Balanced Scorecard Toolkit for Crisis Management

Dow Chemical Company now owns Union Carbide. The Bhopal plant of Union Carbide in India witnessed the leakage of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and few other chemicals in the midnight of December 2 and 3, 1984. Hundreds of thousands of people were exposed to the lethal gas leakage. This was the largest industrial catastrophe in the history of the world. The exact death toll count had been differing.

The immediate official death toll estimate was 2,259. The state government estimated that 3,787 people died due to the gas release. However, other estimates varied between 11,000 and 15,000. Further, 558,125 people were injured, with about 3,900 persons suffering permanent and severe disabling injuries, while another 38,478 persons affected by partial and temporary illnesses. Union Carbide Corporation was purchased by Dow Chemical Company in 2001. Several civil and criminal cases had been filed in the District Court of Bhopal in India and the United States District Court in Manhattan, New York, United States.