pdf>

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ashbrahma
It's interesting how little is being done in comparison to the BP oil spill in
the Gulf.

What ever happened to Corporate Social Responsibility??? DOW has maintained
innocence in the midst of all this...

