In December 1984 a leak of methyl isocyanate gas from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal killed thousands within days and injured hundreds of thousands, the worst industrial disaster on record. The dense settlements that had grown up against the plant's perimeter bore the heaviest toll, exposing the dangers of hazardous industry sited beside residential quarters. The site and its contamination remain unresolved decades later.
It exposed the lethal consequences of unregulated industrial siting near housing and forced attention to urban environmental safety.
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