Question

The gas responsible for causing Bhopal tragedy was:
A. methyl isocyanate
B. potassium thiocyanate
C. sodium isothiocyanate
D. ethyl isothiocyanate

Answer 1

Bhopal gas strategy was one of the most known industrial accidents whose consequences were very severe because of the release of the harmful gas. The gas that affected so many people is a cyanide compound with one alkyl group.

Complete Step-by-step answer:
- In the given question, we have to choose the correct gas which was responsible in the Bhopal gas tragedy.
- As we know that Bhopal tragedy or Bhopal disaster took place in Bhopal's pesticide plant on 3 December 1984.
- The gas that was leaked from the industry was methyl isocyanate which then spread into the small towns that were near the industry.
- The gas is highly toxic because the acute or short-term effects of the gas were coughing, eye irritation, suffocation, breathlessness, etc.
- As the methyl isocyanate is very flammable and consists of very pungent odour.
- The most common route of this toxic gas is by inhaling the gas due to which it travels directly into the lungs.
- Due to the exposure of the gases to many small towns near the industry it caused the contamination of water also, due to which the cases of birth of deformed babies were also reported.
- The disaster took place because some water entered the tank of methyl cyanate due to which the massive production of carbon dioxide takes place.
- Due to this massive production of the carbon dioxide the tanks exploded.

Therefore, option A is the correct answer.

Note: The molecular formula of the methyl isocyanate is given as ${{\text{C}}_{2}}{{\text{H}}_{3}}\text{NO}$. The pesticide which was produced in the industry was carbaryl which is used to kill insects.