Technological Hazards in the Third World

Abstract

Technological hazards are acute in the rapidly industrializing countries of the third world, where factories are concentrated in densely populated areas. Areas of technological hazards are delineated for India, and the catastrophe at Bhopal is the case study to analyze perceptual responses. TECHNOLOGICAL development has become a major contemporary issue, viewed by some persons as the source of hope for mankind. Developing countries particularly consider technology a means to solve economic problems and thus to achieve an improved quality of life. Other individuals express doubts about the unbridled growth of technology that has generated hazards and adversely affected social, economic, and environmental systems on the earth. Shortly before his death, the world-renowned geographer, Carl 0. Sauer, warned about the dangers associated with technical dominance.1 A recent monograph highlighted the threats to public health and safety from technologies, but it noted the high esteem of their benefits in third-world countries.2 Technological hazards are increasing at an alarming rate in developing countries. In their pursuit of capital investment and development, they attract toxic industries and adopt nuclear technologies to spur growth without adequate safeguards and locational considerations. Potential risks to employees and the populations living near hazards-producing plants also increase. The risks are inherent in the nature of the plants, which use toxic and radioactive materials in the manufactural processes. Unlike natural disturbances, technological hazards result from a malfunction, the effects of which are often compounded by improper location. In third-world urban areas, potentially hazardous plants are usually located adjacent to impoverished neighborhoods, and hence vast numbers of persons are at risk if an accident occurs, as was the case with a liquified-gas fire in Mexico City in November 1984 and with the deadly gas leakage at Bhopal, India, in December 1984. These episodes exemplify the tragedy that modern technology can impose from error or negligence. In this article, we assess technological hazards in India with Bhopal as the case study. We analyze the perceived zones of effects and discuss strategies to cope with technological disasters. I Geographical Journal 141 (1975): 521. 2Donald J. Zeigler, James H. Johnson Jr., and Stanley D. Brunn, Technological Hazards (Washington, D.C.: Association of American Geographers, 1983), 50. * DR. KARAN is a professor of geography at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, where DR. BLADEN is an associate professor of geography. DR. WILSON is president, Cargill Southeast Asia Ltd., Singapore. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.176 on Sat, 09 Apr 2016 06:45:50 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 196 THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW POTENTIAL TECHNOLOGICAL HAZARD ZONES