The staff at the MIC was cut from twelve operators on a shift to six. The maintenance team was reduced in size. In a number of instances, faulty safety devices remained unrepaired for weeks. The plant was running at far below capacity. The company seriously started making plans for dismantling the plant and shipping it to some other region.

             The Incident.

             UCIL was located in Bhopal where there was a shanty town inhabiting thousands of India's poorest citizens. In the South of Bhopal wealthy Indians lived in their elegant houses. MIC the main component used to prepare Sevin was made at the plant by reacting Phosgene gas with another chemical but the system had been idle. The MIC was being used from 'charge-pot' which was periodically resupplied from either of two different tanks. Operators had experienced difficulty in pressurizing one of the tanks. At the night of the incident, several hundred gallons of water entered in this particular tank. The water reacted with MIC producing heat and gas. A relief valve soon lifted and MIC vapor began flowing through vent headers and out a discharge stack. Some workers reported to supervisors that their eyes began to water because of possible leak of MIC. Supervisors found what they believed was the source and they set up a fire hose to spray water on the suspected leak. The water curtain that may have reduced the concentration of the gas was only set to ~13 m and did not reach the gas; it was not designed to contain a leak of such magnitude. The supervisors retired to the company canteens in violations of instructions not to take their break together. The supervisors were later called when the tank was rumbling with increasing pressure but it was too late for them to take any concrete action. MIC vapor were billowing from an atmospheric vent in the air. The cloud of deadly white gas was carried by the northeast wind toward the shanties on the south side of the plant.