Word: methyl
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...Bhopal litigation is expected to dwarf those disputes. Approximately 2,000 people were killed and 200,000 injured by the lethal cloud of methyl- isocyanate gas from a Union Carbide pesticide plant (which the company last week announced will never reopen). "The worst industrial disaster mankind has ever known," charged Robins Zelle's formal complaint. India is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of itself, the victims and "future generations of victims...
Union Carbide's investigation in Bhopal focused on a partially buried tank holding more than 10,000 gal. of methyl isocyanate (MIC), a highly toxic chemical used in the manufacture of Sevin, Temik and other pesticides. The sealed tank was designed to keep the deadly MIC refrigerated and isolated from the environment. But on the night of Dec. 2, a series of runaway chemical reactions heated the interior of the tank to 400 degreesF, causing an escape valve to burst open and release a lethal cloud of vapor over the slums of Bhopal...
Though much less severe, some symptoms were similar to those experienced by victims of last December's Union Carbide leak in Bhopal, India, which killed at least 1,400. The poison there was methyl isocyanate, which, like mesityl oxide, is used in the production of agricultural chemicals. After Bhopal, Union Carbide closed its Institute, W. Va., plant, where methyl isocyanate was manufactured. Since then it has been revealed that there were 62 minor leaks at Institute starting in January 1980. Local safety officials charge that Union Carbide took almost four hours to acknowledge responsibility for last week's leak...
After its plant in Bhopal, India, leaked deadly methyl isocyanate in December and killed at least 1,400 people, Union Carbide stopped making the pesticide ingredient at its facility in Institute, W. Va. Last week officials of the U.S. company announced that they expect to resume production of the toxic chemical at the Institute plant by April 1. Before that time, Union Carbide will have completed its investigation of the Bhopal disaster...
...methyl isocyanate unit, which employs about 40 of the 3,000 workers at the West Virginia plant, will reopen with a number of new protection features. Among the improvements: a $175,000 computer system to provide instant notification of leaks and pressure changes. Company investigators are also examining each of the unit's existing safety systems. Governor Arch Moore praised Union Carbide's restart announcement as welcome news. Institute townspeople were pleased too. Said Charles White, 60, a longtime resident: "MIC is one of the bread-and-butter products for Union Carbide. I think they need that product...