ABSTRACT
Monday, December 2, 1984, around 11 PM, things seemed routine when the operators greeted each other for the shift change at a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. Among its many processes, the plant contained three 15,000-gallon tanks storing methyl isocyanate (MIC), an intermediate ingredient in the fabrication of pesticide. As illustrated in Figure 22-1, MIC is supplied to the tanks through a MIC transfer line (MICTL in Figure 22-1). When needed, MIC is transferred out to the next process unit through underground lines (dashed lines) by pressurizing the tank with nitrogen at about 14 psig (the nitrogen header is noted NH in Figure 22-1).
