Bhopal tragedy's health effects: A review of methyl isocyanate toxicity

Journal Article · Tue Dec 04 23:00:00 EST 1990 · JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1990.03450210081037· OSTI ID:5590886

Mehta, P S ^[1]; Mehta, A S ^[2]; Mehta, S J ^[3]; Makhijani, A B ^[4]

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1. Humana Hospital, Aurora, CO (USA)
2. Univ. of Texas, Austin (USA)
3. Univ. of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver (USA)
4. Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Takoma Park, MD (USA)

Six years ago, on December 3, 1984, a toxic gas leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, released methyl isocyanate (MIC) and its reaction products. The number of persons exposed and injured remains uncertain. Official estimates from the Indian government place the dead at around 1,800. Others estimate mortality to have been between 2,500 and 5,000 and the number of injured to have been up to 200,000. Until the Bhopal incident, neither deaths nor cases of toxic effects from MIC exposure had been recorded in Index Medicus. The authors have extensively surveyed the medical literature concerning effects of MIC exposure on the victims of the disaster and laboratory studies in animals. A great deal has been learned, but many questions still remain unanswered.

• OSTI ID: 5590886
• Journal Information: JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association; (United States), Journal Name: JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association; (United States) Vol. 264:21; ISSN 0098-7484; ISSN JAMAA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACCIDENTS
ASIA
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CHEMICAL PLANTS
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
GENETIC EFFECTS
HEMATOLOGY
HUMAN POPULATIONS
INDIA
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
ISOCYANATES
MEDICINE
PESTICIDES
POPULATIONS
REPRODUCTION
TOXICITY