On the night of December 2, 1984, a deadly gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India led to what has been described as the world’s worst industrial disaster. In the immediate aftermath of the gas leak, thousands of people died and hundreds of thousands were injured from exposure to the toxic gas methyl isocyanate. But long after the international headlines and news reports dwindled to silence, long after Union Carbide paid a paltry settlement to survivors, long after the disaster faded from much of the world’s memory, the gas leak continues to haunt the residents of Bhopal. In this episode, we trace the path of methyl isocyanate from initial discovery to the night of the disaster and the years that followed. We then explore what about this gas makes it so very deadly before assessing how the contamination still present at the site is causing health problems for residents decades after the gas leak.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ep 54 Wake Up and Smell the Caffeine
Ep 53 Radiation: X-Ray Marks the Spot
Ep 52 Rinderpest: Moo Cows, Moo Problems
Ep 51 The Path of Most (Antibiotic) Resistance
Ep 50 Antibiotics: We owe it all to chemistry!
COVID-19 Ch 11: Modeling
Ep 49 Eastern Equine Encephalitis: Triple EEEk!
COVID-19 Chapter 10: Schools
COVID-19 Chapter 9: Economics
Ep 48 Botulism: Why are you the way you are?
COVID-19 Chapter 8: Disparities
COVID-19 Chapter 7: Spillover
Ep 47 Schistosomiasis: A Snail's Pace
COVID-19 Chapter 6: Mental Health
COVID-19 Chapter 5: Vaccines
COVID-19 Chapter 4: Epidemiology
COVID-19 Chapter 3: Control
COVID-19 Chapter 2: Disease
COVID-19 Chapter 1: Virology
Ep 46 Lactose Intolerance: Never trust a fart
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free