When released to air, it will exist solely as a gas. Methyl isocyanate gas is degraded rapidly in the air by reacting with substances commonly found in the air.
Methyl isocyanate will also be broken down by moisture from clouds and rainfall.
The Bhopal disaster occurred when about 45 tons of the gas methyl isocyanate escaped from a plant owned by a subsidiary of the U.S.-based Union Carbide Corporation.
Investigations later established that substandard operating and safety procedures at the understaffed plant had led to the catastrophe.
The company still operates under the ownership of Dow Chemicals and still states on its website that the Bhopal disaster was "cause by deliberate sabotage".
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