The legacy of Bhopal: The impact over the last 20 years and future
direction
Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 18 (4-6):
218--224 (2005)DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jlp.2005.06.037
Abstract
Chemical process safety was not a major public concern prior to 1984.
As far as chemical hazards were concerned, public fears focused on
disease (cancer) and environmental degradation. Even a series of
major process incident tragedies did not translate into widespread
public concerns about major incidents in chemical plants that might
disastrously affect the public. This situation changed completely
after the December 1984 disaster at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal.
Not only was the public's confidence in the chemical industry shaken,
the chemical industry itself questioned whether its provisions for
protection against major incidents were adequate. The recognition
of the need for technical advances and implementation of management
systems led to a number of initiatives by various stakeholders throughout
the world. Governments and local authorities throughout the world
initiated regulatory regimes. Has all that has resulted from the
legacy of Bhopal reduced the frequency and severity of incidents?
How can we answer this question? As we move into more and more globalization
and other complexities what are the challenges we must address? According
to the authors, some of these challenges are widespread dissemination
and sharing of lessons learned, risk migration because of globalization,
changing workforce, and breakthroughs in emerging areas in process
safety.