PROCESS SAFETY CONCEPT IN INDIAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES:EVOLUTION AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC-LEGAL CHANGES IN THEAFTERMATH OF THE BHOPAL DISASTER

摘要

After Independence, the Indian government planned for green revolution and thisrnbrought in lot of chemicals in the form of fertilizers, pesticides etc. and for producingrnthem world major chemical Industries were putting up their plants in India to meet thernneed of the agricultural activity. The expansion of chemical industries worldwide hadrnalso brought complex chemical plants to India either due to less stringentrnenvironmental and safety regulations or the need to operate them in developingrncountries, to ensure proximity to the consumer.rnThe process safety concept in India was at embryo stage, when these chemicalrnmultinationals were establishing factories in India. Neither the government nor thernsociety knew anything about process safety except the details provided by therncompanies themselves to them, even though at a miniscule level. The Socio – Economicrn- Legal system was totally not aware of the concept of process safety and its effects onrnsociety and environment, until the Bhopal gas leak that struck in 1984 at Bhopal, India.rnLater on, many changes have been brought in even though a lot more needs to berndone on this.rnThis paper discusses on evolution of process safety concept in India and the Socio-rnEconomic-Legal changes in the aftermath of Bhopal gas leak disaster as well as thernrequired changes as of now, to derive the advantages of process safety concept tornensure the safety of human beings and protection of the environment.