The balding, bespectacled executive in a rumpled, perspiration-soaked three-piece suit struggled to contain his emotions and stammered through his testimony.
"They insisted on running the plant themselves, so we felt we had to make things simpler for them. They didn't have the basic technical know-how of an American workforce. Plus, they had the manual, for Christ's sake. It was written in their language and could not have been clearer.
"The manual plainly states: 'MIC, methyl isocyanate is reactive, toxic, volatile and flammable; a hazardous material by all means of contact, a poison by inhalation, ingestion or application to the skin.' We could not have emphasized more strongly that this was a dangerous substance that could undergo a 'runaway reaction if contaminated with water, chlori
