January 24, 1985

Methyl isocyanate, the chemical that killed over 2,000 people in India, was accidentally leaked 28 times in the last five years at a Union Carbide plant in West Virginia, the Environmental Protection Agency reported today. The report, based on an inspection last month of the plant and its records, attributed the releases to ''equipment failure'' and to ''human errors.'' The report said more information was being sought to determine if any of the methyl isocyanate escaped into the surrounding environment. The plant, in Institute, W. Va., is near Charleston, the state capital.

A Washington dispatch yesterday about an anti-abortion march misidentified the march route. It was Constitution Avenue.

SOME people count sheep. Other people sleep on them. Or, to be more precise, they sleep on sheepskinlike mattress pads imported from New Zealand. Americans, it seems, have rediscovered their beds, and woolly mattress covers are just one of many products they are buying to stay cozy. There are also flannel sheets of 100 percent cotton, overstuffed pillows for reading in bed and pillows that can be rolled up and packed in a suitcase. Duvet covers, long used on European comforters but only recently introduced here, can change the color of a comforter in minutes or eliminate the need for a top sheet. Electric blankets, now called automatic blankets to erase a drab image, can be programmed to keep the feet warmer than the head. The trend had its start during the energy shortages of the 1970's. More homeowners began turning their thermostats down at night and manufacturers expanded output of warm products to meet the expected demand. By the time the items were introduced, some two years later, customers were more concerned with comfort than conservation. So the bedding was targeted toward a new market.

Last year was the third straight year in which inflation was held to a rate of 4 percent or less. Page D1. WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 - President Reagan's nomination of James A. Baker 3d to be Secretary of the Treasury won the unanimous support of the Senate Finance Committee today, all but assuring his confirmation by the full Senate next week. However, Mr. Baker, who is leaving the White House after four years as the President's chief of staff, encountered bipartisan misgivings over the most important legislative issue on the Treasury's agenda this year - the overhaul of the tax system. The changes were proposed by the man with whom Mr. Baker is switching jobs, Donald T. Regan.

New-car sales by the nation's six major manufacturers rose 4.1 percent in the Jan. 11-20 selling period, the companies reported today. The average daily rate of sales was the highest for the period since 1973. The companies sold 168,668 new automobiles, or 21,084 a day, up from 182,273, or 20,253 a day, last year. There were with eight selling days in the period this year and nine last year. In the 1973 period, there were 23,390 cars sold a day.