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Manage Incident Response and Investigation
Published in James A. Klein, Bruce K. Vaughen, Process Safety, 2017
James A. Klein, Bruce K. Vaughen
One of the intermediate chemicals in the process was methyl isocyanate (MIC), a toxic, reactive, volatile and flammable material that is a liquid at room temperature. MIC reacts readily with water, with an exothermic, runaway reaction occurring once the temperature gets too high. In addition, pure MIC is highly reactive with itself, forming an MIC “trimer,” a stable, solid substance with physical properties similar to plastic. When in the presences of iron oxide (rust), the MIC to trimer reaction is catalyzed and significant deposits occur on the metal’s rusted surface. Thus, the specification for piping and equipment expected to contain MIC liquid or vapor is stainless steel (the first safeguard, an inherently safer process design).
Gaseous air pollutants
Published in Abhishek Tiwary, Ian Williams, Air Pollution, 2018
The infamous incident at the Union Carbide plant started in an underground chemical storage tank on the night of 2–3 December 1984. The tank contained methyl isocyanate (H3C-N=C=O), also known as MIC, a common industrial chemical used in the manufacture of carbamate pesticides. MIC is clear, colourless, extremely volatile (boiling point 38°C), chemically active (it reacts violently with water, acids and some metals), heavier than air and very toxic. Consequently, MIC is stored very carefully in refrigerated, pressurised tanks containing safety equipment such as rupture discs and temperature and pressure gauges.
Education and training. Pre-requisite for safety
Published in Ales Bernatik, Lucie Kocurkova, Kirsten Jørgensen, Prevention of Accidents at Work, 2017
This case study highlights some of the reasons that education and training are a pre-requisite for knowing how to work safely. In this case the lack of safety education for a work experience student affected a small number of people. A case where lack of training and education affected the safety of a larger number of people was the Bhopal Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) Pesticide Plant disaster in India on the night of the 2nd to the 3rd of December in 1984.
Mechanistic and kinetic approach on methyl isocyanate (CH3NCO) with OH and Cl
Published in Molecular Physics, 2022
Manas Ranjan Dash, Subhashree Subhadarsini Mishra
Methyl isocyanate (MIC) is one of the important chemicals used in the production of plastics, polyurethane foam and pesticides. It is highly volatile and explosive in nature. Therefore, it is handled very carefully and shipped as a liquid. It has also a very irritating smell and is hazardous for for our health. In December 1984, MIC was leaked from Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant at Bhopal, India, which killed more than 3,800 people [1]. Most deaths were observed after the exposure for several hours [2–5]. People suffered initially from choking sensations and difficulty in breathing which ultimately led to death. Hence, it concludes that the lethal effects of MIC were caused by pulmonary complications [6]. MIC is the simplest and most toxic member of the isocyanate family. It can also be formed from the photochemical degradation of its isoelectronic compound methyl isothiocyanate (CH3NCS) [7,8]. Atmospheric degradation of N-methylformamide (CH3NHCHO), is also a potential source of MIC in the atmosphere [9,10]. Due to its large industrial applications an increasing amount of MIC gets into the atmosphere inevitably, where it is degraded almost by the reaction with OH radicals, thus its atmospheric degradation must be understood.