<ul><li>The Bhopal gas tragedy was India’s first major industrial disaster and the world’s worst. More than 3,787 people died due to poisonous gas. </li><li>The Gulf War Spill ended up killing thousands of marine species, and some local species even disappeared. </li><li>The <keyword id="9182914" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="jilin-chemical">Jilin Chemical</keyword> Explosion killed six and injured dozens. It also left thousands of people homeless in Jilin. </li></ul>The gas leak disaster in Visakhapatnam today (May 7) has brought back disturbing memories of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy for many Indians. <br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/as-the-vizag-gas-leak-crisis-unravels-one-cant-help-but-remember-the-bhopal-gas-tragedy-which-left-thousands-dead/articleshow/75597787.cms">The Visakhapatnam gas leak in LG Polymers has cost 13 lives</a> so far and hundreds have been injured. The impact was such that the entire neighbourhood — up to a five-kilometre radius — is currently being evacuated. <br /><br />Over the course of history, there have been several man-made disasters that have resulted in the deaths of thousands and have left behind a scar in the lives of millions across the world. <br /><br /><strong>Here are the worst man-made catastrophes that have caused pain and outrage, while also changing lives forever:<br /></strong><br /><strong>Bhopal gas tragedy <br /></strong><br /><div type="image" title="Bhopal gas tragedy" msid="75601726" hostid="261"></div><br />The Bhopal gas tragedy happened on the dreadful night of December 2, 1984. The highly toxic gas – <keyword id="1056521" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="methyl-isocyanate">methyl isocyanate</keyword> – leaked from the <keyword id="742423" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Carbide-India-Limited">Union Carbide India Limited</keyword> (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and made its way to the small towns located near the plant.<br /><br />The incident was India’s first major industrial disaster and one of the world’s worst. More than 3,787 people died due to the poisonous gas, while hundreds of others lived with deformities. <br /><br /><strong>The Gulf War Spill<br /></strong><br /><div type="image" title="The Gulf War Spill" msid="75601842" hostid="261"></div><br />In January of 1991, more than 720 thousand cubic metres of oil was spilt into the Persian Gulf, as a desperate military move by <keyword id="6355112" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Iraq">Iraq</keyword> to make it harder for U.S. marines to land.<br /><br />However, the move ended up killing thousands of marine species, and some local species even disappeared. The oil spill, the largest one in history, was the first time that a natural resource was used as a weapon of war. <br /><br /><strong>The Jilin Chemical Explosion</strong><br /><br /><div type="image" title="The Jilin Chemical Explosion" msid="75601855" hostid="261"></div><br />The Jilin chemical plant explosion was a series of explosions which took place in <keyword id="1339213" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jilin-Province">Jilin province</keyword> of China in November 2005. The accident site was a nitration unit, where the aniline equipment was jammed up and ended up blasting.<br /><br />The explosions happened just for an hour but killed six and injured dozens. It also left thousands of people homeless in Jilin. It severely polluted the Songhua river, with an estimated 100 tons of benzene and <keyword id="7454672" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nitrobenzene">nitrobenzene</keyword> pollutants contaminating the water. <br /><br /><strong>London’s Great Smog<br /></strong><div type="image" title="the great smog" msid="75601861" hostid="261"></div><br />The Great Smog is known to be the worst air-pollution event in the history of the United Kingdom. In 1952, a highly toxic air-pollution event affected London causing major disruption by reducing visibility and even penetrating indoor areas. In the cold weather of London, anticyclone and windless conditions caused airborne pollutants created by the use of coal to accumulate and form a thick layer of smog over the city.<br /><br />A report later suggested that more than 6,000 people died in the following months as a result of the event. However, the pollution also brought with it various changes in practices and regulations, including the Clean Air Act 1956 as a boon for the nation.<br /><br /><strong>The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill</strong><br /><div type="image" title="deep water" msid="75601872" hostid="261"></div><br />The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill is considered to be the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry. In April 2010, a Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank in the sea. <br /><br />Eleven of the 126 crew members died, while 17 others were injured. Over the course of 87 days, the rig's damaged wellhead spewed between 134 million and 206 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.<br /><br />The Death Of Aral Sea<br /><div type="image" title="The Death Of Aral Sea" msid="75601885" hostid="261"></div><br />The Death Of Aral Sea is considered to be one of the planet’s worst ecological disasters. In 1960, the sea was the fourth largest in the world. But the former-USSR decided to reroute the two rivers which fed into the lake.<br /><br />The country constructed massive irrigation channels to mastermind the operation. The plan was to feed the rivers back into the lake, but by making it pass through the deserted region, where the crops were to be planted. The USSR then wanted to become the biggest exporter of cotton.<br /><br />As a result of human intervention, the lake began to evaporate and in 2014 NASA images revealed that the Aral Sea has completely dried up.<br /><br /><h3 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">The Chernobyl Disaster</h3><br /><div type="image" title="disaster" msid="75601902" hostid="261"></div><br />In April 1986, the technicians at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine decided to run a safety test on a reactor, to assess its functionality during a potential power outage. <br /><br />The test went wrong, and the reactor exploded. It ended up blasting radioactive material out into the air. The operator was killed immediately in the explosion, while hundreds of employees were hit by enough radiation to die slowly over the following months.<br /><br />Today, the surrounding towns still lie in ruins, but the authorities have deemed it safe to visit for tourists who wish to visit the haunting remnants.<br /><div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75598617" title="‘This was not the first but this was the worst’ ⁠— says a Vizag gas leak survivor" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><br /><div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75591816" title="All Vizag gas leak victims to be financially compensated by Andhra Pradesh as emissions continue to seep through — including ₹1 crore each to the families of the 11 who died" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><br />

The Vizag gas leak is the most recent of human disasters with the potential to change our lives forever

<ul><li><strong><keyword id="498521" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Eveready">Eveready</keyword> is the top battery <keyword id="6359405" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="brand">brand</keyword>, available in <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> since 1905<br /></strong></li><li><strong>Promoters reportedly plan to sell their 45% stake in the company<br /></strong></li><li><strong>The century-old brand is expected to find interest from both Indian and foreign suitors</strong></li></ul><br />Eveready, which has been synonymous with dry cell batteries in India for decades, is up for <keyword id="6371194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sale">sale</keyword> according to a <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/b-m-khaitan-rolls-out-sale-plan-for-flagship-eveready/articleshow/67478732.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">report</a> from Times of India. The company's founding family, the Khaitans, are looking to sell a big chunk of their 45% stake in the company, the report said. <br /><br />Eveready has been selling products in India since <a href="http://www.evereadyindia.com/about-us/legacy.aspx" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">1905</a>. It was incorporated as a company in 1934 and continued as a subsidiary of the US-based <keyword id="6387806" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="union-carbide">Union Carbide</keyword> Corporation for decades. It was 1993 when BM Khaitan and Williamson Magor came together to take control of the company after a bitter battle for control with the Nusli Wadia, who owned <keyword id="6383267" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="bombay-dyeing">Bombay Dyeing</keyword>.<br /><br />The Kolkata-based Khaitans' business empire includes <keyword id="88194" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="McLeod-Russel">McLeod Russel</keyword>, Kilburn Engineering, and McNally Bharat, other than Eveready. McLeod Russel is the world's biggest bulk tea producer.<br /><br />Eveready, which the Khaitans bought for Rs 300 crore in 1993, had a revenue of ₹ $200 <keyword id="53215" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="million">million</keyword> in financial year ended March 2018. Dry cell batteries alone make for ₹950 crores of the turnover.<br /><br />The sellers are likely to seek a price that would value Eveready at about $500 million. Investors in India cheered the promoters' proposal to exit and the <keyword id="6368159" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="stock">stock</keyword> surged as much as 18% after the report before cooling off.<br /><br />However, the company is burdened with piling up debt. Shrinking profit margin has not helped the promoter's cause. A factor that has halved the stock price by half over the last year, and is likely to weigh on the bids from potential suitors.<br /><br />See also:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/while-fighting-his-father-an-indian-billionaire-will-quit-his-nearly-100-year-old-conglomerate/articleshow/67467823.cms">While fighting his father, an Indian billionaire will quit his nearly 100-year old conglomerate</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ces-2019-munjal-grandson-from-the-hero-family-is-selling-ai-devices/articleshow/67469653.cms">The grandson of India’s most famous ‘bicycle maker’ is selling AI at CES 2019</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

A 100-year old successful Indian brand is up for sale at about $500 million: Report

The <keyword id="6387986" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bhopal-gas-tragedy" source="Orion">Bhopal Gas Tragedy</keyword>, the worlds largest and most lethal <keyword id="733584" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="chemical-disaster" source="Orion">chemical disaster</keyword>, occurred on the intervening night of December 2 and 3 in 1984, 38 years ago. Its aftermath continues to wreak havoc in the lives of hundreds of thousands of survivors.<br /><br />According to the <keyword id="6355556" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bhopal" source="Orion">Bhopal</keyword> Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation (BGTRR) of the Madhya Pradesh government, which functions under the supervision of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR ), more than 120,000 people continue to suffer from chronic illnesses and several hundreds continue to die untimely deaths due to cancer, lung problems, kidney failure and immunological damage.<br /><br />Reports also suggested that thousands of children are being born with <keyword id="34255" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="birth-defects" source="Orion">birth defects</keyword>. A global toxic hotspot exists in the middle of the city which has contaminated the soil and groundwater for more than two lakh people but no clean up is even in sight. The annual report of the ICMR run Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Center (BMHRC) released in 2016-17, mentioned that from the period between 1998-2016, around 50.4 per cent of gas exposed persons suffered from cardiovascular problems and 59.6 per cent suffer from pulmonary problems.<br /><br />IANS spoke to various persons associated with different authorities, including doctors, sufferers and relatives of the victims and also those looking after issues like rehabilitation and compensation. It has learnt that though a lot of work has been done in the last many years, there are several issues that still remain unresolved.<br /><br />First and foremost, the difference in the number of deaths which occurred due to this chemical disaster. Surveys conducted by agencies at different times have given a different figure of casualties. Some earlier reports suggested the number of casualties was between 5000-6000, while in some other reports, the number of deaths have increased up to 15,000. And some other reports claimed the death toll could be over one lakh, however, there is no accurate data regarding the number of casualties.<br /><br />For instance, ICMR's report in its survey conducted between 1984-1993, has mentioned as many as 9,667 deaths attributable to the disaster up to 1994. Statistical projection beyond 1994 provides a figure of 23,000 till 2009.<br /><br />In a letter written in 2010 by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for recommendation of more compensation to the kin of the victims and the survivors, it was mentioned that, "There at least 10,047 persons, who should be counted in death figure."<br /><br />Other issues which still remain unresolved include assessment of cleaning of toxic waste lying inside and outside the Union Carbide factory.<br /><br />More importantly, one of the three iron tanks (Tank - E610), whose malfunctioning had resulted in the leakage of toxic MIC gas and caused the deaths of around 3,000 people within a few hours after the leak, is still lying along the roadside within the premises. The reports suggest that the Bhopal UCIL facility had housed three underground -- 68,000 liters liquid MIC storage tanks, named E610, E611 and E612.<br /><br />Further, a legal battle to seek <keyword id="6357043" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="justice" source="Orion">justice</keyword> and compensation still continues. In a fresh development, the Supreme Court, earlier in September this year, asked the Centre to clear its stand on additional compensation.<br /><br />As per reports, in response, the Centre has submitted that it would pursue its curative petition seeking Rs 7,844 crore as additional funds from successor firms of the US-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) for giving compensation to the victims of the gas tragedy. The matter will now be taken up for hearing on January 10, 2023.

38 years on, 1.2 lakh Bhopal residents carry gas tragedy scars, fight for justice

Bhopal, Jun 22 () Nearly 75 per cent of the patients who have died due to complications from COVID-19 in the capital city till June 11 were the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, NGOs working for their welfare said on Monday. <p>Most of these gas victims had fragile immunity, they said. </p><p>"We have written a letter to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan drawing the governments attention towards this disturbing trend, Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) convener Rachna Dhingra told . </p><p>BGIA and three other NGOs, working for survivors of the worlds worst industrial disaster, have carried out an analysis that claims that 48 of the 60 patients, who died due to coronavirus till June 11 in the state capital, were also gas victims. </p><p>These 48 fatalities included three persons who were born to parents exposed to the toxic gas leak 35 years ago, the NGOs's analysis said. </p><p>These mortalities show survivors and their children were suffering even 35 years after the toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas spewed out from the Union Carbide plant here, said Dhingra. </p><p>The analysis has revealed that 81 per cent gas victims who died due to COVID-19 had comorbidities (pre-existing health conditions), she said. </p><p>"Of course, their exposure to the toxic gas has left them in a state of permanent disability," she contended. </p><p>We want the state government to hold talks with us and gas tragedy survivors to find a way to help them," Dhingra added. </p><p>The four groups (NGOs) working for the survivors have come out with the right analysis," said Purnendu Shukla, a member of the Supreme Courts Monitoring Committee for Gas Victims. </p><p>The government should take the analysis seriously. The state government does not even have data of gas victims which is very disturbing," he added. </p><p>The Indian Council of Medical Research-run Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC), the dedicated superspeciality hospital meant for the survivors, was not taking proper care of the victims, he added. </p><p>We are going to inform the court about these things," Shukla said. </p><p>The other three NGOs involved in the exercise were Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila, Purush Sangharsh Morcha and Children Against Dow-Carbide. </p><p>A state government official they were aware of the analysis. </p><p>Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Director Basant Kurre said they were aware of the analysis. </p><p>Twenty deceased were gas victims. We are checking whether others, too, were gas tragedy survivors, he said. </p>"The government is working for the welfare of gas victims," Kurre added. LAL MAS RSY RSY

Bhopal gas victims account for 75% of COVID-19 deaths: NGOs

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5cf1811e11e20506583966d8-1568/ap86010101488.jpg" border="0" alt="chernobyl nuclear power plant reactor explosion 1986" data-mce-source="Volodymyr Repik/AP" data-mce-caption="This 1986 aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine shows damage from an explosion and fire in reactor four on April 26, 1986 that sent large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere. Ten years after the world's worst nuclear accident, the plant is still running due to a severe shortage of energy in Ukraine." /><p class="source"><span>Volodymyr Repik/AP</span></p><p class="caption">This 1986 aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, shows damage from an explosion and fire in reactor four on April 26, 1986 that sent large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Humans have had a huge impact on our environment. </li><li>Some of the deadliest disasters in world history were caused by human activity.</li><li>Chernobyl was considered the world's worst nuclear power accident.</li><li>The Union Carbide Cyanide gas leak caused a death toll in the thousands.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>You may hear about natural disasters often, but some of the deadliest disasters in world history have been anthropogenic hazards (environmental disasters caused by human activity).</p><p>For this list, we're focusing on incidents (and accidents) involving nature that were caused or worsened by people and their machines. From oil spills and explosions to nuclear testing fallout, these are some ecological disasters that changed our world forever.</p>

9 man-made disasters that had a big impact on our world

Bhopal, Apr 21 () Two more Bhopal gas tragedyvictims succumbed to coronavirus, taking the total number ofsuch deaths in the Madhya Pradesh capital to seven, anofficial said on Tuesday.<p>A 70-year-old gas mishap survivor died on April 17while another 60-year-old tragedy victim died on April 14,Rachna Dhingra, of the NGO Bhopal Group for Information andActionwhich is working for the gas mishap victims, told .</p><p>Samples of both the victims came out positive forcoronavirus after their death, she said.</p><p>Survivors of the 1984 toxic gas tragedy are morevulnerable to the coronavirus infection and need special care,she said.</p><p>Earlier this month, five victims of the gas leak haddied due to the coronavirus disease here.</p><p>The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Center(BMHRC), a dedicated facility for the treatment of gas mishapsurvivors, was recently turned into a medical facility forcoronavirus patients, causing hardship to these people.</p><p>However, after the outrage over the five deaths, thegovernment against classified BMHRC as a facility for the gastragedy victims.</p><p>The first coronavirus victim from Bhopal, a 55-year-old man, died at a city hospital on April 5, Dhingra said.</p><p>Another 80-year-old gas tragedy victim, who was aretired employee of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited(BHEL), died on April 8 and his sample came out positive forcoronavirus on April 11, she said.</p><p> Besides, a 40-year-old gas tragedy victim, who wassuffering from oral cancer for more than a year, died on April12 and his sample test report later came out positive forcoronavirus, she said.</p><p>Another 52-year-old gas mishap survivor, who sufferedfrom a permanent injury, had history of tuberculosis. Herecently tested positive for coronavirus and died on his wayto the COVID-19 ward at Hamidia hospital, she said.</p><p>Also, a 75-year-old senior journalist, who survivedthe gas tragedy, died on April 11 and his sample test reportcame out positive for coronairus on April 14, she said.</p><p>On March 21, some organisations working for thewelfare of gas tragedy survivors wrote to the state andcentral authorities concerned, saying an overwhelming numberof gas victims suffer from respiratory, cardiovascular, kidneyproblems and cancer as a result of exposure to the toxic gasthat leaked at the Union Carbide factory here in 1984.</p><p>They claimed that these survivors were at least fivetimes more vulnerable to COVID-19 than other people andtherefore, need special care.</p><p>According to the state health bulletin, Bhopal has sofar reported seven deaths due to COVID-19.</p>All the deceased were gas tragedy victims, Dhingrasaid.  MASGK   GK

2 more gas tragedy victims die of COVID-19 in Bhopal; toll 7

<br /><ul><li><strong>Amid the ongoing Coronavirus chaos, a major gas leak in Visakhapatnam-based company <keyword id="9178866" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="lg-polymers">LG Polymers</keyword> has cost 13 lives so far and hundreds have been injured. <br /></strong></li><li><strong>The event has starked panic reminiscent of the 1984 <keyword id="6387986" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="bhopal-gas-tragedy">Bhopal Gas Tragedy</keyword>.<br /></strong></li><li><strong>The gas tragedy in Bhopal left more than 500,000 people exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, while the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) estimates that around 1,000 people have been affected by the current crisis.</strong></li></ul>Amid the ongoing Coronavirus chaos, a major gas leak in Visakhapatnam-based company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/all-you-need-to-know-about-lg-polymers-the-company-behind-the-deadly-gas-leak-in-visakhapatnam/articleshow/75596759.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">LG Polymers</a> has cost 13 lives so far and hundreds have been injured. It’s not surprising that the event has starked panic reminiscent of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, which happened in 1984. The impact was such that the entire neighbourhood — up to a five-kilometre radius — is currently being evacuated. <br /><br />    <div type="image" title="de067f85ac0b47084145cbebecfbf109" msid="75598169" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The impact was such that the entire neighbourhood &amp;#8212; up to a five-kilometre radius &amp;#8212; is currently being evacuated.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div><br />The Municipal Corporation has asked the residents to use wet masks or cloth to cover their mouth and nose to restrain the poisonous Styrene or PVC gas. According to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), PVC gas (or Styrene) — which is used to make plastic — leaked from the plant. The exposure to the gas results in skin irritation, itchy eyes, chest congestion, vomiting and even death.<br /><br />Where the gas tragedy in Bhopal left <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/gas-leak-in-andhra-pradeshs-visakhapatnam-lg-polymers-chemical-plant/articleshow/75591816.cms?upcache=2" data-type="tilCustomLink">more than 500,000 people exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas</a>, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) estimates that around 1,000 people have been affected by the current crisis.<br /><br />According to the Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Rajiv Kumar Meena, Styrene is "non-poisonous" and is only fatal when exposed to longer duration. MIC, on the other hand, is highly toxic.<br /><br /><table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><strong>Metric<br /><br /></strong></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><strong>Bhopal Gas Tragedy<br /><br /></strong></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"><strong>Visakhapatnam gas leak<br /></strong><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Gas leak happened <br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">December 3, 1984<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">May 6, 2020<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Chemical<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Styrene gas<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Chemical company<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">US-based Union Carbide<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">South Korean LG Polymers<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Total Deaths<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3,787<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">13 (so far)<br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Exposed to the gas<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">More than 500,000<br /><br /></td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">More than 1,000<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />As per reports, as many as 3,787 people were reported dead in Bhopal. However, independent studies estimate that at least 8,000 died within the span of two weeks and eventually 8,000 more were reported dead due to the gas-related diseases. <br /><br />The government and private hospitals in Visakhapatnam are admitting hundreds of patients who were exposed to the gas. They have symptoms like breathlessness, headaches and frequent vomiting. <br /><br />Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu has demanded that a probe be conducted to determine who is accountable. An FIR has been filed against LG Chemicals, the parent company of LG Polymers, to investigate the issue. "The plant was strictly following all protocols. Investigation underway. Forensic teams are also being sent to the spot," Andhra Pradesh DGP Damodar Goutam told ANI. <br /><br /><strong>See also:</strong><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/gas-leak-in-andhra-pradeshs-visakhapatnam-lg-polymers-chemical-plant/articleshow/75591816.cms?upcache=2">Gas leak in Andhra Pradesh pushes thousands into hospitals with 8 dead and 20 in critical condition as the government tries to figure out what went wrong</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/all-you-need-to-know-about-lg-polymers-the-company-behind-the-deadly-gas-leak-in-visakhapatnam/articleshow/75596759.cms">All you need to know about LG Polymers – the company behind the deadly gas leak in Visakhapatnam</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/photos-of-ndrf-teams-after-gas-leak-in-lg-polymers-plant-in-visakhapatnam/articleshow/75597111.cms">In pics: National Disaster Response Force rescuing victims of gas leak at the LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam</a><br />

As the Vizag gas leak crisis unravels, one can’t help but remember the Bhopal Gas Tragedy which left thousands dead

Bhopal, Apr 15 () All five persons who died due tocoronavirus in Bhopal were victims of the 1984 gas tragedy inthe Madhya Pradesh capital, an official said on Wednesday.<p> On March 21, some organisations working for thesurvivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy had written to theauthorities concerned, saying such people were five times morevulnerable to the coronavirus infection.</p><p>"All the five persons who died after contractingCOVID-19 here were victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy," theofficial said.</p><p>A hospital in the city dedicated for the treatment ofgas mishap survivors has been turned into a facility forcoronavirus patients, causing hardship to these people, RachnaDhingra, member of the NGO Bhopal Group for Information andAction, told .</p><p>The first coronavirus victim in Bhopal, a 55-year-oldman, died at a hospital on April 5 due to negligence ofauthorities, she alleged.</p><p>Another 80-year-old gas tragedy victim, who was aretired employee of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited(BHEL), was also not given due medical care. He died on April8 and his sample came out positive for coronavirus on April11, Dhingra said.</p><p> Besides, a 40-year-old gas tragedy victim, who wassuffering from oral cancer for more than a year, died on April12 and his sample test report later came out positive forcoronavirus, she said.</p><p>Another 52-year-old gas mishap survivor, who sufferedfrom a permanent injury, had history of tuberculosis andcould not get prompt care for his respiratory problems.</p><p>He recently tested positive for coronavirus and diedon his way to the COVID-19 ward at Hamidia hospital, she said.</p><p>Also, a 75-year-old senior journalist, who survivedthe gas tragedy, died on April 11 and his sample test reportcame out positive for coronairus on Tuesday, she said.</p><p>On March 21, some organisations working for thewelfare of gas tragedy survivors wrote to the state andcentral authorities concerned, saying an overwhelming numberof gas victims suffer from respiratory, cardiovascular, kidneyproblems and cancer as a result of exposure to the toxic gasthat leaked at the Union Carbide factory here in 1984.</p><p>They claimed that these survivors were at least fivetimes more vulnerable to COVID-19 than other people.</p><p>Instead of paying special attention to the needs ofBhopal gas victims, the state government took over the onlysuper-specialityBhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Center(BMHRC)for gasvictims,and turned it into a medical facilityfor COVID-19 patients, Dhingra said.</p><p>For the last 22 days, no gas victim is even allowed toavail emergency services there, she said.</p><p>In a letter to gas relief hospital's monitoringcommittee chairman, retd Justice V K Agrawal, the NGOs pointedout all these aspects and urged him to re-start the medicalfacility for gas victims considering their vulnerability.</p><p>The NGOs have also filed a writ petition in the MadhyaPradesh High Court, demanding that gas victims be provided adedicated medical facility for their treatment, as was thepractice earlier.</p><p>Arif Aqueel, the former state minister of Bhopal GasTragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, also said thatthe decision to close BMHRC for gas victims was not in theinterest of these people, and they should be given treatmentat this facility on priority, especially in the OPD.</p>Asked whether the five persons who died of coronavirushere were gas tragedy victims, Aqueel said he has noinformation about it.  MASGK   GK

All 5 who died of COVID-19 in Bhopal were gas tragedy victims

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54808449eab8eade0ea28265-1200-858/bhopal protests.jpg" border="0" alt="bhopal protests"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com">Giles N. Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Thirty years ago on Wednesday, in the city of Bhopal in central India, a gas leak from a local Union Carbide plant moved swiftly into residential areas, poisoning victims in their sleep. Due to a lack of sufficient safety systems, killing tens of thousands (no numbers were ever confirmed) and leaving more than half a million people with serious, long-term health problems.</p>
<p>It has been called by many as <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/2/india-disaster-bhopal.html">the worst industrial disaster in history</a> and continues to affect the area to this day. Due to abandoned chemicals seeping into groundwater, the rates of cancer in Bhopal have <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Cancer-cases-in-Bhopal-have-tripled-ICMR-study/articleshow/7582090.cms">doubled in women and tripled in men</a> in the years after the tragedy.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, protestors from around India and the world met to speak out against the lack of regulations and sanctions levied against the parties who they believe share the blame for the disaster. Reporter <a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com">Giles Clarke</a> was there, documenting the events and hearing the stories.</p>
<h3>Bhopal women hold President Obama accountable for not forcing Dow Chemical, who bought Union Carbide in 2010, to face the outstanding legal charges in India. Bhopal residents watched closely as BP was quickly held accountable for billions of dollars for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f6b0c6da8111719ee8f7e-1200-858/bhopal women protest bhopal30 dec2 2014.jpg" border="0" alt="Bhopal women protest Bhopal30 Dec2 2014"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com/">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<h3>Dow's refusal to address it's own potential wrongdoing in Bhopal have made many in the region, as well as many of <a href="http://www.equaltimes.org/bhopal-at-30-dow-shareholders#.VICElWTF9Kr">its shareholders</a>, question the company's motivation and integrity, as well.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f6af4ecad043f5a002b3b-1200-858/burning union carbide logo bhopal30  dec3 2014.jpg" border="0" alt="Burning Union Carbide logo Bhopal30  Dec3 2014"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com/">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<h3>An effigy of a Dow board member is unceremoniously burnt in a dumpster, as part of a protest organized by the small but vociferous group which calls for pensions for Bhopal victims.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f6affeab8ea7713ee9b35-1200-858/effigy burn protest dec2 2014.jpg" border="0" alt="Effigy burn protest Dec2 2014"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com/">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<h3>The woman survivors of the tragedy have been the most powerful voices for justice in Bhopal. They organize many events during the year in both Bhopal and Delhi. Hundreds marched on Wednesday through the streets of Bhopal to the gates of the former pesticide plant.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f6b036da811ba11ee8f81-1200-858/bhopal30 union carbide effigy burn protest dec1 2014.jpg" border="0" alt="Bhopal30 Union Carbide Effigy burn protest Dec1 2014"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com/">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<h3>The Union Carbide pesticide factory still stands today. A crude wall has been erected around the it, but the site is still easily accessible by many local residents, many of whom are not even aware of the potential health threats that still linger in the area.</h3>
<h3>The factory was built in the late 1960s and by the early 1980s, the demand for the pesticide had dwindled. Cost cutting eventually led to safety standards lagging and more skilled workers quiting, leaving the factory in the hands of less trained laborers.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54807cd96da81172777a8c93-1200-800/bhopal wall.jpg" border="0" alt="bhopal wall"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<h3>Here, a resident the J.P. Nagar neighborhood stands next to the former factory wall. J.P. Nagar was one of the worst hit areas during the disaster and residents now face the added issue of extreme toxin levels in the water supply, much of which is pumped out from the highly polluted aquifers beneath the area.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f6b0b69beddca4d527200-1200-858/man outside uc factory wall bhopal:2014.jpg" border="0" alt="Man outside UC factory wall Bhopal:2014"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com/">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<h3>Children often play in the former solar evaporation ponds, a 60 acre site that was used to pump and store toxic effluent. The ponds were only lined with plastic sheeting, much of which has decayed and allowed the chemicals to seep into the aquifer.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f88af6bb3f76e7ff2effd-1200-800/10817478_10152855228482770_1641613891_o.jpg" border="0" alt="bhopal ponds"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com/">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<h3>Local authorities have attempted to pipe in water from elsewhere to little success. People in the communities complain that the water delivery system is unreliable and that many times they must use contaminated water or go with no water at all.<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54807f7769bedd806ff5290f-1200-800/10815380_10152855254202770_1791406142_o.jpg" border="0" alt="bhopal water boys" /></h3>
<h3>A boy holds a sign demanding the government issue health booklets. To date, many of the victims have never had any health records stored or recorded.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f86e06da811f1228f5b32-1200-858/10834364_10152855210832770_1127337644_o.jpg" border="0" alt="bhopal sign"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com/">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<h3>After losing six members of her family during the disaster, Rashida Bee (center) became one of the most outspoken campaigners for the rights of survivors in Bhopal. In 2005, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f86006bb3f7dc6cf2f004-1200-858/bhopal bee.jpg" border="0" alt="bhopal bee"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com/">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<h3>She and her activist partner, Champa Dev, set up the Chingari Trust 15 years ago to tend the hundreds of deformed children that are being born every year in direct response to the carcinogenic water that continues to poison Bhopal. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f808569bedd88368f5b32-1200-858/bhopal child.jpg" border="0" alt="bhopal child"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com/#1">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<h3>More than 700 children are registered in the Chingari Trust's clinic aged between 2 and 12 years old.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f879769bedd73488f5b38-1200-858/chingari children:chingari clinic: bhopal30:dec1 2014.jpg" border="0" alt="Chingari children:Chingari clinic: Bhopal30:Dec1 2014"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com/#1">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>
<h3>In the evening, the annual torchlit rally is for many the highlight of the anniversary events. The march begins in downtown Bhopal and winds its way through narrow streets at peak rush hour toward the gates of the factory where a few minutes of silence is observed.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f6b2f6da811c411ee8f85-1200-858/torchlit march bhopal30 from bhopal center to gates of union carbide factory. dec2 2014.jpg" border="0" alt="Torchlit march Bhopal30 From Bhopal center to gates of Union Carbide factory. Dec2 2014"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com/">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></h3>

Protests Rage In India On The Anniversary Of The Bhopal Disaster

<p><span class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><span><span data-post-image="" class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54905247eab8eabb48163a73-1200-800/salil%20shetty_dsc04205.jpg" border="0" alt="Bhopal Union Carbide salil shetty_DSC04205"><span class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gilesnclarke.com">Giles Clarke/Reportage by Getty</a></span></span></img></span><p></p></span></span>On the evening of December 2nd, 1984, a gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, spread from the factory to surrounding residential neighborhoods, killing thousands and affecting the area for the next thirty years.</p>
<p>It's known as the&#xa0;<span></span><a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/2/india-disaster-bhopal.html">the worst industrial disaster in history</a>, with an estimated death toll of 25,000. The factory's chemicals have caused various long-lasting medical problems in citizens in Bhopal as well, with&#xa0;<span>the rates of cancer in the area doubling&#xa0;</span><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Cancer-cases-in-Bhopal-have-tripled-ICMR-study/articleshow/7582090.cms">in women and tripling in men</a><span>&#xa0;in the years after the tragedy.</span></p>
<p><span>Yet the factory itself still stands, dilapidated and overgrown, a constant reminder of the past.</span></p>
<p><span>While the site is generally off-limits to visitors, photographer and regular Business Insider contributor Giles Clarke was recently allowed access to the site and given a tour by Sanjay Verma, a man who survived the tragedy, losing seven family members in the process.</span></p>
<p>He shared the following images with us.</p>

A Rare Look Inside The Abandoned Factory That Caused The Worst Industrial Disaster In History

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/557063fa6da8113f66d14be2-1200-2000/wallach-a%20dangerous.jpg" border="0" alt="Wallach A Dangerous" /></div></div></div></p><p><em>The following passage comes from "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465058620/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0465058620&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=thebusiinsi-20&amp;linkId=ARXRE6RQX5LLDPKT">A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology from Slipping Beyond Our Control</a>" by <a href="http://www.wendellwallach.com/">Wendell Wallach</a>. </em></p><p>SOCIAL DISRUPTIONS, PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMIC CRISES, environmental damage, and personal tragedies all made possible by the adoption of new technologies will increase dramatically over the next twenty years.</p><p>Some of these events will result in the death of many people. This prediction is not meant to be melodramatic or to generate fear. Nor am I interested in thwarting the progress of the many scientific paths of research that will improve our lives.</p><p>I offer this warning in the hope that, through a little foresight and planning, and the willingness to make some hard choices, many of the dangers will be addressed.</p><p>Unfortunately, there is little evidence that we or our governments have the will, intelligence, or intention to make those hard choices. Indeed, there are reasons to believe that such crises are inevitable, that the pace of calamities involving new technologies will accelerate, and that the opportunity to give direction to the future of humanity is slipping away.</p><p>Thalidomide babies, Chernobyl, the explosion at a Union Carbide chemical factory in Bhopal, India, the Challenger space shuttle, and the BP oil spill evoke images of tragedies in which technology was complicit. To this list add the use of harmful technologies consciously designed for destructive purposes: the gas chambers at Auschwitz, the firebombing of Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, use of Agent Orange in Vietnam, sarin gas attacks in the Tokyo subways, and the dangers posed by the proliferation of cruise missiles and biological weapons.</p><p>Many new risks are posed by technologies under development. A failure of, or a cyber attack upon, critical information systems will cause a major banking crisis or a sustained loss of electricity.</p><p>A nanomaterial used in many consumer products will be discovered to cause cancer. Students will suffer brain damage as they mix drugs, each of which is intended to give them a competitive edge in their studies. An enraged teenager will kill her father with a plastic gun produced on a $275 3D printer. In his home laboratory, a psychopath or terrorist will brew a designer pathogen capable of starting a worldwide flu pandemic. Autonomous weapon systems will kill civilians, and may even start new wars. An island nation, threatened by rising tides, will engineer local climate and cause a drought in neighboring regions.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/534c55f26bb3f7687bf24e42-1200-600/adderall-pills-on-magazine.jpg" border="0" alt="Adderall pills on magazine" /></div></div></div></p><p>In our 2009 book, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199737975/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=0199737975&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=thebusiinsi-20&amp;linkId=G7LYWRZNONFR26SK">Moral Machines: Teaching Robots Right From Wrong</a>", my co-author Colin Allen and I made a similar prediction about a catastrophic event caused by a computer system taking actions independent of direct human oversight.</p><p>We sketched a fictionalized example of how a disaster caused by computers might unfold. The scenario entailed a series of plausible incidents based upon present-day or near-term computer technology. Collectively, these occurrences triggered a spike in oil prices, a failure in the electrical grid, a Homeland Security alert, and the unnecessary loss of lives.</p><p>A real-life incident created by computers occurred at 2:45 PM on March 6, 2010. The Dow Jones Industrial Average took a steep dive and then recovered in a matter of minutes. What has been named the flash crash is the biggest intraday point decline (998.5 points, 9 percent) in the history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. High-speed automated trading by computer systems that buy and sell shares was a key contributing factor. At the time of the crash, high-frequency traders tendered at least 60 percent of all transactions.</p><p>By some estimates roughly half of all trades today are made automatically by computers that tender buy and sell orders algorithmically once mathematically determined thresholds are crossed. The percentage exaggerates the overall importance of computerized market activity in that high-frequency trades take the form of two transactions-a buy and a sell order occurring within a few minutes or even a fraction of a second of each other.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553949ba6da811972c1dec12-1200-600/rtxtgt6-2.jpg" border="0" alt="RTXTGT6" /></div></div></div></p><p>The flash crash unduly robbed some investors while rewarding others, and undermined confidence in the operations of the stock exchanges. To avert a future flash crash, additional circuit breakers that automatically kick in when errant trades are detected were built into the stock markets.</p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Nevertheless, on August 1, 2012 a "rogue algorithm" from Knight, a company that specializes in computer-driven trading, tendered buy and sell orders for millions of shares in 148 different companies before the circuit breakers halted trading. The major harm was to the trading company Knight and its clients, who lost $440 million in less than an hour. But this was just one more in a series of events that have reinforced an image in the minds of small investors that the robots are already in control of financial markets, and that the investment game is fixed.</span></p><p>The reliance on computers by financial markets goes well beyond systems responsible for high-frequency trading. They also played a role in the earlier real estate collapse of 2008. Computers enabled the assembly of complex derivatives that bundled bad loans together with good loans. Once the real estate market collapsed, it became impossible for anyone to evaluate the worth of the derivative shares held by banks.</p><p>Even heads of large banks could not determine the viability of their own institutions. What is interesting about the role of computers in the derivative crisis is that the machines did not fail. They functioned as critical infrastructure supporting a faulty banking system. Yet their very existence enabled the creation of the complex derivative market that helped cause the crisis, and certainly exacerbated its impact.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/557066c06da8115e71d14bea-1200-600/market-crash-2008.jpg" border="0" alt="Market crash 2008" /></div></div></div></p><p>The role computers played in the real estate collapse was noted by a few analysts, but the emphasis has been more upon assigning blame to greedy bankers making bad bets and uncovering fraudulent activity by crooks such as Bernie Madoff. The flash crash and the "rogue algorithm" were initially attributed to human error. Computers have escaped blame.</p><p>From our present vantage point, it is impossible to know all the potential dangers. Bad agents intent on using a technology to pursue destructive and illegal goals will be responsible for much of the risk. Those risks range from individual tragedies to public health crises; from the societal and ethical impact of technologies that enhance human capabilities to the loss of privacy, property, and liberty; and from the collapse of critical infrastructure to the onset of a dystopian society.</p><p>The promoters of a cutting-edge technology submerge its dangers beneath enthusiasm for the potential benefits of the research. They boast that the blind will see and the lame will walk with the help of cameras and mechanical limbs wired into the nervous system.</p><p>Wars will be won with the latest in high-tech weaponry. Deciphering an individual's genome will lead to personalized medical treatments for inherited diseases. Autonomous cars will have fewer accidents and free drivers to text message while traveling to and from work. Each of us will be happier, smarter, and even more moral if we elect to take a morning cocktail of cognitive enhancers.</p><p>Of course, we know that investment bankers, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and even a few inventors will get rich along the way. Politicians will receive the patronage of the powerful, contracts for industries within their districts, and support from voters who receive jobs. Scientists and engineers will be rewarded with tenured professorships, well-financed laboratories, bright research assistants, and the occasional Nobel Prize or other prestigious award.</p><p>Short of one catastrophe that threatens human existence, the greatest challenge would be the convergence of many disasters from different quarters occurring within a short period of time. Technological development is intimately entangled with health care, environmental, and economic challenges.</p><p>Usually technology provides solutions to these problems, but it can also create public health crises, damage to the environment, or, as discussed, economic disruption. If a confluence of disasters should occur, technology may not be implicated in them all.</p><p>While many other scholars and reporters ably cover the consequences of failing to address challenges in these other spheres, this book addresses the technology side of the equation.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5570668e6bb3f76d06c67cd0-1200-600/dna-microscope-genes-genome-4.jpg" border="0" alt="DNA microscope genes genome" /></div></div></div></p><p>Social systems can manage only so much stress. Reacting to multiple concurrent disasters taxes and quickly overwhelms even robust institutions. The government may or may not bear direct responsibility for a crisis, but when it fails to effectively respond, it loses the confidence of citizens.</p><p>In democratic countries, small failures in governance often lead to a turnover in the ruling party. But large failures undermine the public's faith in its governing system. One very large crisis or multiple crises could potentially bring on the collapse of major social institutions and a government.</p><p>Finding a resolution to each challenge as it arises provides the best method for staving off a future situation in which multiple crises arise simultaneously. This usually entails putting in place precautionary measures that can be costly.</p><p>However, short of a self-evident instance in which a disaster is prevented, there is no good way to determine the efficacy of precautionary measures precisely because the disasters averted never actually occur. Furthermore, precautionary measures in the form of regulations and governmental oversight can slow the development of research whose overall societal impact will be beneficial.</p><p>Thus, legislators are reluctant to ask businesses and citizens to make sacrifices. In recent years, politicians have gone one step further by pretending that problems from global climate change to high-frequency trading either do not exist or cannot be tamed.</p><p>Without precautionary measures we are left with the often unsatisfactory downstream attempt to solve a problem after a tragedy has occurred. Disasters do focus attention. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease, was a wake-up call for the European Union.</p><p>The meltdown of reactors at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant after the giant tsunami on March 11, 2011, alerted the Japanese people to failures that pervade their management of a potentially dangerous technology.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/550849be69bedd006c092d73-1200-600/fukushima-20.jpg" border="0" alt="fukushima "><p class="source"><span><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C04WNVB8Z53Q&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1197&amp;RH=674#/SearchResult&amp;VBID=2C04WNVB8Z9Y1&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1197&amp;RH=674&amp;PN=3">Reuters</a></span></p><p class="caption">The aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Unfortunately, responses to a disaster tend to be more reactionary than well thought out. Four million four hundred thousand cattle were slaughtered in the UK in the attempt to stem Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human variant of mad cow disease. Japan, which is heavily dependent on nuclear power generation, was forced to shut down all reactors by May 2012. After extensive testing, a few are slated to restart in 2015.</p><p>Governing in reaction to disasters is costly.</p><p>Whether the costs incurred from waiting until a tragedy happens are greater than the losses incurred by zealous upstream regulation is a matter on which policy planners disagree. Time, however, will answer that question.</p><p>If a convergence of multiple crises takes place, many of which result from unaddressed, foreseen problems, the answer could be the rapid onset of a dystopian future. </p><p><em>Republished with permission from <span>"</span><a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CB8QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FDangerous-Master-Technology-Slipping-Control%2Fdp%2F0465058620&amp;ei=K2twVYO8CvTfsATgrIGgBA&amp;usg=AFQjCNH4jdlfCU3Aw3OHwZi2CsY0s6XlXA&amp;bvm=bv.94911696,d.cWc">A Dangerous Master: How to Keep Technology from Slipping Beyond Our Control</a><span>" </span> by <a href="http://www.wendellwallach.com/">Wendell Wallach</a> with permission of Basic Books, Copyright J<span>une 2, 2015.</span></em></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/technology-gadgets-science-fiction-movies-2014-10">Movies Of The Past That Correctly Predicted The Technology We Have Today</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="w0M2R2ZDqyo1gueydf2a4E5jJCabQa7G" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'w0M2R2ZDqyo1gueydf2a4E5jJCabQa7G',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

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