Saroj Bhattacharjee, 81, calls it the “biggest trauma” of his life.
Now living in Edmonton and still working as an engineer in the oil and gas industry, Bhattacharjee was a maintenance engineer at Union Carbide in Bhopal, India, in 1984 when the toxic gas methyl isocyanate leaked from a storage tank. It’s estimated roughly 36 tonnes of the fumes spewed into the city’s air from the pesticide plant on Dec. 2 and 3.
The leak eventually led to the deaths of thousands of people. Over half a million people suffered injuries, with thousands sustaining severe or permanently disabling harm. Long term, some people became blind or contracted cancer.
Bhattacharjee said neighbours in Bhopal initially alerted him at night about the leak.
“[They] pounded on our door just to ask what to do. What has happened? …