Union Carbide Malfunctions Peers Review 3

Provide a classmate review on their discussion topic :

Based on the report you compiled for your boss, describe the Union Carbide plant malfunction you analyzed and which method you selected to complete your assessment. Include why you decided this was the most applicable method for the malfunction and your primary recommendation for correcting the malfunction.

 

Classmate post that you need to post comment/ review on:

have chosen Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) to investigate the Union Carbide plant malfunction in Bhopal, India. PHA seems to be most appropriate since this method was specifically designed “by the chemical process industry due to the safety-critical components and/or operations” (Ericson, 2015, p. 382).

PHA is specifically designed to analyze a processing plant and its operation with a design safety focus. In the case of the Union Carbide mishap the plant design and the conduct of its operations should be the focus of analysis.

There are several flaws in the design of the plant that I would recommend fixing. First, a chemical plant with large quantities of highly toxic chemicals such as sevin and methyl isocynate (MIC) should have never been built near a city. From a design perspective, this plant was not safe from day one.

Manufacturing operations at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal had several hazards that went uncorrected leading to the catastrophic release of a dangerous MIC gas that killed 3,000 people in the nearby city. Among the hazards was an unreliable gauge which was supposed to indicate the pressure of the MIC tanks. Workers believed the gauge was unreliable and was never trusted. Also, workers in the plant routinely used an incorrect process to flush the pipes. Instead of taking the time to insert a metal plate into each pipe connector they flushed the pipes without blocking the water from continuing downstream. This shortcut resulted in water mixing with MIC which served as a catalyst to the explosion in the underground MIC storage tanks. I recommend that faulty equipment be taken out of service, repaired or replaced and a strict adherence to plant procedures.