Sudipta Majumdar, Ph.D.
Amity Business School
Amity University Kolkata
Mr. Amit Mathur paid a farmer 10,000 INR to get permission to drill for oil on a farm in Trombay (Maharashtra, India) and promised to remove the black ooze that would damage the crops. Mr. Mathur was lucky as he found large oil reserves in that area. Big oil companies immediately acquired the surrounding land and Trombay became one of the major petroleum producing regions of India. In a span of a few years, it had started distributing 12 billion barrels of oil and 113 billion cubic feet of natural gas mined in Trombay. This helped companies gain high profits. It also helped in the industrial development of the surrounding area as well as the state (Maharashtra).
But it has raised the pollution levels of Trombay extensively. The oil refineries at Trombay dumped tons of waste containing potentially toxic and heavy metals like carbon and organic chemicals into water for many years. The water in the surrounding areas of Trombay was contaminated by the toxic wastes. The towns near Trombay were also affected as the industrial wastes were dumped off in old wells in the adjoining areas. The off-shore drilling sites dumped the wastes into nearby canal water. People of Trombay had to face serious water pollution problems. Out of the 54 water wells, 50 contained heavy metal deposits.
Much of the pollution associated with oil and gas production was because of the salt and the drilled out mud. In Trombay, the petroleum reserves were found in salt domes and to pull the oil or gas from there, one has to drill the salt out of these domes. When a well is drilled, thousands of litres of brine (salt water) come to the surface. This is then pumped into disposal wells that have been drilled into porous rocks. Drilling mud, another major source of pollution was used to lubricate the drilling bits and flush the drill cuttings to the surface. The mud is a mixture of viscous clay, weighing agents, and chemicals used in different proportions. Weighing agents and heavy metals such as barium, chromium, arsenic, lead, titanium and zinc were added to solidify the rock and prevent it from collapsing. The chemicals used were carbolic acid, caustic soda, ammonia bisulphate, zinc chromate, formaldehyde, asbestos, asphalt and phenols. One third of the drilling mud was forced into rock formations, while the rest of the mud was recycled. The underground water supplies were polluted by the salt, heavy metals and chemicals disposed of by the petroleum industry.
In Trombay, environmentalists found unacceptable levels of salt, heavy metals and chemicals in drinking water. It was two to three times more than what was found in the drinking water of rural farms and small towns throughout the southern part of Mumbai. As a result, many people living in Trombay suffered serious health problems. Many died of cardio pulmonary arrest and with liver cancer. In a nationwide survey conducted on death caused by cancer, the centre for oil and gas production in the state ranked in the top 5%.
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As you read and analyze this case study, your reflective comments are requested on all of the following:
- Who are the stakeholders, and how are they impacted both positively and negatively?
- What knowledge and skills are needed to implement sophisticated, appropriate, and workable solutions to the complex global problems facing the world today?
- What interdisciplinary perspectives would help identify innovative and non-obvious solutions?
- What insights can you articulate, based on your culture and other cultures with which you are familiar, to help understand your worldview and enable greater civic engagement?
- What is your position on the right thing(s) to do?
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Comments
2. We see that the oil company in Trombay had a trickle down effect on the area. But it also has a negative impact as well which needs to be looked into. Thus as these factories are set up a certain amount of people can be employed both by the government as the factory. These people would be responsible for proper disposal of waste and sanitation. Oil in today's market has a huge demand and thus profits will not be a problem for such companies. So use of advanced technologies for the proper filtration and disposal of the wastes is very much a solution to the problems. Methods such as incineration , landfill , thermal treatment are very popular and effective nowadays.
3.We live in a country where it is fairly easy to get away with all such things as there is high level of corruption and illiteracy in the society. Even if these powerful companies are caught they are able to escape due to their connections and economic superiority. The people are unaware and thus do not care to understand the ill effects of such harm to the environment. Firstly in order to succeed in our attempts we have make people aware of saving the environment and how it has negative effects to their health now and in the future. The government should find people who are willing to work sincerely and bring these company frauds in front of the people and not just let them get away in exchange for some money. They should think of the after effects of their decisions.
4.The right things to do in this case is that the Oil company should be forced to take responsibility of the health problems of the residents in the area. There should be check on such further factories created in any part of the country. The government should be more aggressive in handling these matters and all such factories should only be allowed to function as when they put in the right infrastructure for the proper and safe way of disposal of waste from these factories. I am with the fact that such factories are very much needed for the growth of the are and nation but only when they keep us and mother nature safe.
We simply do not have the gunpowder to deal with the kind of slowdown that current dynamics might lead us towards. What we need now is coordinated, concerted action to sustain growth and to tackle the great threats facing our world today.
In this case study it shows that, how from removing of the black ooze that would damage the crops led to the rise of the pollution levels of Trombay extensively that resulted in unacceptable levels of salt, heavy metals and chemicals in drinking water, which was two to three times more than what was found in the drinking water of rural farms and small towns throughout the southern part of Mumbai. As a result, many people living in Trombay suffered serious health problems. Many died of cardio pulmonary arrest and with liver cancer. Some deaths was caused due to cancer. As the oil companies opened up in that area, it led to more and more pollution because of the drilling that was done which led to various problems starting from disturbing the composer of the soil to mixture of various chemicals like carbolic acid, caustic soda, ammonia bisulphate, zinc chromate, formaldehyde, asbestos, asphalt and phenols. These lead to different kind of pollution, hazards and deaths.
The complexity of the global issues is far too big for any party to tackle alone. These large-scale problems require new kinds of partnership, cross-border collaboration and open innovation among the public and private sectors, NGOs, academia and other stakeholders. It is absolutely necessary if we want to scale up solutions with real impact. In fact, it’s easier than ever to share ideas and work together with people around the world.
Having a sustainable development, conservation of natural resources, having a prerequisite knowledge about different things are very important to solve the different globally arising problems.
Impact of methyl isocyanate leak
Doctors were not aware of proper treatment methods the incident. Methyl isocyanate gas leak killed more than 15,000 people and affected over 600,000 workers. The stillbirth rate and the neonatal mortality rate increased by up to 300% and 200% respectively. The gas leak impact trees and animals too. Within a couple of days, trees in the nearby area became barren. Bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of. People ran on the streets, vomiting and dying. The city ran out of cremation grounds.
Govt's response to Bhopal tragedy
Until then, the Indian government had never dealt with a disaster like this. Legal proceedings between India, UCC and the US began right after the catastrophe. The government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985, which allowed it to act as the legal representative for victims. While the UCC initially offered a $5 million relief fund to India, the government turned down the offer and demanded $3.3 billion. Eventually, an out-of-court settlement was reached in February 1989, Union Carbide agreed to pay $470 million for damages caused. The Supreme Court of India also laid down guidelines for the money—the family of the dead were to be given Rs 100,000-300,000. In June 2010, seven former employees of UCIL, who were all Indian nationals, were convicted of causing death by negligence and sentenced to two years of imprisonment. However, they were later released on bail.
Lessons Learned
The events in Bhopal revealed that expanding industrialization in developing countries without concurrent evolution in safety regulations could have catastrophic consequences. The disaster demonstrated that seemingly local problems of industrial hazards and toxic contamination are often tied to global market dynamic. Local governments clearly cannot allow industrial facilities to be situated within urban areas, regardless of the evolution of land use over time. Industry and government need to bring proper financial support to local communities so they can provide medical and other necessary services to reduce morbidity, mortality and material loss in the case of industrial accidents.Public health infrastructure was very weak in Bhopal in 1984. Tap water was available for only a few hours a day and was of very poor quality. With no functioning sewage system, untreated human waste was dumped into two nearby lakes, one a source of drinking water. The city had four major hospitals but there was a shortage of physicians and hospital beds. There was also no mass casualty emergency response system in place in the city .Existing public health infrastructure needs to be taken into account when hazardous industries choose sites for manufacturing plants. Future management of industrial development requires that appropriate resources be devoted to advance planning before any disaster occurs. Communities that do not possess infrastructure and technical expertise to respond adequately to such industrial accidents should not be chosen as sites for hazardous industry.
In my opinion, an interdisciplinary understanding of law, finance, ethic, environment is required to deal with such issues. While it is difficult to come up with non-obvious solutions, an interdisciplinary approach gives the problem solver a broader view of the subject from different sides to see the bigger picture and come up with a solution which covers every aspect of the issue and takes into account every stakeholder.
In my opinion, the right thing to do is a subjective answer. However, most people should agree that the right balance has to be struck between economic growth, environmental protection and financial compensation. Sustainability is the key word. The solution has to be such that it is environmentally and financially sustainable.
I believe that you must be aware of the issues that our world is faced with today. Being educated on the events that go on allows for people to make appropriate solutions. Engineers should call out a problem when they see one and redirect the project into the right direction. They should ensure that the project has the necessary resources to complete it, such as proper funding of the project to ensure the highest quality of all the work.
Some interdisciplinary perspectives that I believe would help weigh out your options would be to make a list of pros and cons to prevent any flaws that could occur while the project is in motion. It is good to consider all the effects that could happen, good or bad, and find ways to improve or prevent destruction. Consider hiring very profound ethical engineers that are dedicated to their job and would highlight the flaws in the project and take into consideration the environmental damage along with any damage that may occur to human atmospheres.
From my insights, I would believe that people should consider the long-term effects and how their flaws could detrimentally impact something bigger than the picture they are portraying. In this specific case, I believe that Maharashtra was blinded by the profits that they received from the petroleum mining, that they overlooked that lasting effects that took place on the surrounding areas. Because of their inconsideration many people in trombay died and in fact, “In a nationwide survey conducted on death caused by cancer, the center for oil and gas production in the state ranked in the top 5%.” Therefore, I believe that the initial process and planning of bringing these companies to profitable lands is the most important part and should be carefully analyzed.
I believe that once they found the flaw in the mining process, they should have shut the whole project down. There had to be different ways of preventing these spills and polluted leaks, that shutting it down and reevaluating could have had a positive effect for Trombay.
Rapid industrialisation and urbanisation are inevitable to bring in some economic growth in a country but not by keeping environmental issues at stake. Sustainability of the environmental resources for the future generations are to be kept in mind. Noticeably, environmental quality is being compromised for the goals of mass employment generation and poverty reduction.
The above case story depicts a similar kind of a dilemma so as to choose between the environmental aspects or to choose the economic growth blissfully ignoring the environmental consequences. However, the man-made changes and natural exploitation for economic growth are the major contributors to climate change and its effects. This is due to the underlying thought that development policies promote economic well being, while environmental policies have been seen to be restricting it. In this context of oil reserves in Trombay, Maharashtra neglecting of environmental principles is a key reason why natural hazards end up causing a significant number of avoidable casualties.
Development remains the greatest pursuit as well as a challenge, faced by humanity. However, despite the unprecedented economic and social progress that has been made over the last century, poverty, famine and environmental degradation still persist on a global scale. In this scenario Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis can be applicable wherein which helps the richer countries to improve the environmental quality after degradation of it. The economic development of any particular region should be the prime concern for it’s overall holistic development, as the region of Trombay is now richer it can now take up measures to clean up the environmental mess it has caused. But the damage should have been controlled at a basic level or else these irreversible changes can lead to changes in the earth’s life-supporting systems, which we can eventually see. Research shows that meaningful public participation in decision-making in a variety of environmental and natural resources management contexts will, in the long run, build greater trust among various stakeholders and reduce conflict. We need to strengthen participatory processes such as public hearings in the environmental and ground water clearance process which is heavily contaminated. Ecological economists are arguing increasingly that countries should consider developing and reporting measures of human well-being other than gross domestic product (GDP) that better account for environmental and social costs of resource use. The idea of sustainable development cannot be mere rhetoric; it must be accompanied by transparent, participatory mechanisms that allow for meaningful discussion of the development paths that make growth truly sustainable.
Moreover, environmental deterioration and climate change have started to show irrevocable damages to the developmental progress made so far. Thus, development goals must be pursued without breaching environment regulations. The transition to economic growth coupled with efficiency in natural resource use and its conservation can help India attain its goals of inclusive growth with sustainable development.
2. Professional prospectors, environmentalists, geologists, and civic servants are crucial in an effective and durable solution against industries related problems. Companies must consider efficient planning involving environmental risks. Civilians should as well be involved actively in any setting up of industries in their towns or districts.
3. The concern for the environmental consequences must be a priority for a stakeholder regarding the creation of an industry. Thorough investigations and prospects must be done in the area before any exploitation. Areas designed for the riddance of toxic materials such as oil mud, heavy metals, should be built, prepared, and monitored carefully before the launch of the industry. Furthermore, a strict budget must be established regarding various environmental damages caused by stakeholders.
4. The main reason why these issues happened is often due to an unethical arrangement between the executives of the companies and the local authorities. In fact, corruption can be what drives stakeholders to take such high risks to make a profit. In some cultures that promote collectivism, people help each other frequently and often end up bribing to get what they need. It then becomes a common thing to do and authorities cannot efficiently fight against it.
5. The right thing to in these situations is most of the time hard to decide. Economic development is essential to assure the safety and the emancipation of the people in a country thus means to achieve this goal are welcome. Nonetheless, it does not mean the abuse of natural resources and the endangerment of the environment. I think that the stakeholders should prioritize the conservation of the environment, public safety, and be actively supervised by local authorities. Petitions and manifestations are also a way for people to get involved.
There should always be a proper balance between these two aspects. As we get to see in the case study, that the step taken by Mr. Amit Mathur becomes one of the major reason for the industrial revolution of Trombay. It reaches to extreme success, making it one of the major petroleum producing region in India. Hence definitely other industries too would prefer to build up their branches in that region, which would therefore help in the economic growth of Trombay. And economic growth naturally means rise in the developmental status as well as rise in power. But the industries are so much indulged in the economic development of the region that they tend to dismiss the other major aspect, that is the environmental aspect. As the case study says, that with passing time the pollution level of Trombay has increased to such heights that health issues are naturally creeping up, resulting to deaths. Hence, it should be kept in mind that in order to bring economic prosperity, destroying the environment is not the only way. By blasting mountains in order to build hotels, destroying ponds and lakes to build residencies, destroying forests to build cities, we are so keen in achieving prosperity, that we forget the fact that these deeds of ours is the main cause behind global warming. Unintentionally we are destroying the planet, by violating the environment.
•In order to maintain a proper balance between these two major aspects, the industries can hire environmentalists, who can help to understand how the industries should work so that the nature remains unharmed, and the economic development is maintained too.
•More of natural gases and chemicals should be used rather than the toxic ones.
•More attention should be paid to the environment. It is definitely acceptable for human beings to wish for economic growth. But destroying the environmental aspects in order to fulfill the human desires should not be prioritised.
As it says, "when there is will, there is way". Hence if we want, we can surely come across ways to maintain a steady balance between economic growth and environmental stability, where we don't have to put one aspect at stake in order for the other aspect to develop.
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