Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) had been one of the largest chemicals and industrial companies in the world, operating in dozens of countries. UCCs subsidiary in India, UCIL, had grown to fourteen plants, employing more than 9000 Indian citizens manufacturing a variety of products, including chemicals, plastics, batteries, fertilizers and pesticides. UCIL was incorporated under the laws of India. Fifty one percent of UCIL stock was owned by UCC, 24 percent by the government of India, and the balance by approx. 23,500 Indian citizens. The stock was publicly traded in India. In the 1970s, India issued a license to UCIL to produce pesticides at a plan to be built in Bhopal. UCC provided the basic design for the plant, but India insisted that its own engineering firms and contractors build it. Form 1972 1980, the construction was supervised by Indian engineers and many changes were made to the design. Labor and employment policies were set by the Indian government and the construction was managed and operated entirely by Indian citizens. The operations of the plant were regulated by more than two dozen Indian governmental agencies; however enforcement of environmental, health, and safety standards were weak and ineffective. Maintenance procedures and record keeping at the plant were inadequate. In 1984, poisonous methyl isocyanate gas was released from the plant and blew into densely occupied parts of the city of Bhopal, resulting in the deaths of several thousand Indian citizens (estimates range from 2000 to 10,000) and severe injuries to several hundred thousand others.
