ABSTRACT
The interrelated system of hazards—global, regional, and local—that sets the stage for massive catastrophes like Bhopal is always too complex and permeated with uncertainties. The Bhopal plant experienced six accidents between 1981 and 1984, at least three of which involved methyl isocyanate (MIC) or phosgene, a highly poisonous gas used in World War I and a component in the manufacture of MIC. The move to economize the Bhopal plants operations can be traced to a dull and sagging market for Union Carbide's pesticide products in the late 1970s. At the Bhopal plant itself, in the absence of reliable detection mechanisms to accurately gauge threshold levels, plant operatives were told to be aware of eye irritation as the first sign of exposure. A non-decision can be defined simply as an act of omission, although in the present context it refers to the extrusion of information that might be used in making a technical choice.
