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Union Carbide Corporation (Union Carbide) is one of the oldest chemical and polymers companies in the United States, currently employing more than 3,800 people.1 It became infamous in popular culture for a major industrial accident that took place in its Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India plant in 1984. After heated litigation, Union Carbide was found to be at fault for the disaster, but the major chemical company denied responsibility for political and economic reasons. Union Carbide became a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (TDCC) on February 6, 2001,2 and sells most of the products it manufactures to TDCC. It is a former component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.3
In 1920, its researchers developed an economical way to make ethylene from natural gas, giving birth to the modern petrochemicals industry. Today, Union Carbide possesses some of the industry's most advanced process and catalyst technologies, and operates some of the most cost-efficient, large-scale production facilities in the world. Before divesting them, the chemical giant also owned consumer products Eveready and Energizer batteries, Glad bags and wraps, Simoniz car wax and Prestone antifreeze.
Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some of these materials are high-volume commodities, while others are specialty products meeting the needs of smaller market niches. The end-uses served include paints and coatings, packaging, wire and cable, household products, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive, textiles, agriculture and oil and gas.
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Bhopal disaster
The Bhopal disaster of 1984 was an industrial disaster that was caused by the accidental release of 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) from a Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL, now known as Eveready Industries India, Limited) pesticide plant majority (50.9%) owned by Union Carbide located in the heart of the city of Bhopal, in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
The BBC gives the death toll as nearly 3,000 people dead initially and at least 15,000 from related illnesses since, while Greenpeace cites 20,000 total deaths as a conservative estimate. It is now accepted that at least 8,000 people died initially.
According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal, around 500,000 people were exposed to the leaking tables. Approximately 20,000, to this date, are believed to have died as a result; on average, roughly one person dies every day from the effects. Over 120,000 continue to suffer from the effects of the disaster, such as breathing difficulties, cancer, serious birth-defects, blindness, gynaecological complications and other related problems.
References
- ^ Union Carbide Corporation, About Us. Accessed July 9, 2008.
- ^ Union Carbide Corporation, History, Accessed July 9, 2008.
- ^ History of DJIA, globalfinancialdata.com
See also
External links
- UnionCarbide.com - Union Carbide Corporation homepage
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 1 December 2008, at 17:59.
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