The Bhopal Plant

The Bhopal plant was owned and operated by Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL), an Indian company in which Union Carbide Corporation held just over half the stock. The other stockholders included Indian financial institutions and thousands of private investors in India.

UCIL was established in 1934, when Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) became one of the first U.S. companies to invest in India. UCIL was a diversified manufacturing company, employing approximately 9,000 people and operating 14 plants in five divisions. Annual sales were nearly $200 million, and UCIL shares were publicly traded on the Calcutta Stock Exchange.

In the late 1970s, the Bhopal plant was designed and constructed by UCIL using Indian consultants and workers and went on to be operated by an Indian plant management team. The plant was constructed on land leased to UCIL by the Indian state government of Madhya Pradesh.

The plant produced pesticides for use in India to help the country’s agricultural sector increase its productivity and contribute more significantly to meeting the food needs of one of the world's most heavily populated regions.

In 1994, Union Carbide Corporation sold its entire stake in UCIL to MacLeod Russell (India) Limited, which renamed the company to Eveready Industries India Limited. In 1998, the government of state of Madhya Pradesh took over the Bhopal site from Eveready Industries India, Limited.

After the incident, UCIL began cleanup work at the site under the direction of Indian national and state government authorities. After the sale of UCIL stock in 1994, the renamed company, Eveready Industries India Limited, continued cleanup work at the site until 1998. The government of the State of Madhya Pradesh took over the facility in 1998 and assumed all responsibility for completing any further remediation. Since that time, media reports indicate no further cleanup work has taken place.