Question

In the video “One night in Bhopal” address the following:

1. What are the major health challenges raised in the video?

2. What causes or contributes to the health challenge (culture, politics, economics, etc.)?

3. What are possible long-term problems associated with not resolving this health challenge? (Give 3 examples, one of the three must be from the perspective if this was a problem in California or Los Angeles)

4. What are your feelings, thoughts, or observations regarding the solutions to the problem/challenge?

Answer 1

1. ANS: This video was related to the Bhopal gas tragedy (Bhopal disaster) taken placed on the year 1984 in Bhopal in India and it was considered as one of the world's worst disaster. In this disaster the MIC gas was leaked from the union carbide company plant and it leads to death of thousands of innocent people. A large proportion of these deaths were probably due to acute respiratory damage. According to the video one of the major health challenge is the children are still being born with health impacts and the women also facing reproductive issues.

2. ANS: The health challenges were mainly the utilization of the resources in a harmful way and not making aware of the consequences of problems like this. The safety measures and what are these will happen if there is a leakage of like this and what are precautions to be taken were not at all discussed with any of the staff working there. Also the company wants the profit at any instances and it may not be their duty the safety and security of working there. Also the people in the developing world are this people should be suffered these kind of things because they are poor and initially they don’t have any voice and currently it should be like this. This was the attitude we can be seen in the part of the company.

3. ANS: The health problems associated with may not be a single issue, it is long standing and there were numerous problems. If these kinds of a tragedy happened in one of our nuclear plants, actually there won’t be any person to ask these questions, because everyone should be affected with same. So, there would be adequate precaution and preventive measures should be used and it should be beneficial if there is any chance of having long-term harmful things in the company, gradually it has to be stopped and has to be produce alternatives for the same.

4. ANS: On behalf of the victims the government of India filed compensation case in the federal court of US, but the US court sent back the case to the Indian courts on grounds that it is not under United States jurisdiction. The compensation payment amount was far low from what the company’s liability insurance would pay, but the consent was made between Indian government and union carbide without taking reference from the survivors. In return all charges on union carbide were released. A negotiated settlement was made instead of compensating demanded by the victims. Payments of money were made to Indian government and not directly to the victims. Most victims were assigned the category of temporary injury. The sustained harm is much more regressive, and the organization, should be held responsible for their mistake or ignorance for the time period the harmful effects of the negligence or action are being faced by the society.

Solutions for this kind of tragedies:

Keeping the factories away from the residential area

Proper risk mitigation plan

An alternative plan in action in case of a crisis situation

Regular detailed supervision of the plant