IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 503 
Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster and expressing 
the commitment of Congress to work with the Government of India 
and others to ensure that Union Carbide provides environmental and 
medical rehabilitation of the affected area and is held responsible for 
its actions. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 
Mr. PALLONE submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster 
and expressing the commitment of Congress to work 
with the Government of India and others to ensure that 
Union Carbide provides environmental and medical reha-
bilitation of the affected area and is held responsible 
for its actions. 
Whereas December 2004 marks the 20th anniversary of the 
Union Carbide Corporation gas leak that took place in 
Bhopal, India, and that is widely regarded as the worst 
peacetime environmental catastrophe in world history; 
Whereas on December 2, 1984, 27 tons of poisonous gas, in-
cluding methyl isocyanate, leaked from a storage tank at 
the pesticide plant of the Union Carbide Corporation in
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Bhopal and quickly spread to the surrounding residential 
areas; 
Whereas official estimates indicate a death toll of 3,000 in 
the aftermath of the disaster, but unofficial estimates put 
the toll much higher at 8,000, and the toll has climbed 
to more than 20,000 to date; 
Whereas approximately 10 to 30 people continue to die every 
month in Bhopal from toxic exposure, 150,000 people 
continue to suffer long-term health consequences from 
the disaster, and the effects of the toxic gases appear to 
be harming the next generation, with overwhelming evi-
dence that points to a higher incidence of health effects 
and birth defects among children born to people affected 
by the gases; 
Whereas international organizations and other independent 
investigators have concluded that Union Carbide’s inad-
equate technology, double standards in safety and emer-
gency-preparedness, and reckless cost cutting at the plant 
were the principal causes of the disaster; 
Whereas in 1987, the authorities in India brought criminal 
charges against Union Carbide, its Indian subsidiary, and 
its local managers for criminal negligence and reckless in-
difference leading to death, and in 1991 the Supreme 
Court of India held that the charges could not be dis-
missed based on a civil settlement; 
Whereas Union Carbide refused to appear in court to face 
criminal charges, and the Bhopal District Court issued 
arrest warrants for the company, declaring that it was a 
fugitive from justice; 
Whereas Union Carbide has recently become a wholly owned 
subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Corporation, which re-
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fuses to require that Union Carbide appear before the 
Bhopal District Court and refuses to release in entirety 
its scientific and medical research on the leaked chemi-
cals and gases; 
Whereas the lack of information on the leaked chemicals and 
gases has hindered the study of the long-term medical ef-
fects of exposure; 
Whereas many Bhopali families face insurmountable debt be-
cause of the devastating health effects of the gas, the 
birth defects of their children, and their inability to work 
because of illness; 
Whereas since 1999, at least three independent environ-
mental surveys have shown that the former Union Car-
bide plant polluted the soil and groundwater aquifer be-
neath it, resulting in severe contamination of the drink-
ing water supply of as many as 20,000 people living in 
residential areas near the plant; 
Whereas no substantive effort has been undertaken for envi-
ronmental remediation of the area, and the tainted water 
and the generally toxic living environment have led to 
premature cancer, deformities, chromosomal aberrations, 
and other disorders for Bhopali children; 
Whereas international law and the domestic laws of India and 
the United States have a ‘‘polluter pays’’ principle, which 
states that the polluter should be held responsible for its 
environmental pollution; 
Whereas international trade and ethical practices compel Dow 
Chemical to treat this matter seriously and to ensure 
that equitable treatment be afforded to the victims and 
their progeny; and
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Whereas India is the largest democracy in the world and en-
joys a close and mutual friendship with the United States 
based on common values and common interests: Now, 
therefore, be it— 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the Congress— 
(1) recognizes the 20th anniversary of the Bho-
pal disaster and the continuing environmental prob-
lems in Bhopal, India, caused by the policies and 
practices of the Union Carbide Corporation; and 
(2) is committed— 
(A) to working with the Government of the 
Republic of India, the Dow Chemical Corpora-
tion, and the victims of the Bhopal disaster to 
ensure that Union Carbide provides complete 
medical, social, and economic rehabilitation to 
the victims and to obtain the medical informa-
tion necessary to help the victims; 
(B) to ensuring that Union Carbide com-
pletely restores the polluted plant site affected 
by this disaster to a habitable condition and 
fully remediates the drinking water supply of 
affected residential communities; and 
(C) to ensuring that Union Carbide ap-
pears before the Bhopal District Court for pros-
ecution on the criminal charges pending against
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it, in accordance with principles of international 
law regarding criminal jurisdiction. 
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