@mysteryman,
China, you mean that county with all of our US corporate profiteers who use slave labor and unsafe conditions in order to make a buck?
Yes, in China also...
And also India....
Bhopal disaster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster
Excerpts
Contributing factors
Factors leading to the magnitude of the gas leak mainly included problems such as storing MIC in large tanks and filling beyond recommended levels, poor maintenance after the plant ceased MIC production at the end of 1984, failure of several safety systems due to poor maintenance, and safety systems being switched off to save money— including the MIC tank refrigeration system which could have mitigated the disaster severity. The situation was worsened by the mushrooming of slums in the vicinity of the plant, non-existent catastrophe plans, and shortcomings in health care and socioeconomic rehabilitation.[4][5]
Other factors identified by the inquiry included: use of a more dangerous pesticide manufacturing method, large-scale MIC storage, plant location close to a densely populated area, undersized safety devices, and the dependence on manual operations.[5] Plant management deficiencies were also identified – lack of skilled operators, reduction of safety management, insufficient maintenance, and inadequate emergency action plans.[5][15]
Equipment and safety regulations
The MIC tank alarms had not been working for four years and there was only one manual back-up system, compared to a four-stage system used in the United States.[4][5][17][20] The flare tower and several vent gas scrubbers had been out of service for five months before the disaster. Only one gas scrubber was operating: it could not treat such a large amount of MIC with sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), which would have brought the concentration down to a safe level.[20] The flare tower could only handle a quarter of the gas that leaked in 1984, and moreover it was out of order at the time of the incident.[4][5][17][21] To reduce energy costs, the refrigeration system was idle. The MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius, not the 4.5 degrees advised by the manual.[4][5][17][20] Even the steam boiler, intended to clean the pipes, was non-operational for unknown reasons.[4][5][17][20] Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from leaking into the MIC tanks, had the valves been faulty, were not installed and their installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist.[4][5][17] AS MIC is water soluble, deluge guns were in place to contain escaping gases from the stack. However, the water pressure was too weak for the guns to spray high enough to reach the gas which would have reduced the concentration of escaping gas significantly.[4][5][17][20] In addition to it, carbon steel valves were used at the factory, even though they were known to corrode when exposed to acid.[13]
According to the operators, the MIC tank pressure gauge had been malfunctioning for roughly a week. Other tanks were used, rather than repairing the gauge. The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the magnitude of the gas release.[4][5][17][20] UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems were not functioning on the night of 3 December 1984.[22] The design of the MIC plant, following government guidelines, was "Indianized" by UCIL engineers to maximise the use of indigenous materials and products. Mumbai-based Humphreys and Glasgow Consultants Pvt. Ltd., were the main consultants, Larsen & Toubro fabricated the MIC storage tanks, and Taylor of India Ltd. provided the instrumentation.[23] In 1998, during civil action suits in India, it emerged that the plant was not prepared for problems. No action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude. This included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals used and manufactured at Bhopal.[4][5][13][17]
I think what he/she (whatever) meant to say is "At least you are NOT the coward that so many others are. " I say this because he has said that other members are cowards.
