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.
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Ep 45 Hepatitis C: Hepatiti?
Ep 44 Pertussis: Whoop Here It Is
Ep 43 M-m-m-my Coronaviruses
Ep 42 Dandy Dengue Fever
Ep 41 Ricin: A Bad Seed
Ep 40 Dancing Plague: Worst Dance Party Ever
Ep 39 Toxoplasmosis: Calling All Cats
Ep 38 Lead Poisoning: Heavy Metal Episode
Ep 37 E. coli (unless it's beets)
Ep 36 Shades of Syphilis
Ep 35 Lyme Disease: I'd like to check you for ticks
Ep 34 Cystic Fibrosis: Complete Somatic Rebellion
Ep 33 Chytrid: The Silent Forest
Ep 32 Ask the Erins
Ep 31 Giardia: Gerardia
Ep 30 Encephalitis Lethargica: Sleep Perchance to Dream (& Dream & Dream)
Ep 29 Aspirin the Wonder Drug: Crossover w/ IDOP
Ep 28 H. pylori: Don't try this at home
Ep 27 Vaccines Part 2: Have you thanked your immune system lately?
Ep 26 Vaccines part 1: Let's hear it for Maurice
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