1984 IN THE ENVIRONMENT
By Aviral Prakash Pandey ( 21ME30016)
Section 4
NOTABLE EVENTS
 Eagle mine in Colorado ( a state in USA ) gets
closed down as it was responsible for Acid Mine
Drainage (AMD).
 Bhopal Gas Tragedy ( Madhya Pradesh ) in India ,
industrial disaster due to leaking of Methyl
Isocyanate (MIC)
 Source .. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_in_the_environment
Closing Down Of Eagle Mine
 In January 1984 , Eagle mine near the abandoned town of Gilman , in
Colorado was shut down .
 Mining started in the 1880s , for Gold and Silver but during the later stages
of its operation Zinc was mined extensively .
 Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Mine_(Colorado)
 https://westernmininghistory.com/mine-detail/10190716/
Eagle Mine (CONTINUED …)
 The mine was allowed to flood after it was closed depositing a large amount of
Lead , Cadmium , Arsenic , Zinc , Copper etc. in the Eagle river turning it orange.
 This was due to Acid Mine Drainage ( AMD ) , which is the outflow of acidic water
from Metal mines or Coal mines
 This happens with rocks which are made of sulphides (sulphide ores to be precise)
 The deposition of such metals and lower pH has a detrimental impact on Aquatic
environment . Images from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_mine_drainage
Eagle Mine (CONTINUED ..)
 This had a devastating effect on the flora and fauna of Eagle river as it
killed millions of fishes and aquatic livestock .
 Also the river was also used for drinking water purposes so it posed a serious
threat to people living in Minturn ( South of the Eagle River )
 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) started a funding website in
1988 so that the cleanup can begin .
 The cleanup began and as of 2021 the river has been cleaned up and
even is a fishing spot for nearby locals .
All’s Well that Ends Well
BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY
 Gas leak incident which occurred on 2-3 December , 1984 , in Bhopal , Madhya
Pradesh , India . It is considered one of the world’s worst Industrial disasters .
 Over 5 lakh people were exposed to poisonous Methyl Isocyanate (MIC ) gas the
incident lead to 3787 deaths (Over 16000 claimed ) , and more than 5 lakh people
have been injured due accident .
 The leak happened in the Union Carbide of India Limited (UCIL) , a pesticide plant .
 The UCIL facility housed three Storage tanks E610 , E611 , E619 . According to safety
regulations each tank should not be filled more than 50% ( 30 Tons )of its capacity .
 Each tank was pressurized by inert Nitrogen Gas , which helped to pump out liquid
MIC
 In October 1984 , tank E610 lost is ability to maintain the nitrogen pressure , means that
MIC could not be pumped out effectively , so the plant was closed for maintenance
 By early December , the state of the plant was in poor condition as most of its safety
systems started to malfunction .
 Water is believed to have entered E610 which contained 42 TONS  since October.
BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY (CONTINUED)
 Introduction of water into the tank , along with the corroded iron ,contaminants ,
impurities , resulted in a runaway exothermic reaction .
 This led to increase in pressure in the tank by a factor of about 5 in the next 30 minutes
 The authorities brushed it off as an instrumentation error (  ) . In another 30 minutes
workers experienced minor effects of the gas exposure and began to look for leaks .
 One leak was found , and the authorities decided to address the issue after a Tea Break
() .Meanwhile the pressure in the tank reached 40 psi from 2 psi .
 The Emergency Relief Valve burst open . The pressure continued to increase to 55 psi.
 30 TONNES of MIC leaked into the atmosphere in the next 45 minutes to 1 hour . It was
blown in a South Easterly direction over Bhopal
 People started to feel the effect of the gas leak and many started to flee to Hospitals ,
who were themselves unsure of the Gas leak due to misinformation , and ,they did not
have the antidote for MIC poisoning either .
 The Rest is History , after the accident , the facility was closed , various cases were filed , a
clean up was started in 1988 .
BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY ( CONTINUED )
 Soil and water samples un the nearby area indicated presence of 1-naphthol,
naphthalene, Sevin, tarry residue, mercury, toxic organochlorines, volatile
organochlorine compounds, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, hexachloroethane,
hexachlorobutadiene, and the pesticide HCH.
 A water supply improvement scheme was started by the Madhya Pradesh
government in 2008 . On 8 June 2012, the Centre for incineration of toxic Bhopal waste
agreed to pay ₹250 million to dispose off UCIL chemical plants waste in Germany.
 The incident continues to send chills even today .
 SOURCE ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster
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