It has been 36 years since the Bhopal tragedy killed thousands of people late one night when it was released from its process. I was recently surprised by a facility claiming that the incident was “overblown” and that “MIC is a vital chemical to commerce around the world”. I can’t disagree with the second statement, but I got myself in trouble pushing back with the “overblown” comment as I felt it was disrespectful to the thousands who died that night and since then. So the EHS manager asked me to explain how MIC is so bad.
I know there are some who may be manufacturing MIC or have in the past that will claim I am “screaming the sky is falling”, but I used the facility’s very own SDS for the debate.
So let’s start with the GHS Categories, now used in 67 countries around the globe; MIC is a: