Bhopal: The World's Worst Industrial Disaster, 30 Years Later - The Atlantic The Atlantic 28 Photos In Focus Thirty years ago, on the night of December 2, 1984, an accident at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, released at least 30 tons of a highly toxic gas called methyl isocyanate, as well as a number of other poisonous gases. The pesticide plant was surrounded by shanty towns, leading to more than 600,000 people being exposed to the deadly gas cloud that night. The gases stayed low to the ground, causing victims throats and eyes to burn, inducing nausea, and many deaths. Estimates of the death toll vary from as few as 3,800 to as many as 16,000, but government figures now refer to an estimate of 15,000 killed over the years. Toxic material remains, and 30 years later, many of those who were exposed to the gas have given birth to physically and mentally disabled children.

For decades, survivors have been fighting to have the site cleaned up, but they say the efforts were slowed when Michigan-based Dow Chemical took over Union Carbide in 2001. Human rights groups say that thousands of tons of hazardous waste remain buried underground, and the government has conceded the area is contaminated. There has, however, been no long-term epidemiological research which conclusively proves that birth defects are directly related to the drinking of the contaminated water.

GAS LEAK IN INDIA KILLS AT LEAST 410 IN CITY OF BHOPAL GAS LEAK IN INDIA KILLS AT LEAST 410 IN CITY OF BHOPAL 12,000 REPORTED INJURED Officials Say the Fumes Came From Insecticide Plant of U.S.-Owned Company SANJOY HAZARIKA Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES OTHER HEADLINES Farm Price System May Be Curtailed, Washington Says: Block Gives Budget Plan: Congress to Be Asked to End Supports Until Levels Go Sharply Below Average Regan Foresees Final Tax Plan Like Treasury's: Analysis by Department of Its Proposals Issued Administration Defends Its Policy on South Africa as Protests Grow 2 Senators Press Reagan on Arms: Republicans Urge Scrapping of 1979 Strategic Accord On New York Border, 'Bar Haven' for Youths Heart Patient: Progress and Treatment NEW DELHI, Dec. 3 -- Toxic gas leaking from an American-owned insecticide plant in central India killed at least 410 people overnight, many as they slept, officials said today.

At least 12,000 were reported injured in the disaster in the city of Bhopal, 2,000 of whom were hospitalized. The death toll in the city and its environs, 360 miles south of New Delhi, was expected to rise as more bodies were found and some of the critically injured died. United News of India put the death toll at 500, but the news agency's figure could not be independently confirmed. Underground Storage Tank An Indian environmental official, T. N. Khushoo, called it the ''worst such disaster in Indian history.'' The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh State, where Bhopal is situated, told reporters that the gas had escaped from one of three underground storage tanks at a Union Carbide Company plant in Bhopal. Witnesses said thousands of people had been taken to hospitals gasping for breath, many frothing at the mouth, their eyes inflamed. The streets were littered with the corpses of dogs, cats, water buffalo, cows and birds killed by the gas, methyl isocyanate, which is widely used in the preparation of insecticides.

Doctors Are Rushed to City Doctors from neighboring towns and the Indian Army were rushed to the city of 900,000, where hospitals were said to be overflowing with the injured. Most of the victims were children and old people who were overwhelmed by the gas and suffocated, Indian press reports said. Even in small amounts, the gas produces heavy discharge from the eyes and is extremely irritating to the skin and internal organs. Exposure can apparently lead to enough fluid accumulation to cause drowning. (Page A8.) (In Danbury, Conn., a spokesman for Union Carbide said it was temporarily closing part of a nearly identical plant in West Virginia while it investigated the Bhopal disaster. ''We don't know what went wrong,'' the spokesman said. Page A8.) Valve Malfunction Suspected The managing director of Union Carbide in India, Y. P. Gokhale, was quoted as saying that the incident occurred when a tank valve apparently malfunctioned after an increase in pressure, allowing the gas to escape into the air in a 40-minute period early today. It was not clear why the pressure had risen or how the leak was stopped. Mr.

Kushoo, the environmental official, said it was still unclear whether it would be necessary to evacuate parts of Bhopal. The poison gas spread through about 25 square miles of Bhopal, an area said to be populated largely by poor families. Gandhi Announces Relief Fund Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, calling the incident ''horrifying,'' announced the creation of a $400,000 Government relief fund. At the same time, the Central Bureau of Investigati Mr. Gandhi, traveling in southern India for the general election campaign, said that ''everything possible will be done to provide relief to the sufferers,'' and added, ''Such mishaps must never be allowed to recur.'' Rewnath Chaure, the Health Minister of Madhya Pradesh State, told a reporter in Bhopal that 302 people had died in one hospital alone. The state's Chief Minister, Arjun Singh, reported that about 2,000 people overcome by the gas fumes were hospitalized. He said at least 10,000 others were treated for symptoms including vomiting, breathing problems and inflamed eyes.

Arrests Are Reported Authorities said five factory officials had been arrested and charged with criminal negligence in the disaster. (In Danbury, Conn., the Union Carbide Company said the reports that the managers had been arrested were incorrect.) The officials reportedly arrested were identified as J. Mukand, the works manager; S. B. Chowdhury, the production manager, and three other officials. It was not known if all were Indian nationals. Most of the initial reports on the leak, which began at 1 A.M. Monday (2:30 P.M. Sunday, New York time) were provided by India's two independent news agencies, Press Trust of India and United News of India, which had reporters on the scene in the early hours of the disaster. According to Press Trust of India, the gas spread over an area of about 200,000 people, many of whom awoke vomiting and complaining of dizziness, sore throats and burning eyes. Many could hardly talk, it reported, and some complained of brief spells of blindness.

United News of India said the factory siren did not sound to alert the neighborhood until two hours after the leak began, and it said the police and doctors did not come into the area until four hours after that. Shutdown Is Announced Mr. Singh, the Chief Minister, announced that he was ordering a shutdown of the Union Carbide plant and pledged not to allow it to resume production. He said the Government might demand that the company pay compensation to the victims. Mr. Singh also ordered schools, colleges, offices and markets closed. In a statewide radio broadcast later, Mr. Singh said the leak had been stopped and described the situation as ''fully under control.'' He urged people not to spread rumors. Reports from Bhopal said thousands fled the city's crowded districts as word of the leak spread. Plant Opened in 1977 The Bhopal plant was opened in 1977 and produces about 2,500 tons of pesticides based on methyl isocyanate annually. In 1978, six people were reported killed when they were exposed to phosgene gas, another lethal mixture produced in the plant.

According to a Union Carbide spokesman, the underground tank in which the leak occurred today contained 45 tons of methyl isocyanate in its liquid form. The chemical is colorless, burns easily and has a low evaporation level. The spokesman said enormous pressure had built up inside the tank, forcing a rupture of a valve and allowing the gas to pass into the air. Safety Features Noted According to a Union Carbide statement in Bombay, the storage tanks had special safety features. The main emergency devices, according to the statement, were vent scrubbers, which it said were ''meant to neutralize and render the gas harmless prior to its release into the atmosphere.'' ''In the accident,'' the statement added, ''the rapid pressure built up resulted in a spurt of gas running unneu tralized which escaped into the atmosphere.'' Remediation (Clean Up)<br/>Of the Bhopal Plant Site Remediation (Clean Up) of the Bhopal Plant Site Print Status of the Former UCIL Plant Site The Bhopal plant closed after the 1984 methylisocyanate (MIC) gas release and never resumed normal operations.

While the Bhopal gas release litigation was in progress, no steps could be taken to remediate the site because the MIC unit was considered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as “evidence” in the criminal case. All activity at the site was closely monitored and controlled by the CBI, the Indian courts and the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB). UCIL was finally permitted to undertake clean-up work in the years just prior to the sale of its stock by UCC in 1994, and spent some $2 million on that effort, which included beginning construction of a secure landfill to hold the wastes from two on-site solar evaporation ponds. The central and state government authorities approved, monitored and directed every step of the clean-up work. Following the sale, it appears that UCIL, now renamed Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL), continued some clean-up work and completed the construction of the secure landfill on the site. In 1998, the Madhya Pradesh State Government (MPSG), which owned and had been leasing the property to EIIL, cancelled the lease; took over the facility; and assumed all accountability for the site, including the completion of any additional remediation.

Click here to view the MPSG press release . According to media reports, court-ordered remediation efforts directed at the government entities have proceeded slowly. Furthermore, proposals made by private companies have similarly been questioned or rejected. For example, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) protested against and blocked remediation attempts by those who offered to help raise funds for clean up or to conduct pro-bono remediation. The disposal of the waste has consistently proved to be a non-starter, and was further hindered after a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2004. (UCC is not involved in that litigation.) The media reported in 2007 that the Supreme Court of India had directed the central and state governments to pay for collection of waste on the site and to have it landfilled or incinerated, as appropriate. While some of the waste had been landfilled, public interest groups again challenged the Court's incineration directive, as did the states where waste incineration facilities were located.

However, in 2012, the Supreme Court selected the Pithampur waste treatment storage and disposal facility (TSDF) in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district as the most suitable facility for incinerating the waste. Though environmental NGOs claimed the facility failed to meet desired safety parameters, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) submitted an affidavit in 2014 verifying the suitability of the facility to carry out the incineration. According to The Indian Express, 10 tons of trial waste were transferred to the site in July 2015 and the trial incineration was conducted over a five-day period in mid-August. Operated by the Ramky Group Company, the TSDF was monitored by the CPCB, as well as private firms CVR Labs of Chennai and Vimta Lab of Hyderabad. The Express reported that officials associated with the trial said the levels of emissions and ambient air quality from the burning were within permissible limits, with the air quality being monitored at three locations in and around the facility, including a station representing Tarpura village adjacent to the facility.

The full report on the trial incineration results will be submitted to the Supreme Court, which will decide on how the rest of the waste at the site will be handled, said The Express, which also noted that officials expect the remaining waste (some 335 tons) to be burnt at the “same place, using the same technology and the same control parameters”. Frequently Asked Questions About Remediation of the Bhopal Plant Site 1. Did UCIL abandon the Bhopal plant after the gas leak? A. No. UCIL, an Indian company, managed and operated the Bhopal plant from its startup to the time of the gas leak. After the incident, UCIL completed an important remediation activity -- the transformation and removal of tens of thousands of pounds of MIC from the plant. In the years following the tragedy, the Indian government severely restricted access to the site. UCIL was permitted to undertake clean-up work only in the years just prior to the Union Carbide sale of its UCIL stock, and spent some $2 million on that effort, which included beginning construction of a secure landfill to hold the wastes from two, on-site solar evaporation ponds.

The central and state government authorities in India approved, monitored and directed every step of the clean-up work. It appears that after the sale of UCIL stock in 1994, the renamed UCIL -- now called Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL) -- continued the clean-up work and completed the construction of the secure landfill on the site. In 1998, the MPSG, which owned and had been leasing the property to EIIL, took over the facility and assumed all accountability for the site, including the completion of any additional remediation. The media reported that a trial incineration of some waste from the Bhopal plant site was conducted in August 2015. Specific questions regarding this or any other remediation work are best directed to the Madhya Pradesh State Government and/or the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). 2. Is there groundwater contamination at the site? A. According to media reports, various groups have made assessments of the groundwater quality at the Bhopal site through the years, including a recent effort supervised by the State of Madhya Pradesh. For an overview of those studies, please see "Environmental Studies of the Bhopal Plant Site" on this website.

Specific questions regarding these issues are best addressed by the organizations that conducted the studies and/or the Madhya Pradesh State Government. 3. Did the gas leak contaminate the groundwater and soil outside the plant? A. No. Indian government authorities have publicly and repeatedly confirmed that no contamination of soil or groundwater outside the plant walls resulted from the MIC gas leak. 4. Did the day-to-day operations of the plant contaminate the groundwater or soil outside the plant? A. A report issued by the India's National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in 1997 found soil contamination within the factory premises at three major areas that had been used as chemical disposal and treatment areas. However, the study found no evidence of groundwater contamination outside the plant and concluded that local water-wells were not affected by plant disposal activities. UCC sold its stock in UCIL in 1994, and the state government took over responsibility for the site in 1998. If groundwater outside the plant is now contaminated after this length of time, it cannot under any circumstances be the responsibility of UCC. Specific questions regarding these issues are best directed to organizations that have conducted environmental studies and the Madhya Pradesh State Government.

For an overview of environmental studies, please see “Environmental Studies of the Bhopal Plant Site” on this website. 5. What remediation work has been performed at the site? A. Because the government closed off the site from any and all operations following the gas release, UCIL was only able to undertake additional clean-up work in the years just prior to the 1994 sale and spent some $2 million on that effort, which included beginning construction of a secure landfill to hold the wastes from two, on-site solar evaporation ponds. The central and state government authorities in India approved, monitored and directed every step of the clean-up work. We understand that, after UCC sold its stock in UCIL in 1994, the renamed company -- EIIL -- continued the clean-up work at the site and completed the construction of the secure landfill on the site. In 1998, the MPSG, which owned and had been leasing the property to EIIL, cancelled the lease; took over the facility; and assumed all accountability for the site, including the completion of any additional remediation.

The media reported that a trial incineration of some waste from the Bhopal plant site was conducted in August 2015. Specific questions regarding this or any other remediation work are best directed to the Madhya Pradesh State Government and/or the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). 6. Why shouldn’t UCC be responsible for the Bhopal site clean-up under the “polluter pays” principle? A. UCC did not own or operate the site. If the court responsible for directing clean-up efforts ultimately applies the "polluter pays" principle to a corporation, it would seem that legal responsibility would fall to UCIL (now called EIIL), which leased the land, operated the site and was a separate, publicly traded Indian company when the Bhopal tragedy occurred. In 1994, UCC sold its interest in UCIL with the approval of the Indian Supreme Court. EIIL remains a viable company today. The fact that UCC was not responsible for the operation of the Bhopal site was considered by the U.S. courts and confirmed. In 2013, the U.S.

Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit concluded that UCC was not the entity responsible for any environmental pollution resulting from operation of the UCIL plant. The Second Circuit concluded, "[M]any others living near the Bhopal plant may well have suffered terrible and lasting injuries from a wholly preventable disaster for which someone is responsible. After nine years of contentious litigation and discovery, however, all that the evidence in this case demonstrates is that UCC is not that entity.” 7. What about claims of contaminated groundwater outside the plant contaminating the adjoining region? A. While we are aware of conflicting claims being made by various groups and reported in the media, we have no first-hand knowledge of what chemicals, if any, may remain at the site and what impact, if any they may be having on area groundwater. It is important to note, however, that a 1998 study of drinking-water sources near the plant site by the MPPCB found some contamination that likely was caused by improper drainage of water and other sources of environmental pollution. The Control Board did not find any traces of chemicals linked to chemicals formerly used at the UCIL plant.

Further, The Hindustan Times reported on April 29, 2006, that "A study by the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad, has virtually debunked voluntary organisations' fear about contamination of water in and around Union Carbide plant…." We believe it is important for the MPSG to complete the remediation of the plant site. The state is in the best position to evaluate all scientific information that is available and make the right decision for Bhopal. Specific questions regarding these issues are best directed to organizations that have conducted environmental studies and the MPSG. For an overview of environmental studies, please see “Environmental Studies of the Bhopal Plant Site” on this website. 8. What is the status of litigation against UCC regarding remediation of the site and/or paying damages for the effects of pollution? A. Two lawsuits filed in New York federal court in 2004 and 2007 have focused on site remediation and compensation for residents related to the alleged impact of pollution. In June 2012, a federal court unambiguously concluded in the first of these cases, Janki Bai Sahu et al. v.

UCC, that neither UCC nor its former Chairman Warren Anderson are liable for any environmental remediation or pollution-related personal injury claims made by residents near the Bhopal plant site. In June 2013, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the 2012 court decision, stating: "[M]any others living near the Bhopal plant may well have suffered terrible and lasting injuries from a wholly preventable disaster for which someone is responsible. After nine years of contentious litigation and discovery, however, all that the evidence in this case demonstrates is that UCC is not that entity". A separate case -- Jagarnath Sahu et al v UCC and Warren Anderson (Sahu II) -- filed in 2007 in New York District Court sought damages to clean up six individual properties allegedly polluted by contaminants from the Bhopal plant, as well as the remediation of property in 16 colonies adjoining the plant. This suit, which had been stayed pending resolution of appeals in Janki Bai Sahu case (Sahu I), was the last remaining Bhopal-related case before U.S. Courts.

In July 2014, Judge Keenan ruled that UCC was not liable for any on-ongoing pollution from the Bhopal chemical plant. In May 2016, the U.S Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York affirmed the lower court ruling in Sahu II, which said that UCC was not liable for any pollution arising out of the disposition of wastes at the former Union Carbide India Limited plant site in Bhopal. In July 2016, the U.S Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York rejected the plaintiffs' petition for certification of certain questions of state law and then, on Aug. 15, 2016, the same court rejected the petition of plaintiffs for a rehearing, letting stand the lower court decision that said UCC was not liable for any plant site pollution effects arising out of the Bhopal tragedy. Sahu II was the last case in the U.S. courts seeking damages related to the Bhopal plant, all of which have been dismissed. Other pollution-related litigation is pending in India against various parties in the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the India Supreme Court.

For additional information, please see "Bhopal Litigation in the U.S." and "Bhopal Litigation in India" pages on this website. Copyright 2001-2016, Union Carbide Corporation Pallone Renews Call for Dow Chemical to Take Responsibility for Bhopal Disaster | Congressman Frank Pallone Pallone Renews Call for Dow Chemical to Take Responsibility for Bhopal Disaster Jan 10, 2004 New Delhi, India--- Nearly 20 years after the Union Carbide Corporation plant in Bhopal leaked 40 tons of lethal gas killing 4,000 people and injuring more than 20,000, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. today called on Dow Chemical to finally accept responsibility and address the extreme environmental and health problems that still exist. Pallone was scheduled to tour the grounds of the disaster today and meet with victims, but unfortunately had to postpone the trip. The New Jersey congressman vowed to come to Bhopal on a future trip.

"Its outrageous that we will soon mark the 20th Anniversary of this tragic event and Dow Chemical has still not stepped forward to take full responsibility for the actions of Union Carbide," Pallone said. "I want the people of Bhopal to know they have the strong support of me and more than a dozen of my colleagues in the U.S. Congress. It is unacceptable to allow an American company not only the opportunity to exploit international borders and legal jurisdictions but also the ability to evade civil and criminal liability for environmental pollution and abuses committed overseas." Last October, Pallone joined eight of his colleagues in filing an amicus brief on behalf of the more than 20,000 victims of the chemical disaster. In the 23-page brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the lawmakers urge the court to hold Dow Chemical responsible for the environmental disaster. The brief, initiated by Pallone, comes in response to a March decision by a U.S. District Judge in New York dismissing all claims against the company. Victims then appealed that decision to the Second Circuit.

"The polluter pays principle has been affirmed by both international law and American common law and the appropriate means for addressing pollution or environmental harm regardless of where it occurs," the members write in the brief. "That principle cannot be ignored simply because the polluter has abandoned its facility, sold its shares in a subsidy or otherwise effected change of ownership. "Union Carbide cannot express shock and dismay at being criminally charged for its alleged role in a tragedy that killed thousands and injured hundreds of thousands," the members continue in their brief. "To deny equitable relief on these grounds would, in itself, be inequitable." Last July, Pallone and 17 of his colleagues wrote a letter to Dow Chemical requesting that Dow take responsibility for the accident and immediately take steps toward reparations for the victims. Pallone and his colleagues specifically requested the companys Chairman and CEO William Stavropoulos take the following action: 1) ensure the appearance of a Union Carbide representative at the ongoing criminal case in Bhopal; 2) meet the demands of survivors for medical and economic rehabilitation; 3) clean up the contamination in and around the factory site and the poisoned groundwater, and provide alternative supplies of freshwater to the affected communities in the interim.

In a response to the U.S. lawmakers letter, Stavropoulos wrote in August that Union Carbide resolved the issue over a decade ago and that Dow "inherited no responsibility." Stavropoulos vowed to protect the interests of the companys shareholders, employees and retirees against such actions. Pallone, a Democratic Congressman from New Jersey, co-founded the U.S. House of Representatives Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans in 1993 and served as the co-chair from 1993-1998. With well over 100 members, the Caucus seeks to identify issues of concern to the growing U.S./India relationship, to advocate policies to strengthen that relationship and to serve as an informational resource for Members of Congress and their staffs about a wide range of diplomatic, security and economic issues. Photo Gallery Bhopal Gas Tragedy, Bhopal Disaster Bhopal Gas Tragedy Bhopal Disaster Bhopal Disaster took place in the early morning of December 3, 1984. It was due to the release of 27 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas from Union Carbide India, Limited pesticide plant which is owned by Union Carbide.

The death toll in Bhopal Disaster reached a great height and till date many still suffers from illness caused due to the disaster. The majority of deaths and serious injuries were due to pulmonary edema. Signs and symptoms of such exposure normally include cough, chest pain, lacrimation, eyelid edema, and unconsciousness. These over the next 24 to 72 hours may cause acute lung injury, cardiac arrest, and death. Facts leading to the Bhopal Disaster was never exposed by the company, but blood and viscera of some victims claims cherry-red color characteristic of acute cyanide poisoning. Bhopal Disaster is still witnessing many of the survivors suffering from partial or complete blindness, persistent respiratory disorders, gastrointestinal problems, impaired immune systems, post-traumatic stress. An increase in spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, and offspring with genetic disorders are also predominant. The chemical accident in Bhopal Gas Tragedy was caused by the entry of water into methyl isocyanide holding tank. The resulting reaction gave rise to a major increase in the temperature of liquid within the tank (to over 200°C). This then produced a large volume of toxic gas, making the emergency release of pressure.

Bhopal Disaster is one of the worst happenings that the history has ever witnessed. Those who could survive the immediate death have become the prey to long lingering effects which is even more intolerable. The incident should be a lesson to the humanity. Union Carbide Bhopal Union Carbide Bhopal symbolizes one of the most tragic accidents in the industrial history of India. Being set up in the late hours of 1970s, Union Carbide is a division of the Union Carbide India Limited or UCIL. Equipped with 14 operational chemical plants, Union Carbide in India has a total man power of 9000. Union Carbide in Bhopal is mainly engaged in pesticide production. In fact a large portion of the pesticides used by the farmers of India is supplied by Union Carbide division of Bhopal. In the the industrial history of Bhopal, Union Carbide disaster claims a prominent place. On December 8, 1984, the Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal came under the grip of such a chemical havoc which changed the entire scenario of its reputation.

The chemical called methyl isocyanate started spreading from an in-house tank of the Bhopal plant and within a very short time managed to affect a large portion of the local population. It is believed that as many as 38, 000 causalities occurred due to such gas leakage from the Union Carbide plant of Bhopal. After getting the tragic news, the chairman of Union Carbide at Connecticut came down to India where he had been kept under house arrest. In the month of February, 1985, Union Carbide set up an Employees' Relief fund for those who have lost their relatives or have become permanently incapable of work due to the harsh effects of the chemical leakage. Bhopal Gas Leak Act had been passed in the same year of 1985 and a promise to enact strict chemical protection laws has been provided by the then government of Bhopal. From the year 2004 to 2006, the government of Madhya Pradesh took several initiatives to rehabilitate and facilitate the victims of Union Carbide tragedy. Union Carbide Bhopal truly reminds the hapless state of all those who suffered the acute after-effects of the gas leakage.

Dow Bhopal The Dow Bhopal is an undertaking of the international Dow Chemicals Company that has recently been merged with the Union Carbide Corporation in the city of Bhopal. The multinational organization has been rated as one of the premier chemical manufacturing companies of the world. The international office of the company is situated in the city of Michigan in the United States of America. The Dow Chemicals Company produces pesticides for the use in the agricultural sector in India. The plant faced a catastrophic leak of the Methyl Isocyanate gas that instantaneously claimed the lives of 7000 people of the city. After twenty years, the death toll rose to 15000 people and more than 20000 people suffering ailment after being affected by the toxic gas. The Dow Company has not taken the responsibility of socially and economically rehabilitating the victims of the tragedy. The former Union Carbide Corporation had received the permission to clean up the site that would ensure the protection of the environment. With the help of the international organization for human rights known as the Amnesty International, the affected victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy have placed their rightful demand of compensation to the Dow Bhopal.

The company presented its statement issued on 3rd December in the year 2002 refusing the responsibility to resolve the problems of the victims owing to the expenditure cost and the moral binding that the company shares with the other business enterprises who have similar outstanding issues. The company continues to produce pesticides in the plant site in the city of Bhopal. Amnesty Bhopal The worst industrial tragedy of the 20th centuryJust before midnight on 2nd December 1984, when people were trying to go to bed, a US pesticide company Union Carbide waged the chemical war against the peace loving residents of Bhopal by fuming killer gas in Bhopal. It was one of the biggest industrial tragedies of the world, in which around half a million people were affected. The immediate death toll was more than 8,000; whereas 15,000 more died due to illnesses related to the incident over the next 20 years. Delays and denials, 25 years after the tragedy Amnesty International joined thousands of Bhopal gas victims on 2nd December 2009, 25 years after the tragic incident to bring justice to the affected.

The state of affairs is so bad that despite global hue and cry the factory site has still not been cleaned up. The medical services are so poor that more than 100,000 people are still struggling with the after effects of the tragedy. The government of India, according to the Amnesty International has fallen short of its promises to provide rehabilitation, medical care and efforts to address the socio-economic effects of the tragedy. Thousands of people have not received proper compensation, and government has never bothered to find the complete fact file of the case. Even after 25 years, no proper investigation has been done to probe the case. No person, agency or government body has ever been held accountable. No Indian or US judicial system has been used to provide justice to the victims. The impact of the tragedy According to Amnesty, Bhopal gas tragedy is not just a human rights tragedy; rather it is a human rights travesty. It is an absurd and grotesque misrepresentation of facts. The impact of tragedy is multiplied because the poor and illiterate masses of Bhopal have not succeeded yet to get the justice and claim their rights from the insensitive and inefficient government of India.

They are still being denied justice as the lethal impacts of the tragedy are passing on to the new generations. Ineffectiveness of the Indian government Indian government has repeatedly promised and broken its promises made to the victims of Bhopal tragedy. Companies involved are ruthless and selfish to the core and instead of realizing their accountability; they are hampering the efforts for reparation. Amnesty International has issued a report in which they have clearly held the governments of the state of MP, the center and companies involved responsible for the delay in compensation, medical assistance, treatment, and comprehensive economic and social rehabilitation. Recommendations for Indian government In its recommendations, Amnesty International calls on the Indian government to take many actions to properly address the issue including requesting Special Procedures of the UN Commission on Human Rights to visit India to examine the after effects of Union Carbide tragedy, its effects on the environment including the groundwater of the surrounding areas and assess the human rights situation of the victims. It also asks the government to ensure proper food, livelihood and a respectable standard of living for the affected people of Bhopal. Government should establish a special industrial area and provide industrial training to the physically and mentally affected people. It should include medical rehabilitation, vocational training for women, and social rehabilitation.

Government should make laws to punish the officials and agencies for their failure to pay the compensation available and failure to register claims. There should be a national legislation to stop corruption, repression of activists and corporate failures to provide compensation. Government should also take care of the orphans of the tragedy, who are abandoned by the state. Last Updated on 07/31/2013 Bhopal Gas Disaster and Dow Chemical: Need for CSR by Sandipa Lahiri Anand :: SSRN June 25, 2005 Abstract: The 1984 Bhopal Gas disaster involved a catastrophic failure at Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), pesticide manufacturing plant at Bhopal, India. Over 15,000 people died, and 500,000 injured in the accident. The disaster occurred due to lack of safety measures and inferior technology at the plant. The aftermath of the disaster was improperly handled by the management of UCC as well as Dow Chemical after its takeover. Indian government officials also failed to provide adequate compensation and relief and rehabilitation to the victims. It had been the source of ongoing legal battles in both India and the U.S.

Dow being financially sound could have dealt the case on much humanitarian ground but it denied to take any liability and responsibility of the disaster. This case study narrates the management and governmental failures towards the victim and asks for proper CSR approach towards them. Number of Pages in PDF File: 17 Date posted: June 28, 2005 Suggested Citation Anand, Sandipa Lahiri, Bhopal Gas Disaster and Dow Chemical: Need for CSR (June 25, 2005). Available at SSRN: or Contact Information Union Carbide’s Chemical Trail | THE BHOPAL MEDICAL APPEAL Union Carbide’s Chemical Trail Home / SECOND POISONING / Union Carbide’s Chemical Trail Poona Bai and her son Raj. Raj cannot walk and has been visually impaired since birth. Photo by David Graham. Thousands of families in Bhopal have been drinking water contaminated with pesticides, chlorinated organic compounds, and heavy metals for decades. Union Carbide’s US managers were aware of the danger of groundwater pollution from the factory in Bhopal.

According to the leader of one of the survivors’ organisations, Rashida Bee: ‘As early as 1972, they had discussed various proposals to stop it happening – but they ignored all of them. Instead, knowing the dangers, they okayed the dumping thousands of tons of solid and liquid chemical waste in and outside the factory. They knew it would poison our water and our daily lives and they did it anyway.’ Suspicions that chemicals were leaking from the factory began in 1980 when cattle in fields nearby began to die. Union Carbide denied responsibility but paid compensation to the animals’ owners. After the gas leak of December 1984, the factory was closed, but the corporation made no attempt to remove the huge stocks of lethal pesticides. In 1989, increasing criticism from local community leaders, activists and the Bhopal media, all of whom by now believed that the factory was causing illness, led Union Carbide to conduct a secret investigation. The company found that soil and water within the site were massively contaminated. Samples taken close to the factory wall caused 100% toxicity in fish.

On the other side of the wall was the community of Atal Ayub Nagar, but Union Carbide chose to keep its findings secret. The study was not released to the public and Union Carbide never warned local people that their drinking supplies were poisoned. Union Carbide hid its study from public view. A later 1997 study, commissioned by Union Carbide from Arthur D. Little , warned that pollution of the underground aquifer (which feeds local drinking water wells) could be happening at a rate far faster than imagined. Still Union Carbide kept silent and did not warn people. It was not until 1999 – a full ten years after Carbide’s initial investigation – that a Greenpeace report revealed the full extent of the poisoning, discovering severe contamination of the factory site, surrounding land and groundwater. Levels of mercury in some places were 6,000,000 times higher than background levels. Drinking water wells near the factory used by local people were heavily polluted with chemicals known to produce cancers and genetic birth defects. Residents who live near the abandoned Union Carbide factory in Bhopal collect water from a contaminated hand pump. Photo by David Graham.

A 2002 study by the Fact-Finding Mission on Bhopal, found lead, mercury and organochlorines in the breastmilk of nursing mothers. Many of the chemicals found in the water are hydrophobic. One they are in the system they can only leave through the placenta or through breast milk. Survivors’ organisations highlight the need for medical assessment, monitoring and treatment of those affected by the contamination, and due compensation for those whose health and livelihoods have been damaged by this second attack by Union Carbide on their lives. Further Reading ‘Toxic groundwater – Bhopal’s Second Disaster’ First Published in ‘Pesticides News’ 87, March 2010 The 1984 explosion of the Union Carbide chemical factory in Bhopal, India, was the world’s worst industrial accident. Eight to ten thousand people died in the immediate aftermath and many thousands more died in the following years. Thirty one years have now passed and the factory site, right in the heart of old Bhopal, has never been cleaned up. It continues to release toxic chemicals into Bhopal’s soil and groundwater. Colin Toogood describes ‘Bhopal’s second disaster’.

Background Just after midnight, on the morning of the 3 December 1984, a Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, leaked 27 tonnes of the deadly gas methyl isocyanate (MIC) which had been used in the manufacture of the pesticide ‘Sevin’ (carbaryl). Around half a million people were exposed to the gas that night and the most reliable estimates suggest that 8-10,000 people died within the first 72 hours. Up to 25,000 people are now estimated to have died as a result of their exposure to the MIC gas1. Today, more than 150,000 people still suffer from chronic ailments, caused directly by their exposure to MIC, but many thousands more are being affected by other sources of contamination emanating from the UCIL plant site. The UCIL factory site, and surrounding area, was being used to dump toxic waste and residents of the area were being exposed to toxic chemicals well before the 1984 disaster.

Initially toxic waste was simply dumped throughout the factory site and, when space became limited, beyond its perimeter on land belonging to the elected city government, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), in three specially constructed ‘solar evaporation ponds’ (SEP’s). But, in a Union Carbide Corporation internal telex of 25 March 1982, the SEP’s were reported to have ‘almost emptied’ through lining leakage2. Although pesticide production in the plant stopped, after the disaster, the plant was never fully dismantled, the site has never been properly cleaned up, and the SEP’s were simply abandoned. Chemicals were stored, un-sheltered, on-site for decades and these chemicals have leached through the soil and into the groundwater. The toxic contamination of the soil, and particularly the groundwater, in the surrounding communities, emanating from the on-site waste and the long derelict SEP’s, is believed to be the cause of many severe health problems among the residents of these poor communities. The faulty valve from the MIC plant in the abandoned Union Carbide factory. Photo by David Graham. It is not a case of ‘acute toxicity’, but of ‘chronic toxicity’.

The toxic wastes were dumped by the factory when it was functional between the late Seventies and 1984, and when it was shut after the gas leak. These have contaminated the (ground)water,” The Centre for Science and Environment, India, director Sunita Narain. Contamination history The UCIL factory was built in the city of Bhopal, the rapidly expanding capital of Madhya Pradesh. A site was chosen close to the centre of the ‘Old Bhopal’ city right at the heart of this sprawling metropolis. In fact the factory site is surrounded by areas of tightly packed slum housing and is within two kilometres of the main bus and train stations. The promise of work with UCIL, or the trickle-down business around the plant, brought many more families to the area around the factory and these areas remain densely populated despite the factories present condition. “The facility looked as derelict as one would expect, given it has been left to the elements for more than two decades. Despite the presence of full-time security guards, the perimeter fence had been broken in places.

A woman was grazing her goats on the overgrown grounds and some shallow hand excavations were identified across the site, where locals had reportedly been digging through buried waste products in the hope of finding suitable building materials for huts. A recently secured warehouse contained sacks of raw process chemicals and pesticides, including Sevin, which the plant was commissioned to produce. The site’s contaminated status appeared obvious; the exposed soil horizon showed bags of waste and powdered pesticides. Organic odors quickly induced headaches and liquid mercury was seen on the ground. It was said that during production, on-site burial of waste and excess stock was common – it certainly looked as if this were so3.” In past years, groundwater contamination has been documented in the area around the UCIL site, by NGOs and governmental organisations4. Greenpeace (1999, 2002 & 2004) conducted three studies and found that groundwater, in the vicinity of the UCIL plant, was highly contaminated with toxic chemicals. The Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) has monitored the groundwater quality for years and analysed water samples from different communities located close to the UCIL plant.

The MPPCB found toxic chemicals greatly exceeding both World Health Organisation (WHO) and National Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water guideline values. Furthermore, Srishti (2002) analysed water samples from seven communities around the UCIL plant and reported the presence of several contaminants also exceeding WHO & EPA guidelines. A boy stands by a hole in her wall surrounding the derelict Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. Photo by David Graham The National Environmental Engineering Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, India, carried out a study in 1990, at the behest of the State Government of Madhya Pradesh to investigate the pollution caused by the SEP’s. The study included the investigation of climatic, geological and hydrogeological (surface waters and groundwater flow) settings of the area on which the SEP is located. Furthermore, an assessment of the water quality and the soil contamination around the SEP was conducted by testing water and soil samples for several chemicals. Most of the chemicals found in these studies are chlorinated organic compounds and are known to potentially cause adverse health effects on humans.

Besides carbon tetrachloride, dichlorobenzenes, trichlorobenzenes, and chloroform, a variety of other chemicals and heavy metals, have been identified. All of these chemicals were used in manufacturing processes at the UCIL pesticide plant. The contamination today In 2009, two further studies were released which paint an up-to-date picture of the contamination, one by the Bhopal Medical (BMA) Appeal, on behalf of the Sambhavna Trust Clinic in Bhopal; and the other by the Pollution Monitoring Laboratory (PML) of The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a non-governmental organization based in New Delhi. Residents of slums close to the factory gather water which is heavily contaminated with heavy metals and toxins. Photo by David Graham BMA Study The BMA targeted chemicals that had already been identified in previous studies by Greenpeace et al, and specifically focused on the water issues. It looked at the contamination problem but also included a full survey of the water supply situation to the communities including the provision of water, from alternative sources, by the BMC.

The Supreme Court of India passed a ruling, in 2004, ordering that a safe water system must be supplied to the affected communities and the BMC was charged with the task of carrying out this order. But, the BMA found that the amount of water supplied was insufficient in most of the fifteen communities investigated5. Many thousands of residents do not have enough clean water for drinking, washing and cooking. Households without private hand pumps are highly dependent on the water supplied by the BMC. However, the water supply system, where it has been installed by the BMC, is in very poor condition. Plastic water tanks are often broken and are not being cleaned on the inside, promoting algal and microbial growth. Water supply, by tanker trucks, is highly irregular and residents are forced to resort to the contaminated supply from the hand pumps. The BMA’s sampling campaign confirmed the presence of organochlorine compounds in quantities massively exceeding WHO & EPA drinking water guidelines. Chloroform concentrations exceeded guideline values by a factor of between 4 and 7 times and carbon tetrachloride between 900 and 2400 times.

The study also found at least 15 other highly toxic chemicals present in the drinking water samples, at levels that greatly exceeding the WHO safety guidelines, and further chemicals present for which there are no safe guideline values. Due to the small sample size the report did not draw conclusions regarding the spatial distribution of the groundwater contamination. However, comparison with the previously compiled data proves that the pollutant load of the groundwater has remained high, and in some cases substantially increased, throughout the past decade, posing a health threat to residents through chronic exposure. Table 1: Chemical concentration (ug/L) in water samples as tested by BMA from one hand pump on two dates. Hand Pump AA1(Atal Ayub Nagar) Chloroform – The BMA report does conclude, from the samples taken in one particular community, that: “The hand pumps in Atal Ayub Nagar should be shut down immediately as the water is a health hazard for the residents. The water should not even be used for washing as the concentration of solvents present may cause skin problems6.” CSE Study The CSE studied the chemistry of the processes used for producing pesticides, at the UCIL site, and selected four groups of chemicals for testing in soil and water samples.

It tested for chlorinated benzene compounds: 1,2 dichlorobenzene; 1,3 dichlorobenzene; 1,4 dichlorobenzene; and 1,2,3 trichlorobenzene. It also tested for: organochlorine pesticides alpha, beta, gamma and delta hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH); five heavy metals lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, arsenic; and the two main products of UCIL carbaryl (Sevin) and aldicarb (Temik)- both largely produced for cotton cropping systems. CSE tested one stored waste sample, six soil samples and one surface water sample from within the UCIL site and one soil sample from the solar evaporation pond. These tests clearly show that the land within the UCIL factory and around the SEP’s is highly contaminated with pesticides, chlorinated benzenes and heavy metals7. The CSE also tested groundwater samples taken from various communities around the UCIL site.

It found that the concentration of pesticides found in all water samples were between 1.1 to 59.3 times the only mandatory water standard in India, fixed by the Bureau of Indian Standard (IS:14543). The average concentration in all groundwater samples tested, including those up to 3.5km from the factory site, was 0.006 ppm, which is 12 times the standard. CSE also found that: • The waste stored within the UCIL premises had all chlorinated benzene compounds and all organochlorine pesticides tested for by the PML. The total pesticide concentration in the waste sample was as high as 9867 ppm (parts per million). • The soil samples contained all chlorinated benzene compounds and organochlorine pesticides. It also had four out of five heavy metal tested by PML. • The profile of chemicals found within the UCIL factory and in the waste disposal site of UCIL matches the chemicals found in the groundwater sample in the colonies outside the factory premises. There is no other source of these chlorinated benzene compounds and pesticides than UCIL. The topography of the area also points towards contamination of the groundwater due to the UCIL.

The plant is located at a slightly higher altitude than the residential colonies with a gently sloping terrain. (implying that the water flows in that direction). • Carbamate pesticides, as a general group, are considered to be moderately persistent in the environment. But finding carbamates in groundwater, 25 years since the plant shut down, clearly means that the UCIL plant is acting as a continuous source of groundwater contamination8. For a summary of health effects, on the human body, of the various chemicals and heavy metals found in BMA/ CSE tests, please refer to: ‘Contamination of soil and water inside and outside the Union Carbide India Limited, Bhopal’. Centre For Science and Environment, December 2009 & ‘The Bhopal Legacy: Toxic contaminants at the former Union Carbide factory site, Bhopal, India’: 15 years after the Bhopal accident.’ Greenpeace Research Laboratories, 1999. Women collecting water from a standpipe in the street in Bhopal. Photo by David Graham The politics of clean up The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001, thereby inheriting both the assets, and the liabilities, of the Union Carbide Corporation.

The Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) were the controlling shareholder, with a 50.9% stake, of UCIL but Dow refuse to accept any responsibility for the disaster in Bhopal. Dow have repeatedly stated, in the media and elsewhere, that the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) settled their liability for the gas release tragedy with the Government of India in 1989 with a payment of $470 million. Whilst this is true, it must be noted that this settlement does not, and never has, covered any liabilities arising from subsequent and continued contamination or the contamination of the groundwater. Warren Anderson, chairman of UCC at the time of the disaster and, along with UCC, the prime accused in the criminal case of culpable homicide, retired into a life of luxury. He spent his time between homes in Florida and the Hamptons, in Upper State New York, before his death in September 2014. He never faced trial. Documents obtained from the US State Department under the Freedom of Information Act, are most revealing. A letter to the State Department review authority Archie M.

Bolster (dated 24 July, 2003), from a US industry representative, stated, “the request to extradite Warren Anderson should be rejected. No issue has greater potential to destroy US business leaders’ confidence in India than the handling of the Warren Anderson case.” In August 2009, when the Chief Judicial Magistrate issued a second non-bailable warrant against Warren Anderson, the people of Bhopal spilled on to the streets to celebrate. Union Carbide and Dow were allowed to get away with it because of the international legal structures that protect multinationals from liability. Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary and pulled out of India. Warren Anderson, the Union Carbide chief executive at the time of the gas leak, lives in luxurious exile in the Hamptons, even though there’s an international arrest warrant out for him for culpable homicide. The Indian government has yet to pursue an extradition request. Imagine if an Indian chief executive had jumped bail for causing an industrial disaster that killed tens of thousands of Americans. What are the chances he’d be sunning himself in Goa9?

Despite Dow’s continuing refusal to accept any responsibility for cleaning up the site there is a belief that India’s government wants to end the current impasse in Bhopal. Partly for humanitarian reasons but also, it is believed, to allow Dow to expand investments currently curtailed, and under attack, by activists. Dow had been asked by the Indian Government to deposit a sum of $22 million against remediation costs, pending a hearing in the Madhya Pradesh High Court but, in November 2006, Dow Chairman, Andrew Liveris, wrote to Ronen Sen, Indian Ambassador to the US suggesting that this position was “adverse to the company”. He requested the Government of India to withdraw the application in return for “economic growth in India, including key foreign investments that will promote job creation”. For their part, the campaigners have appealed to the Government in Delhi to establish an ‘empowered commission’ to co-ordinate progress in the legal case and the clean-up. The Commission would be empowered to allocate resources to different rehabilitation schemes, or research projects, issue tenders, identify and implement Central or State Government agencies, and change the agencies, all without recourse back to central government.

But the Madhya Pradesh state government is resisting Delhi’s attempts to set up any such commission despite the Central Government announcing the establishment of such a commission in August 2008. Satinath Sarangi, managing trustee of the Sambhavna Clinic, which treats survivors in Bhopal, believes that part of the problem is Dow’s refusal to formally accept responsibility for what Union Carbide allowed to happen and that a “compromise could be reached” if Dow made provision for health damages and monitoring of patients, and agreed to clean up the site and surrounding areas, which it is still resisting. “That would be some sort of compromise that we would consider”, he said10. Children play cricket within the grounds of the abandoned factory Where now The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Government of India, has also been testing the groundwater and, although their report is not yet officially published, despite being expected for some months, it is believed that their tests produced results largely concurring with the BMA/ CSE reports.

However, CPCP Chairman SP Gautum said “I am not aware if the results of the research conducted on the collected samples are out,” But, according to The Hindu (newspaper): “Reliable sources, on condition of anonymity, said that since the CPCB findings confirm contamination, it intends to sit on it or it would cause embarrassment to the Union Government and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which has been denying contamination11.” By any credible reckoning the groundwater contamination in Bhopal has to be accepted as fact and the forthcoming CPCP report may prove something of a litmus test. But, even if the contamination is accepted, the question still remains as to who will pay for the clean up? Dow, despite purchasing Union Carbide, along with all of its assets and liabilities, still refuses to acknowledge responsibility and there is plenty of evidence of political pressure to dilute its liabilities. “This cannot be acceptable… The toxins we have found in the factory are related to the production process of the plant. It is clear that UCIL was dumping its waste – of chemicals and pesticides – in the factory compound over the years it operated the factory. Dow must be held responsible.

“Its own annual report shows that it has taken on the liability of Union Carbide in the case of asbestos exposure in the US. Why is it denying this responsibility in India?” CSE, India, director Sunita Narain. Practically speaking, the recent reports produced some potentially extremely worrying results. The assumption, up to now, has been that perhaps 30,000 people are affected by the water contamination in Bhopal. But it must now be considered a far greater problem. Numbers of affected people have largely been based on the data of tests that are anything up to a decade old. The new reports show two very interesting things: The contamination levels are increasing over time. When a comparative analysis is made of test results from the same borehole, which was possible with the BMA tests, (one particular well was tested twice by the BMA and once by the BBC over a period of nearly 18 months) the ingress of toxins appears to be increasing over time. Given the large amounts of toxic waste in the area this is not altogether surprising. The contamination has gone much further into the aquifer than anybody has previously estimated. This assumption is based on two pieces of evidence.

Firstly, that the results of the CSE tests showed the greatest pesticide contamination, in ground water samples, at Shiv Nagar a distance of 3.5km to the North East of the UCIL site. Analysis of the aquifer, by NEERI, suggested that the plume would flow at a rate of between 2-300 metres per annum and the report, along with anecdotal evidence, seems to suggest the plume travelling in a North to Northeasterly direction. Taking this into account it is not surprising that the toxic plume has reached Shiv Nagar but what is more worrying is the level of toxicity as this suggests that the plume has travelled well beyond Shiv Nagar and much further than any previous estimates suggest. More worryingly still is the fact that the CSE report also found extremely high levels of pesticides in the ground water at New Arif Nagar which is North-North-West of the UCIL site. Taking both of these facts into consideration seems to suggest that the groundwater contamination is in fact much wider spread than any previous estimation. On that basis the number of people being affected by this toxic supply must be massively in excess of the previous estimate of 30,000.

This toxic contamination of the ground water is Bhopal’s ‘Second Disaster”. References 1: These numbers are open to debate but the most generally accepted figures are these, as endorsed by Amnesty International, BMA and others. 2: ‘Bhopal Disaster: Still Waiting For The Clean Up’. Joe Jackson. 3: Ibid. 4: For comparison of data from all reports referenced in this chapter please see: ‘Analysis of Chemical Contaminants in Groundwater and Assessment of the Qualitative and Quantitative Drinking Water Supply Situation in the Communities Surrounding Union Carbide India Ltd. (UCIL) Plant Site in Bhopal.’ Aio Häberli and Colin Toogood. 5: Ibid. For further details of water supply situation to affected communities. 6: Ibid. 7: For data see: ‘Contamination of soil and water inside and outside the Union Carbide India Limited, Bhopal’. Centre For Science and Environment, December 2009. 8: Ibid. 9: Suketu Mehta. New York Times, December 02, 2009.

10: ‘Riding The Elephant’ Blog John Elliott, Dec 1 2009 11: Hindu, Feb 7, 2010. Sources Aio Häberli and Colin Toogood. ‘Analysis of Chemical Contaminants in Groundwater and Assessment of the Qualitative and Quantitative Drinking Water Supply Situation in the Communities Surrounding Union Carbide India Ltd. (UCIL) Plant Site in Bhopal.’ The Bhopal Medical Appeal, for the Sambhavna Trust Clinic, Bhopal. Dr. Sapna Johnson, Mr. Ramakant Sahu, Dr. Nimisha Jadon, Ms Clara Duca. ‘Contamination of soil and water inside and outside the Union Carbide India Limited, Bhopal’. Centre For Science and Environment, December 2009. Labunska, I., Stephenson, A., Brigden, K., Stringer, R., Santillo, D. & Johnston, P.A. 1999.

‘The Bhopal Legacy: Toxic contaminants at the former Union Carbide factory site, Bhopal, India: 15 years after the Bhopal accident.’ Greenpeace Research Laboratories, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter UK. Labunska, I & Santillo, D. 2004. ‘High levels of chlorinated organic compounds, including tetrachloromethane, in water from well adjacent to former Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) pesticide plant, Bhopal (India).’ Greenpeace Research Laboratories. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). 1990. ‘Assessment of pollution damage due to Solar Evaporation Ponds at UCIL, Bhopal.’ Published by NEERI, Nagpur – 440 020, Madhya Pradesh Pradushan Nirawan Mandal, Bhopal. Srishti. 2002. Toxic Present – ‘Toxic Future: A Report on Human and Environmental Chemical Contamination around the Bhopal disaster site.’ H-2, Jangpura Extension, New Delhi – 110 014.

Stringer, R., Labunska, I., Brigden, K. & Santillo, D. 2002. ‘Chemical Stockpiles at Union Carbide India Limited in Bhopal: an investigation.’ Greenpeace Research Laboratories. Jackson, Joe. ‘Bhopal Disaster: Still Waiting For The Clean Up’. ENDS Report 406, November 2008, pp 32-35 Bhopal – 25 years and exposure continues A plan to open the site of the Bhopal disaster for 15 days was labeled a ‘dangerous publicity stunt’ by the gas tragedy survivors, who saw this as an attempt to overshadow their campaign for justice on the 25th anniversary of the disaster. The two reports by the BMA and CSE, released on 1 December 2009, helped to counteract this bizarre proposal of Madhya Pradesh Minister Babulal Gaur.

Gaur, the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Minister, announced that the ‘The plant is being opened to help people get rid of the apprehension and misconception that the chemical wastes lying in the factory are still harmful and are polluting the ground water of the nearby localities.’ Gaur based his conclusion that the chemical wastes on site are not harmful on a 2008 report by the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE)1, Ministry of Defence, Gwalior. DRDE tested the acute oral toxicity of samples from unspecified locations within the factory site. These consisted of: excavated waste, lime sludge, naphthol tar, reactor residue, semi-processed pesticide and Sevin tar. DRDE concluded the residues had ‘very low mammalian toxicity’ and that a human would have to eat as much as 200g of the waste to die from it. The problem in Bhopal is not one of acute toxicity which is unlikely to occur2. As explained in this article, the problem is one of chronic toxicity whereby gradual exposure to these chemicals, especially from contaminated drinking water, is linked to disease, birth defects and cancers.

So it is not the LD50 (dose which will kill half of the animals which consume it) that needs to be measured but the acceptable daily intake (ADI). When measuring ADI these pesticides have high chronic toxicity3 – in fact, we should not be exposed to them at all. References 1. DRDE Report. Acute Oral Toxicity of Samples of Stored Toxic Wastes at the Former UCIL Plant Site at Bhopal in rats. October, 2008. 2. The exception to this being the numerous children, in affected communities, suffering from Pica, a condition characterized by an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive, such as clay, chalk, dirt, or sand. There are different variations of pica which can be from a cultural tradition, acquired taste or a neurological mechanism such as an iron deficiency , or chemical imbalance. 3. The ADI of carbaryl (Sevin) is 0-0.003 mg/kg body weight. The ADI for lindane is 0-008 mg/kg. ADI for aldicarb (temik) is 0-005 mg/kg body weight.

Other Reports: Centre For Science And Environment (2009) ‘Contamination of soil and water inside and outside the Union Carbide India Limited, Bhopal’ Available Online at: Greenpeace (1999) ‘The Bhopal Legacy: Toxic contaminants at the former Union Carbide factory site, Bhopal, India: 15 years after the Bhopal accident’ Available Online at:

Question: What was the name of the chemical plant responsible for the Bhopal disaster
Answer: Union Carbide