Minor chlorine gas leak in Bhopal: Here’s how the ‘pulmonary irritant’ can be harmful for health

A minor chlorine gas leakage was reported from a chlorine cylinder installed at a water treatment plant in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal. Situated at the Idgah Hills area in the city’s Mother India colony, the gas leakage led to several people coughing and gasping for breath on Wednesday evening, ANI reported.

ईदगाह हिल्स स्थित मदर इंडिया कॉलोनी में क्लोरीन के टैंक में रिसाव होने की घटना की बारीकियों से समीक्षा कर विस्तृत जांच हेतु निर्देश दिए हैं।
यदि जांच के बाद जो भी दोषी पाया जाता है तो उसे बख्शा नहीं जाएगा। इसकी पुनरावृत्ति रोकने हेतु प्रभावी कदम भी उठाये जायेंगे।#Bhopal #भोपाल
— Vishvas Kailash Sarang (@VishvasSarang) October 26, 2022
According to Vishvas Kailash Sarang, Miner of Medical Education, and Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation, Government of Madhya Pradesh, the incident is being investigated to identify the cause. “No one found guilty would be spared. Measures will be taken to ensure this incident does not get repeated in the future,” Sarang tweeted at 12.29 am on October 27.

ईदगाह हिल्स स्थित मदर इंडिया कॉलोनी में क्लोरीन के टैंक में रिसाव होने की सूचना प्राप्त होते ही मौके पर पहुंचकर घटना स्थल की स्थिति की समीक्षा करते हुए प्रभावी रूप से नियंत्रण के कार्य में तेजी लाने हेतु जिला प्रशासन और नगर निगम अमले को निर्देशित किया।#Bhopal #भोपाल pic.twitter.com/qvkumAi3oA
— Vishvas Kailash Sarang (@VishvasSarang) October 26, 2022
What is chlorine gas and how is it harmful?
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), “gaseous chlorine is poisonous and classified as a pulmonary irritant”. With a pungent and strong odour, chlorine gas can be detected easily. The toxicity to the gas depends on the duration and dose of exposure, notes NCBI.
Uses of chlorine
The Department of Health, New York, ls that chlorine has a variety of uses. “It is used to disinfect water and is part of the sanitation process for sewage and industrial waste. During the production of paper and cloth, chlorine is used as a bleaching agent. It is also used in cleaning products, including household bleach which is chlorine dissolved in water. Chlorine is used in the preparation of chlorides, chlorinated solvents, pesticides, polymers, synthetic rubbers, and refrigerants,” it reads.
Symptoms
In case of exposure, experts suggest that the symptoms include burning of the eyes, and throat. According to the New York health department, breathing high levels of chlorine causes fluid build-up in the lungs, leading to a condition known as pulmonary edema. “The development of pulmonary edema may be delayed for several hours after exposure to chlorine. Contact with compressed liquid chlorine may cause frostbite of the skin and eyes,” it notes.

Elucidating, Dr Ravi Shekhar Jha, director and head, pulmonology, Fortis Hospitals, Faridabad said that even a low dose exposure can cause skin irritation, eye irritation, hair fall and throat irritation. “Exposure to high levels is very dangerous for the lungs. For those who have hyperreactive airways, it can cause severe respiratory irritation and breathlessness, and in those who are asthmatics, it can even cause respiratory arrest and be fatal. Higher levels may cause severe headache and even unconsciousness,” Dr Jha told .
Managing chlorine gas leaks
NCBI’s 2010 Chlorine leak on Mumbai Port Trust’s Sewri yard: A case study notes that chlorine gas is stored in cylinders in a compressed form (around 400 V of gas is compressed to 1 V) and, in case of any leakage, liquefied gas is released, which takes heat from the ambient conditions for evaporation. Therefore, as a safety precaution, the “yard of chlorine cylinders is covered to minimise the effect of ambient temperature, as well as the surrounding of the cylinder yard is continuously cooled installing high-pressure water nozzles to create a water blanket” which helps in reducing the evaporation rate and generation of cryogenic stresses.
Treatment
Treatment of chlorine gas exposure is supportive and begins with safely evacuating the individual from the contaminated environment. Doctors then can assess the patient’s airway, breathing, and circulation and provide humidified oxygen as necessary.

There is no antidote for chlorine poisoning, notes New York Health Department but chlorine’s effects are treatable, and most people recover. “People who experience serious health effects (such as severe eye or airway irritation, severe coughing, difficulty breathing, pulmonary edema) may need hospital care,” it notes.
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