Editing Environmental racism (section)

====India====
{{See also|Bhopal disaster}}
[[File:Bhopal in India (1951).svg|thumb|[[Bhopal, India|Bhopal]], India ]]
[[Union Carbide Corporation]] is the parent company of Union Carbide India Limited which outsources its production to an outside country. Located in [[Bhopal, India]], Union Carbide India Limited primarily produced the chemical [[methyl isocyanate]] used for pesticide manufacture.<ref name="responsibility2">{{cite journal|last1=Das Gupta|first1=Aruna|last2=Das Gupta|first2=Ananda|date=7 March 2008|title=Corporate Social Responsibility in India: Towards a Sane Society?|journal=Social Responsibility Journal|location=Bradford, England|publisher=[[Emerald Group Publishing]]|volume=4|issue=1|page=214|doi=10.1108/17471110810856965|issn=1747-1117}}</ref> On 3 December 1984, a cloud of methyl isocyanate leaked as a result of the toxic chemical mixing with water in the plant in Bhopal.<ref>LaBar, Gregg, "Citizen Carbide?", ''Occupational Hazards'', Volume 53, Issue 11 (1991): 33.</ref> Approximately 520,000 people were exposed to the toxic chemical immediately after the leak.<ref name="responsibility2"/> Within the first 3 days after the leak an estimated 8,000 people living within the vicinity of the plant died from exposure to the methyl isocyanate.<ref name="responsibility2"/> Some people survived the initial leak from the factory, but due to improper care and improper diagnoses many have died.<ref name="responsibility2"/> As a consequence of improper diagnoses, treatment may have been ineffective and this was precipitated by Union Carbide refusing to release all the details regarding the leaked gases and lying about certain important information.<ref name="responsibility2" /> The delay in supplying medical aid to the victims of the chemical leak made the situation for the survivors even worse.<ref name="responsibility2" /> Many today are still experiencing the negative health impacts of the methyl isocyanate leak, such as lung fibrosis, impaired vision, [[tuberculosis]], [[neurological disorders]], and severe body pains.<ref name="responsibility2"/>

The operations and maintenance of the factory in Bhopal contributed to the hazardous chemical leak. The storage of huge volumes of methyl isocyanate in a densely inhabited area, was in contravention with company policies strictly practiced in other plants.<ref name="responsibility2" /> The company ignored protests that they were holding too much of the dangerous chemical for one plant and built large tanks to hold it in a crowded community.<ref name="responsibility2" /> Methyl isocyanate must be stored at extremely low temperatures, but the company cut expenses to the air conditioning system leading to less than optimal conditions for the chemical.<ref name="responsibility2" /> Additionally, Union Carbide India Limited never created disaster management plans for the surrounding community around the factory in the event of a leak or spill.<ref name="responsibility2" /> State authorities were in the pocket of the company and therefore did not pay attention to company practices or implementation of the law.<ref name="responsibility2" /> The company also cut down on preventive maintenance staff to save money.<ref name="responsibility2" />