BHOPAL NUMBER ONE INDUSTRIAL DISASTER OF ALL TIME

Toxic Pesticide Gas Kills
20,000 And Counting

BHOPAL, INDIA, DEC 2, 1984 - An accident at Union Carbide's pesticide plant in Bhopal in on December 2, 1984 killed 7000 people immediately and injured at least 150,000. It remains the worst industrial disaster on record, and the victims are still dying.

A faulty valve at the plant, which made Sevin pesticide, let nearly a ton of water pour into a tank holding 40 tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC). The resulting runaway reaction produced a cloud of toxic gas.

Bad night at the old
pesticide plant: 1984.

STATISTICS:

Initial deaths: approx 7,000.

Maimed or deformed over 25 years: up to 500,000

Current effects: About 120,000 to 150,000 residents of Bhopal continue to be ill. Clinics report a regular stream of patients complaining of diseases of the eyes, lungs, kidneys, liver, brain, reproductive and immune systems.

Unlike US plants, Bhopal had no "knock-down" tank where the chemicals that boiled out of the MIC tank coiuld have settled. The deadly MIC and other products were carried by wind to the neighboring communities, where it killed thousands in their beds. More died later after reaching hospitals and emergency aid centers. Today the death toll exceeds 20,000.

Union Carbide maintains that sabotage is the only possible explanation for the accident.* It isn't clear why someone would think purposefully releasing poison gas is a good idea, but it is wrong to second guess other cultures, especially complex ones such as your Hindu and what have you. You can read Union Carbide's explanation of this surprising fact here. Please let us know if you believe this explanation.

Greenpeace asserts that as the Union Carbide CEO, Anderson knew about a 1982 safety audit of the Bhopal plant, which identified 30 major hazards and that they were not fixed in Bhopal but were fixed at the company's identical plant in the US.

In 2002, secret Union Carbide documents were made public. The documents show that Union Carbide tested soil and water in and around its factory in Bhopal after the disaster and found them to be heavily contaminated. It did not make this information public but used another report, which said there was no contamination, to appease the public and the government of India.

2010 UPDATE:

On June 27, 2010, a "Mini" Bhopal incident took place at a factory owned by a company under contract to cleanup the Bhopal site.

Former Chair Warren Anderson Still Fugitive From International Arrest Warrant

Union Carbide is now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company, which denies all responsibilty*.

An Indian arrest warrant is pending against Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster. Andersen resides in plain site on Long Island.

In June 2010 (that would be 26 years after the incident) seven ex-employees (known as "Rubes) including the former chairman of UCIL, were convicted in Bhopal of causing death by negligence and sentenced to two years imprisonment and a fine of about $2,000 each, the maximum punishment allowed by law. An eighth former employee was also convicted but died before he could serve his term. After 26 years, he may well be a little long in the tooth.

* Not a shock, as Dow continues to fight efforts to force it to clean up the Saginaw River and Bay near Midland, Michigan, where Dow is pretty much the entire regional economy and nobody can make them do nothin'. Q&A: After more than 25 of finger pointing and conflicting stories, has anyone cleaned up the site? Send your guess to the CatMap Executive Board, then check for your answer here.

New fun game from Dow Lobby Watch.

Use this link to read Union Carbide's explanation of the Incident

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* In 1919, an explosion in a molasses manufacturing plant unleashed a ten foot wave of molasses which swept through the city, flooding some neighborhoods with mollasses up to 2 feet high. Dozens were kille and hundreds were injured. Although the company was eventually found guilty in court, the initial response of the Purity Distilling Company was to blame the incident on an anarchist's bomb.