The aim of this work was to characterize the methyl isocyanate hydrolysis reaction and to identify its operational criteria. The parametric sensitivity and dynamic stability methodologies were performed at the Bhopal disaster circumstances, over the relevant operating parameter space. Stable and unstable conditions, bifurcations points, turning points and oscillatory behavior were determined. The combined methodology give useful guidance on the operative conditions selection and the appropriate strategy to overcome hazardous situations. The obtained results demonstrated high sensitivity to small perturbations (thermal runaway) and prevalent oscillatory behavior. Moreover, the following critical parameters for the studied dynamic system were defined: the inverse residence time of 1.5700103 and the heat transfer coefficient of 752.394. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.