I chose the case study: Union Carbide Gas Release in Bhopal, India (http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/lopatin.html) . A company called Union Carbide set up a manufacturing plant in Bhopal, India where they produced the chemical methyl isocyanate. Large amounts of water reacted with the chemical, which was subsequently released as a gas into the atmosphere and killed/injured many people in the city. The citizens were not able to receive adequate compensation from the settlement between the company and the government and the company’s stocks were not impacted. In this case, the goals of the development were probably to increase the revenue of the company, which in turn had major negative implications on the people that lived in the city of Bhopal. This case study demonstrates the negative impacts that improperly applied development might have on the developing nations of the world. I believe that in a developed country, this issue would have never happened due to the regulations that would have been imposed on the company, and the manipulation of the company in court would not have occurred.

The second case study I chose was the article “Chernobyl: Could It Happen Here?” (http://www.mhhe.com/Enviro-Sci/CaseStudyLibrary/Topic-Based/CaseStudy_Chernobyl.pdf).  This case study outlines the 1986 nuclear meltdown that occurred in the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine. The meltdown was the result of unchecked hazardous experimentation that destabilized the reactor and resulted in a huge explosion that spread massive amounts of radioactive material over large areas of the former USSR and Europe. Many people died due to acute toxicity due to radiation, and many people experienced long term suffering and death due to the radioactive particulate. Still to this day Chernobyl is unable to be occupied due to the large amounts of radiation, and will not be able to be occupied for many years. This is due to the improper implementation of technologies that were used in the development of the USSR. The initial goals of the nuclear reactor were to bring sustainable power to the areas and the country, but the unregulated use of the power plant resulted in catastrophic failure for the plant and had widespread deleterious effects for the inhabitants of the city, and for millions of people in Europe.

I live in Rockland County, New York, which is located approximately 30 miles from New York City. These case studies which I have presented remind me of the waste treatment plant that is located in West Harlem which begins at the top of Manhattan and can be smelled when traveling down the West Side Highway. For many miles around the plant, you can smell the noxious fumes that come from the plant. I believe that these case studies relate to this issue because, likewise in the 2 case studies, this waste treatment facility was built to develop the area and provide a clean environment for the entire city. However, the improper implementation of this technology has created the problem for the residents surrounding the facility and needs to be taken care of to prevent harmful effects on the residents. What we can learn from these case studies is that implementation of these technologies for development needs to be scrutinized severely and constantly to prevent major damage that could happen to the surrounding communities.