Bhopal

=OMfG: Blackheart (guard)  Bart:he's right to worry about students for bhopal: site has pathos pix, extensive and broad info:
eg<a href="http://www.bhopal.net/old_studentsforbhopal_org/DirtyDow.htm">http://www.bhopal.net/old_studentsforbhopal_org/DirtyDow.htm</a>BM<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Bhopal-Bloopers-How-Dow-and-Burson-Marsteller-2680954.php">http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Bhopal-Bloopers-How-Dow-and-Burson-Marsteller-2680954.php</a><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">his is a story about how hard it is to shut someone up online, and how it's sometimes a bad idea to even try, because it lets everyone know you're trying to hide something. It's also a story about pranksters taking political action by making people laugh.<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Here's what happened: Dow Chemical and Dow's PR firm, Burson-Marsteller, tried to shut down some parody sites and ended up bringing themselves a heap of negative publicity. But before we go into that, first, a little background:<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Back in 1984, the Indian subsidiary of <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=solr&query=%22Union+Carbide%22" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Union Carbide</a> made a <a href="http://www.bhopal.net/background.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">big whoopsie</a> with some deadly gas used in making pesticides. After a gas tank was accidentally breached, Bhopal's 900,000 residents were exposed to some 40 tons of the known carcinogen methyl isocyanate. Up to 4,000 people (figures vary) were killed on the spot, and anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 still suffer from serious, potentially deadly health effects such as cancer and respiratory problems.<div class="A300-placeholder collapse" style="float: right; margin: 0px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">What was arguably the world's most horrific industrial disaster soon gave rise to a massive lawsuit, and Union Carbide was ordered to pay $470 million into a victims' fund set up by the Indian government. Bhopal victims correctly called it a "pittance" -- the average payout to almost 560,000 survivors who received settlements as of June 2001 was $580. Even worse, Union Carbide was not forced to clean up the chemicals that leaked unabated from the now-abandoned Bhopal factory site....Fast-forward to 2001: Union Carbide merged with Dow Chemical Co., makers of the Vietnam War's notorious Agent Orange, and Dow took on Union Carbide's plants, business processes and customers. It also took on the company's neglect of the Bhopal situation. Dow continues to refuse to clean up the Bhopal site, denying liability and refusing to release precise details of the chemicals released during the accident, which could help treat those who remain ill. Carcinogens and other poisons continue to leach into underground drinking water, and the Bhopal death toll continues to mount.<div class="S300-placeholder collapse" style="float: right; margin: 0px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Enter the Yes Men, a group of Internet activists, pranksters and philosophers who gained some notoriety years back by posting satirical sites about the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=solr&query=%22World+Trade+Organization%22" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">World Trade Organization</a> (WTO) and the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=solr&query=%22General+Agreement+on+Tariffs+and+Trade+%28GATT%29%22" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)</a>. Some of the Yes Men started hearing stories about Bhopal and icky things about Dow Chemical and Burson-Marsteller -- the firm whose crisis-management practice helped Union Carbide minimize its PR damage after Bhopal. Not content with just passing said icky things on to their activist friends, the Yes Men wanted to cast some light on Dow's current actions.<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">On December 3, 2002, the 18th anniversary of Bhopal, the Yes Men posed as Dow representatives and sent out a cleverly snitty e-mail press-release "explanation" of its actions to journalists and activists, made all the more stinging because of how closely the parody rings true. The <a href="http://www.dowethics.com/r/about/corp/bhopal.htm" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">fake release</a> is a masterwork of irony, quoting a Dow spokesperson as saying, "We understand the anger and hurt. But Dow does not and cannot acknowledge responsibility. If we did, not only would we be required to expend many billions of dollars on cleanup and compensation ..."<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The fake release was immediately forwarded around the world, and the Yes Men put up a fake-yet-official-looking Web site at <a href="http://www.dow-chemical.com/" style="text-align: center; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">www.dow-chemical.com</a> to showcase the release, which received hundreds of enraged e-mail responses from those who didn't realize the site, which strongly resembled Dow's corporate site, was a spoof. The flap was reported in national and international news sources, and the Dow parody site got hundreds of thousands of hits -- and it wasn't long before Dow also came calling.<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Within a day of the release, Dow threatened the <a href="http://www.dow-chemical.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">www.dow-chemical.com</a> upstream provider, Verio. Under the rules of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Dow's legal reps said, the Yes Men's site violated Dow's copyright in Web design, images and text. Chastened, Verio shut the Yes Men's ISP, Thing.net, down for 24 hours and informed the tiny ISP that it'd have to find itself a new backbone provider. In the meantime, Dow did some swift legal maneuvering. The company discovered that the prankish Yes Men had actually registered <a href="http://www.dow-chemical.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">www.dow-chemical.com</a> in the name of the son of former Dow President <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=solr&query=%22Michael+Parker%22" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Michael Parker</a> as a joke. Parker's kid did his dad's company a favor and claimed the site from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=solr&query=%22Icann%22" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">ICANN</a>), arguing successfully that the site was, after all, registered in his name. If you click on <a href="http://www.dow-chemical.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">www.dow-chemical.com</a>, you'll see it now redirects to Dow's official site. The original Yes Men parody site, however, is still mirrored <a href="http://www.dowethics.com/r/Homepage/index.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">elsewhere.</a><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Meanwhile, yet another thread in the story was developing elsewhere. In the midst of writing a paper on the WTO, Hampshire <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/education-guide/" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">College</a> student <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=solr&query=%22Paul+Hardwin%22" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Paul Hardwin</a> inadvertently ended up at a Yes Men parody page. He liked what he saw and decided to use a Yes Men software program, an automatic site-parody production tool called (heh, heh) Reamweaver, to create a site spoofing Burson-Marsteller. It wasn't a particularly brutal parody -- Reamweaver acts as a "fun-house mirror," allowing spoofers to duplicate a site while substituting certain words or phrases for others. Hardwin's spoof was a pretty tame takeoff of Burson-Marsteller's site.<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">But when Burson-Marsteller saw Hardwin's parody site, it immediately filed a complaint with the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=solr&query=%22World+Intellectual+Property+Organization+%28WIPO%29%22" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)</a>. Yeah, it was just "a simple little parody site," as Hardwin called it, but he'd posted his little site at <a href="http://www.bursonmarsteller.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">www.bursonmarsteller.com</a>, which Burson-Marsteller complained was confusingly similar to its own trademarked domain name, <a href="http://www.bm.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">www.bm.com</a>.<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Hardwin got a little hot under the collar when Burson-Marsteller filed its <a href="http://www.reamweaver.com/bm/" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">complaint</a>, and he beefed his anti-Burson-Marsteller page up massively. Instead of being a simple little site parody, the page now discusses Burson-Marsteller's purported wrongdoings for a variety of clients, from <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=solr&query=%22Philip+Morris%22" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Philip Morris</a> to Monsanto to Union Carbide. At press time the blistering page was still hosted at <a href="http://www.bursonmarsteller.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">www.bursonmarsteller.com</a>, but it will soon be moved to <a href="http://www.bmfacts.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">www.bmfacts.com</a> because the WIPO decided Dec. 13 that Hardwin was indeed illicitly squatting on a domain name that rightfully belonged to Burson-Marsteller.<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">To sum up, both the Yes Men and Paul Hardwin created sites that poked fun at big corporations for alleged wrongdoings. Both the Yes Men and Hardwin were forced to take their content off domains where it was decided they were squatting, but both sites are still alive and well at other domains. And, most important, both the Yes Men and Hardwin received widespread attention for their parodies and subsequent swift corporate suppression. In the Yes Men's case, their story was covered by tickled journalists from the London Times, The <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=solr&query=%22New+York+Times%22" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">New York Times</a> and many other sources and organizations, including <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/search/?action=search&channel=news&inlineLink=1&searchindex=solr&query=%22Greenpeace%22" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(119, 119, 119); display: inline; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">Greenpeace</a>.<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The upshot is that thousands upon thousands more people heard about Bhopal and the shameful conduct of both Dow and Burson-Marsteller than would have had the stung corporations not chosen to respond with threats. If Dow and Burson-Marsteller had simply ignored the sites, few people would have ever heard of them. Instead, Dow and Burson-Marsteller brought down a chorus of snickering and scorn upon themselves -- and a whole lot of attention to aspects of their businesses they'd probably rather be kept quiet.<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"BM would have been so much better off just leaving my original mild parody site as is," Paul Hardwin says, while Yes Men conspirator Mike Bonanno says Dow "made a big deal out of something small, and now, ironically, it is a big deal. Our ultimate goal of bringing attention to Bhopal is accomplished!"<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Let that be a lesson to all those big companies out there that don't like it when a couple pissed-off people say what they like and it's read by millions. Hush it up, and the furor only gets louder. Now that you know a little more about Bhopal, Dow and Burson-Marsteller, you can consider yourself part of the furor, too.wiki, seems to run out of steam 2009? but mentioned by bart later?<div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr" style="direction: ltr; line-height: 22.4px;">Students for Bhopal (SfB) is an international network of students and supporters working in solidarity with the survivors of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster" title="Bhopal disaster" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">Bhopal disaster</a> – the world’s worst-ever industrial catastrophe - in their struggle for justice. Through <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education" title="Education" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">education</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grassroots_organizing" title="Grassroots organizing" class="mw-redirect" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">grassroots organizing</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-violent" title="Non-violent" class="mw-redirect" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">non-violent</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_action" title="Direct action" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">direct action</a>, SfB builds pressure against <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Chemical" title="Dow Chemical" class="mw-redirect" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Dow Chemical</a> and the Indian Government to uphold the Bhopalis' demand for justice, and their fundamental <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_right" title="Human right" class="mw-redirect" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">human right</a> to live free of chemical poison. It was coordinated by Ryan Bodanyi, who founded the organization in 2003.<div id="toc" class="toc" style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#Relationship_with_survivors" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1 Relationship with survivors</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#Campaigns" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2 Campaigns</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#Actions" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3 Actions</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#No_Objection_Certificate" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.1 No Objection Certificate</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#Distribution_of_Compensation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.2 Distribution of Compensation</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#Clean_Water" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.3 Clean Water</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#Stopping_Dow_in_India" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.4 Stopping Dow in India</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#March_to_Delhi" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.5 March to Delhi</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#References" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#External_links" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5 External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Relationship with survivors</h2>Students for Bhopal is guided by the demands, campaigns and vision of the survivors themselves. SfB was originally founded as the “student wing” of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Campaign_for_Justice_in_Bhopal" title="International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal</a> (ICJB), an international coalition of organizations and institutions dedicated to supporting the campaign of the Bhopal survivors. Four grassroots Bhopali organizations form the core of ICJB - Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Group for Information and Action and Bhopal ki Awaaz – and provide the guidance and inspiration for its work around the globe, including the work of Students for Bhopal.<h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Campaigns[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Students_for_Bhopal&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Campaigns" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Students for Bhopal volunteers work within their own institutions and communities to build pressure on against Dow Chemical and the Indian Government to meet the demands of the Bhopali survivors. These campaigns can take a variety of forms, but often start with education and awareness-raising efforts. These not only lay the groundwork for future campaigns, but also create new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advocates" title="Advocates" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">advocates</a> and volunteers as well.Students have advocated for universities and colleges which own stock in Dow Chemical to either <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divest" title="Divest" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">divest</a> from the company, or support a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholder_resolution" title="Shareholder resolution" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">shareholder resolution</a> which requests that Dow report on the threat its inaction may pose to the company. Some universities and colleges do not hold stock in Dow Chemical, but do accept <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funding" title="Funding" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">funding</a> from them. In such cases Students for Bhopal chapters have demanded that their schools should reject funding from Dow until the corporation resolves its outstanding <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liability(accounting)" title="Liability (accounting)" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">liabilities</a> in Bhopal.Many universities and colleges also serve as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recruitment" title="Recruitment" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">recruiting</a> grounds for Dow Chemical. Students for Bhopal volunteers have instead worked to educate their fellow students about Dow’s legacy of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contamination" title="Contamination" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">contamination</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_environment" title="Natural environment" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">environmental</a> damage, urging them to sign a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath" title="Oath" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">pledge</a> not to work for Dow until it addresses its outstanding responsibilities in Bhopal.Students for Bhopal has also worked to engage Dow’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_of_Directors" title="Board of Directors" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Board of Directors</a>. As Dow’s ultimate decision-making authority, SfB volunteers have continued to ask Dow’s Board members to take responsibility for Bhopal through letter writing campaigns, fax and email actions, phone calls, personal visits and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests" title="Protests" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">protests</a>.The Government of India has also been a target of the survivors’ demands, and Students for Bhopal members have echoed survivors' requests for safe drinking water, social and economic support, good <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare" title="Healthcare" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">healthcare</a>, and more through email, fax and phone actions, and protests outside of Indian offices, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consulates" title="Consulates" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">consulates</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embassies" title="Embassies" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">embassies</a>.Students for Bhopal members have also passed city council resolutions in their communities, most notably in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco" title="San Francisco" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">San Francisco</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_note-1" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[1]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle" title="Seattle" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Seattle</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_note-2" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[3]</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge,Massachusetts" title="Cambridge, Massachusetts" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Cambridge, Massachusetts</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_note-4" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">[</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_note-4" style="background: none; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">4]</a><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Actions[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Students_for_Bhopal&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Actions" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Students for Bhopal members have launched campaigns and conducted numerous actions worldwide in support of actions and campaigns launched by Bhopali gas-disaster survivors.<h3 style="background: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">No Objection Certificate</h3>In 2004, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Second_Circuit" title="United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit</a> ruled that Union Carbide could be held accountable for a comprehensive cleanup in Bhopal, but that the permission of the Government of India was needed before the court could order any <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_remediation" title="Environmental remediation" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">remediation</a>. The government was reluctant to submit the No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the Court, so Students for Bhopal and the Association for India's Development coordinated numerous actions as the June 30 deadline approached. These included faxes, emails and telephone calls of support, protests in front of Indian Consulates in Houston, Washington DC and New York, and a six-day hunger strike by Bhopal survivors.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><h3 style="background: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">Distribution of Compensation<span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Students_for_Bhopal&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Distribution of Compensation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>Because the $470 million settlement received from Union Carbide was distributed over a 15-year period, more than $330 million in interest accrued by the time the settlement was distributed. On February 24, 2004 Students for Bhopal and the Association for India’s Development launched an International Day of Action to pressure the Indian Government into distributing the interest to the survivors rather than using it for other purposes. Indian Consulates in the U.S. were targeted with emails and calls. Students in Canada wrote letters to the High Commission of India in Canada. Fifteen students met with the Governor of Madhya Pradesh and presented him with a petition demanding distribution of the earned interest, while students in New Delhi met with the Indian President to present the demands and ask for his support.[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">citation needed</a>]<h3 style="background: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">Clean Water<span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Students_for_Bhopal&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Clean Water" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>Because the disaster contaminate water supplies 20,00 nearby residents need a permanent piped water supply. This has not yet been implelmented and Students for Bhopal continues to advocate for a permanent piped supply of drinking water.[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">citation needed</a>]<h3 style="background: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">Stopping Dow in India<span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Students_for_Bhopal&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Stopping Dow in India" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>We Feel Responsible, a major chapter of Students for Bhopal, lead a rally in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai" title="Chennai" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Chennai</a> as part of a larger movement by Bhopal survivors to demand the blacklisting of Dow by the Government and protest the Indian Oil Corporation’s plans to do business with a corporation that had outstanding liabilities in Bhopal.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[6]</a><h3 style="background: none; margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6;">March to Delhi<span class="mw-editsection" style="user-select: none; font-weight: normal; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Students_for_Bhopal&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: March to Delhi" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h3>As a part of their ongoing efforts to get justice, Bhopal Gas Tragedy survivors along with volunteers from Students For Bhopal and other organizations are taking part in a 500 miles walk from Bhopal to New Delhi starting Feb 20th 2008. They are hoping to meet the Prime Minister of India and demand the setting up of a Special Commission which would monitor and provide medical care, rehabilitation to the victims of the gas leak, environmental cleanup and ensure safe drinking water for the city. Furthermore the activists are also demanding that the Ministry of Chemicals file for claims against Dow Chemical in MP high court with regards to the toxic cleanup of the affected area, the Govt. of India move for extradition of Warren Anderson (the CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster), revoke approval given to Reliance for purchase of Union Carbide's Unipol technology which is intellectual property that should be confiscated because the corporation is absconding since 1992 and cancel the registration of pesticides, including Dursban, obtained by bribing Agriculture Ministry officials as established by Securities & Exchange Commission, USA.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[7]</a><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">References[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Students_for_Bhopal&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: References" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div class="reflist" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0.5em; list-style-type: decimal;"><ol class="references" style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0.5em 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: inherit;"><li id="cite_note-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_ref-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up^{</a> }San Francisco Board of Supervisors Resolution <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/bdsupvrs/resolutions04/r0254-04.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 18px; background: url(" https="https" upload.wikimedia.org="upload.wikimedia.org" wikipedia="wikipedia" commons="commons" icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif="Icons-mini-file_acrobat.gif" no-repeat="no-repeat">0254-04</a> on 2004-04-29</li><li id="cite_note-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_ref-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up^{</a> }<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/Assets/Images/seattlebhopalproclamation1.jpg" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">Seattle City Council Proclamation</a>[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot" title="Wikipedia:Link rot" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">dead link</a>]</li><li id="cite_note-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_ref-3" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up^{</a> }"Seattle City Council observes Bhopal anniversary." Press Trust of India <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-11930059_ITM" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">article</a> on 2005-12-04</li><li id="cite_note-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_ref-4" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up^{</a> }Cambridge City Council <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cambridgema.gov/cityClerk/policyOrder.cfm?item_id=15575" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">Resolution</a> passed on 2006-09-25</li><li id="cite_note-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_ref-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up^{</a> }"Step closer to justice for Bhopal" Greenpeace <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/step-closer-to-justice-for-bho" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">article</a> on 2004-06-23</li><li id="cite_note-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_ref-6" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up^{</a> }"Bhopal gas tragedy: Survivors on padayatra" <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.oneindia.in/2006/03/16/bhopal-gas-tragedy-survivors-on-padayatra-1142505393.html" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">UNI article</a> on 2006-03-16</li><li id="cite_note-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal#cite_ref-7" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="top: -99999px; clip: rect(1px 1px 1px 1px); overflow: hidden; position: absolute !important; padding: 0px !important; border: 0px !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; -webkit-user-select: none;">Jump up^{</a> }"Bhopal victims march for justice" The Hindu <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.hinduonnet.com/2006/03/26/stories/2006032615010300.htm" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">article</a> on 2009-03-26</li></ol></div><h2 style="background: none; font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">External links[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Students_for_Bhopal&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: External links" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">Official website</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bhopal.net/" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.stephanebouillet.com/en/gallery/nature/bhopal_desaster_india_union_carbide_dow_chemical" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) 100% 50% no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" transform="transform" translate="translate" crect="Crect" x="x" y="y" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" m831.194="M831.194" h5.234v5.391l-1.571="h5.234v5.391l-1.571" z="z" m835.424="M835.424" l.022="l.022" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">Poison in Bhopal</a> Photo report from ReMedAct (2008)</li></ul></div><div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 5px; margin-top: 1em; clear: both; line-height: 22.4px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Categories</a>: <ul style="list-style: none none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><li style="margin: 0.125em 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1.25em; border-left-style: none; padding: 0px 0.5em 0px 0.25em; zoom: 1;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Bhopal_disaster" title="Category:Bhopal disaster" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Bhopal disaster</a></li></ul></div></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene</a>Phosgene is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_compound" title="Chemical compound" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">chemical compound</a> with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_formula" title="Chemical formula" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">formula</a> COCl2. A colorless gas, in low concentrations its odor resembles freshly cut hay or grass.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[6]</a>Phosgene is a valued industrial reagent and building block in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_synthesis" title="Organic synthesis" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">synthesis</a> of pharmaceuticals and other <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_compound" title="Organic compound" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">organic compounds</a>.It gained infamy as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_weapon" title="Chemical weapon" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">chemical weapon</a> during <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">World War I</a> where it was responsible for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_weapons_in_World_War_I#1915:More_deadly_gases" title="Chemical weapons in World War I" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">about 85%</a> of the 100,000 deaths caused by chemical weapons.In addition to its industrial production, small amounts occur from the breakdown and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustion" title="Combustion" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">combustion</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organochloride" title="Organochloride" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">organochlorine compounds</a>, such as those used in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigeration" title="Refrigeration" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">refrigeration</a>systems.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#cite_note-Ullmann-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a> The chemical was named by combining the Greek words "phos" (meaning light) and "genesis" (birth); it does not mean it contains any <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus" title="Phosphorus" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">phosphorus</a> (cf. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphine" title="Phosphine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">phosphine</a>).
<div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div class="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#Structure_and_basic_properties" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">1Structure and basic properties</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#Production" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2Production</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#Inadvertent_generation" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">2.1Inadvertent generation</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#History" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">3History</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#Uses" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4Uses</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#Synthesis_of_carbonates" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.1Synthesis of carbonates</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#Synthesis_of_isocyanates" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.2Synthesis of isocyanates</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#Laboratory_uses" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.3Laboratory uses</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#Other_chemistry" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.4Other chemistry</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#Chemical_warfare" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">4.5Chemical warfare</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#Safety" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">5Safety</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#See_also" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">6See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">7References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">8External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Structure and basic properties[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phosgene&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Structure and basic properties" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Phosgene is a planar molecule as predicted by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VSEPR_theory" title="VSEPR theory" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">VSEPR theory</a>. The C=O distance is 1.18 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angstrom(unit)" class="mw-redirect" title="Angstrom (unit)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Å</a>, the C−Cl distance is 1.74 Å and the Cl−C−Cl angle is 111.8°.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[8]</a> It is one of the simplest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_chloride" class="mw-redirect" title="Acid chloride" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">acid chlorides</a>, being formally derived from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acid" title="Carbonic acid" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">carbonic acid</a>.<h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Production[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phosgene&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Production" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Industrially, phosgene is produced by passing purified <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide" title="Carbon monoxide" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">carbon monoxide</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine" title="Chlorine" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">chlorine</a> gas through a bed of porous <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_carbon" title="Activated carbon" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">activated carbon</a>, which serves as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalyst" class="mw-redirect" title="Catalyst" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">catalyst</a>:<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#cite_note-Ullmann-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[7]</a>...Phosgene was synthesized by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Cornish</a> chemist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Davy(chemist)" title="John Davy (chemist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">John Davy</a> (1790–1868) in 1812 by exposing a mixture of carbon monoxide and chlorine to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight" title="Sunlight" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">sunlight</a>. He named it "phosgene" in reference of the use of light to promote the reaction; from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language" title="Greek language" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">Greek</a>, phos (light) and gene (born).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">[13]</a> It gradually became important in the chemical industry as the 19th century progressed, particularly in dye manufacturing.<h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); line-height: 1.3;">Uses[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phosgene&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Uses" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>The great majority of phosgene is used in the production of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isocyanate" title="Isocyanate" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">isocyanates</a>, the most important being <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toluene_diisocyanate" title="Toluene diisocyanate" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">toluene diisocyanate</a> (TDI) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylene_diphenyl_diisocyanate" title="Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">methylene diphenyl diisocyanate</a> (MDI). These two isocyanates are precursors to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyurethane" title="Polyurethane" style="text-decoration-line: none; background: none;">polyurethanes</a>.wiki  <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster</a>The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_leak" title="Gas leak" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">gas leak</a> incident in India, considered <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_disasters_by_death_toll#Industrial_disasters" title="List of accidents and disasters by death toll" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">the world's worst</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_industrial_disasters" title="List of industrial disasters" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">industrial disaster</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-convictions-1" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[1]</a>It occurred on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Carbide_India_Limited" title="Union Carbide India Limited" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Union Carbide India Limited</a> (UCIL) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pesticide" title="Pesticide" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">pesticide</a> plant in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal" title="Bhopal" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Bhopal</a>, Madhya Pradesh. Over 500,000 people were exposed to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methyl_isocyanate" title="Methyl isocyanate" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">methyl isocyanate (MIC)</a> gas and other chemicals. The toxic substance made its way into and around the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanty_towns" title="Shanty towns" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">shanty towns</a> located near the plant.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Varma_2005-2" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[2]</a>Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Madhya_Pradesh" title="Government of Madhya Pradesh" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">government of Madhya Pradesh</a> confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-rehabilitation1-3" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[3]</a> A government affidavit in 2006 stated that the leak caused 558,125 injuries, including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-first3-4" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[4]</a> Others estimate that 8,000 died within two weeks, and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a>The cause of the disaster remains under debate. The Indian government and local activists argue that slack management and deferred maintenance created a situation where routine pipe maintenance caused a backflow of water into a MIC tank triggering the disaster. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Carbide_Corporation" title="Union Carbide Corporation" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Union Carbide Corporation</a> (UCC) contends water entered the tank through an act of sabotage.The owner of the factory, UCIL, was majority owned by UCC, with Indian Government-controlled banks and the Indian public holding a 49.1 percent stake. In 1989, UCC paid $470m ($907m in 2014 dollars) to settle litigation stemming from the disaster. In 1994, UCC sold its stake in UCIL to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eveready_Industries_India" title="Eveready Industries India" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Eveready Industries India Limited</a> (EIIL), which subsequently merged with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLeod_Russel" title="McLeod Russel" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">McLeod Russel (India) Ltd</a>. Eveready ended clean-up on the site in 1998, when it terminated its 99-year lease and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya Pradesh. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Chemical_Company" title="Dow Chemical Company" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Dow Chemical Company</a> purchased UCC in 2001, seventeen years after the disaster.Civil and criminal cases were filed in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_Courts_of_India" title="District Courts of India" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">District Court</a> of Bhopal, India, involving UCC and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Anderson(chairman)" title="Warren Anderson (chairman)" class="mw-redirect" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Warren Anderson</a>, UCC CEO at the time of the disaster.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[6]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-7" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[7]</a> In June 2010, seven ex-employees, including the former UCIL chairman, 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_India" title="Law of India" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">Indian law</a>. An eighth former employee was also convicted, but died before the judgement was passed.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-convictions-1" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[1]</a>Anderson also died at a nursing home in Vero Beach, Florida on September 29, 2014.
<div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#The_pre-event_phase" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1 The pre-event phase</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Earlier_leaks" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1.1 Earlier leaks</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#The_leakage_and_its_subsequent_effects" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2 The leakage and its subsequent effects</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#The_release" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2.1 The release</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#The_gas_cloud" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2.1.1 The gas cloud</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Acute_effects" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2.2 Acute effects</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Immediate_aftermath" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2.2.1 Immediate aftermath</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Subsequent_legal_action" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2.3 Subsequent legal action</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Post-settlement_activity" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2.4 Post-settlement activity</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Long-term_effects" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3 Long-term effects</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Long-term_health_effects" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.1 Long-term health effects</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Health_care" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.2 Health care</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Environmental_rehabilitation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.3 Environmental rehabilitation</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Occupational_and_habitation_rehabilitation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.4 Occupational and habitation rehabilitation</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Economic_rehabilitation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.5 Economic rehabilitation</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Other_impacts" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3.6 Other impacts</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-17" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Causes_of_the_disaster:overview" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4 Causes of the disaster: overview</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-18" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Causes_of_the_disaster:The.22corporate_negligence.22_argument" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4.1 Causes of the disaster: The "corporate negligence" argument</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-19" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Causes_of_the_disaster:the.22disgruntled_employee_sabotage.22_case" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4.2 Causes of the disaster: the "disgruntled employee sabotage" case</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#The_argument_for_sabotage" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4.3 The argument for sabotage</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-21" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Additional_Union_Carbide_actions" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5 Additional Union Carbide actions</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-22" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Charges_against_UCC_and_UCIL_employees" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5.1 Charges against UCC and UCIL employees</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-23" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Ongoing_contamination" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">6 Ongoing contamination</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-24" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Film" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">7 Film</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-25" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Activism" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">8 Activism</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-26" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Local_activism" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">8.1 Local activism</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-27" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#International_activism" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">8.2 International activism</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-28" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Activist_organisations" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">8.3 Activist organisations</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-29" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Settlement_fund_hoax" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">8.4 Settlement fund hoax</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-30" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Monitoring_of_Bhopal_activists" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">8.5 Monitoring of Bhopal activists</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-31" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#See_also" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">9 See also</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-32" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Citations" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">10 Citations</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-33" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#References" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">11 References</a><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-34" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#Union_Carbide_Corporation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">11.1 Union Carbide Corporation</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-35" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#External_links" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">12 External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">The pre-event phase</h2>The UCIL factory was built in 1969 to produce the pesticide Sevin (UCC's brand name for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbaryl" title="Carbaryl" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">carbaryl</a>) using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methyl_isocyanate" title="Methyl isocyanate" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">methyl isocyanate (MIC)</a> as an intermediate.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a> A MIC production plant was added in 1979.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-UCCmanual1976-8" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[8]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-UCCmanual1978-9" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[9]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-UCCmanual1979-10" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[10]</a> After the Bhopal plant was built, other manufacturers, including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer" title="Bayer" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Bayer</a>, produced carbaryl without MIC, though at a greater <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_cost" title="Manufacturing cost" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">manufacturing cost</a>. However, Bayer also used the UCC process at the chemical plant once owned by UCC at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute,West_Virginia" title="Institute, West Virginia" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Institute</a>, West Virginia, in the United States.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kovel-11" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[11]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[12]</a>The chemical process employed in the Bhopal plant had <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylamine" title="Methylamine" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">methylamine</a> reacting with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosgene" title="Phosgene" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">phosgene</a> to form MIC, which was then reacted with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-naphthol" title="1-naphthol" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1-naphthol</a> to form the final product, carbaryl. This "route" differed from the MIC-free routes used elsewhere, in which the same raw materials were combined in a different manufacturing order, with phosgene first reacting with naphthol to form a chloroformate ester, which was then reacted with methylamine. In the early 1980s, the demand for pesticides had fallen, but production continued, leading to build-up of stores of unused MIC.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kovel-11" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[11]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Earlier leaks</h3>In 1976, two trade unions complained of pollution within the plant.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2006-13" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">[13]</a> In 1981, a worker was splashed with phosgene. In a panic, he removed his mask, inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas which resulted in his death 72 hours later.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2006-13" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a> Local Indian authorities had warned the company of the problem as early as 1979, but constructive actions were not undertaken by UCIC at that time.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kovel-11" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[11]</a> In January 1982, a phosgene leak exposed 24 workers, all of whom were admitted to a hospital. None of the workers had been ordered to wear protective masks. One month later, in February 1982, a MIC leak affected 18 workers. In August 1982, a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC, resulting in burns over 30 percent of his body. Later that same year, in October 1982, there was another MIC leak. In attempting to stop the leak, the MIC supervisor suffered severe chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the gases. During 1983 and 1984, there were leaks of MIC, chlorine, monomethylamine, phosgene, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_tetrachloride" title="Carbon tetrachloride" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">carbon tetrachloride</a>, sometimes in combination.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2006-13" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">The leakage and its subsequent effects</h2><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">The release</h3>
In November 1984, most of the safety systems were not functioning and many valves and lines were in poor condition. In addition, several vent gas scrubbers had been out of service as well as the steam boiler, intended to clean the pipes. Another issue was that Tank 610 contained 42 tons of MIC, more than safety rules allowed for.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a> During the night of 2–3 December 1984, water entered a side pipe that was missing its slip-blind plate and entered Tank E610, which contained 42 tons of MIC. A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_runaway" title="Thermal runaway" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">runaway reaction</a> started, which was accelerated by contaminants, high temperatures and other factors. The reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel pipelines.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a> The resulting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exothermic_reaction" title="Exothermic reaction" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">exothermic reaction</a> increased the temperature inside the tank to over 200 °C (392 °F) and raised the pressure. This forced the emergency venting of pressure from the MIC holding tank, releasing a large volume of toxic gases. About 30 metric tons of MIC escaped from the tank into the atmosphere in 45 to 60 minutes....In the immediate aftermath, the plant was closed to outsiders (including UCC) by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_India" title="Government of India" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Indian government</a>, which subsequently failed to make data public, contributing to the confusion. The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Scientific_and_Industrial_Research" title="Council of Scientific and Industrial Research" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Council of Scientific and Industrial Research</a> (CSIR) and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Bureau_of_Investigation" title="Central Bureau of Investigation" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Central Bureau of Investigation</a>. The UCC chairman and CEO Warren Anderson, together with a technical team, immediately traveled to India. Upon arrival, however, Anderson was placed under house arrest and urged by the Indian government to leave the country within 24 hours. Union Carbide organized a team of international medical experts, as well as supplies and equipment, to work with the local Bhopal medical community, and the UCC technical team began assessing the cause of the gas leak.The health care system immediately became overloaded. In the severely affected areas, nearly 70 percent were underqualified doctors. Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties. Doctors and hospitals were not aware of proper treatment methods for MIC gas inhalation.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a>:6There were mass funerals and cremations. Within a few days, trees in the vicinity became barren, and 2,000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed of. 170,000 people were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries. 2,000 buffalo, goats, and other animals were collected and buried. Supplies, including food, became scarce owing to suppliers' safety fears. Fishing was prohibited causing further supply shortages.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a>Lacking any safe alternative, on 16 December, tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the remaining MIC by reactivating the plant and continuing the manufacture of pesticide. Despite safety precautions such as having water carrying helicopters continually overflying the plant, this led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal. The Government of India passed the "Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act" that gave the government rights to represent all victims, whether or not in India. Complaints of lack of information or misinformation were widespread. An Indian government spokesman said, "Carbide is more interested in getting information from us than in helping our relief work".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a>Formal statements were issued that air, water, vegetation and foodstuffs were safe, but warned not to consume fish. The number of children exposed to the gases was at least 200,000.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a> Within weeks, the State Government established a number of hospitals, clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area to treat the victims.UCC established a relief fund and offered interim relief. The Indian government turned down the offer.<h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Subsequent legal action</h3><div class="thumb tright" style="clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 3px; text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BHOPAL(231583728).jpg" class="image" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><img alt="Number of women pictured in black and white colour, sitting and protesting against Anderson and the company." src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/BHOPAL%28231583728%29.jpg/220px-BHOPAL%28231583728%29.jpg" width="220" height="333" class="thumbimage" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/BHOPAL%28231583728%29.jpg/330px-BHOPAL%28231583728%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/BHOPAL%28231583728%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="400" data-file-height="606" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); vertical-align: middle; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /></a><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: none; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BHOPAL(231583728).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; -webkit-user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2011%2015%22%20width%3D%2215%22%20height%3D%2211%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3Cg%20id%3D%22magnify-clip%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%23000%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22bigbox%22%20d%3D%22M1.509%201.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22smallbox%22%20d%3D%22M-1.499%206.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A);" /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BHOPAL(231583728).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; -webkit-user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2011%2015%22%20width%3D%2215%22%20height%3D%2211%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3Cg%20id%3D%22magnify-clip%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%23000%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22bigbox%22%20d%3D%22M1.509%201.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22smallbox%22%20d%3D%22M-1.499%206.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A);">Victims of Bhopal disaster asked for Warren Anderson's extradition from the USA</a></div></div></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BHOPAL(231583728).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; -webkit-user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%20standalone%3D%22no%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2011%2015%22%20width%3D%2215%22%20height%3D%2211%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3Cg%20id%3D%22magnify-clip%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%23000%22%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22bigbox%22%20d%3D%22M1.509%201.865h10.99v7.919h-10.99z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3Cpath%20id%3D%22smallbox%22%20d%3D%22M-1.499%206.868h5.943v4.904h-5.943z%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C%2Fg%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A);">Legal proceedings involving UCC, the United States and Indian governments, local Bhopal authorities, and the disaster victims started immediately after the catastrophe. The Indian Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985, allowing the Government of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster,</a>...<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-chrono-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a> leading to the beginning of legal proceedings. In March 1986 UCC proposed a settlement figure, endorsed by plaintiffs' U.S. attorneys, of $350 million that would, according to the company, "generate a fund for Bhopal victims of between $500–600 million over 20 years". In May, litigation was transferred from the United States to Indian courts by U.S. District Court Judge. Following an appeal of this decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer, judging, in January 1987, that UCIL was a "separate entity, owned, managed and operated exclusively by Indian citizens in India".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-chrono-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a>The Government of India refused the offer from Union Carbide and claimed US$ 3.3 billion.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_India" title="Supreme Court of India" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Indian Supreme Court</a> told both sides to come to an agreement and "start with a clean slate" in November 1988.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-chrono-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[19]</a> Eventually, in an out-of-court settlement reached in February 1989, Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the Bhopal disaster.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a> The amount was immediately paid.Throughout 1990, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Supreme_Court" title="Indian Supreme Court" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Indian Supreme Court</a> heard appeals against the settlement. In October 1991, the Supreme Court upheld the original $470 million, dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original decision. The Court ordered the Indian government "to purchase, out of settlement fund, a group medical insurance policy to cover 100,000 persons who may later develop symptoms" and cover any shortfall in the settlement fund. It also requested UCC and its subsidiary UCIL "voluntarily" fund a hospital in Bhopal, at an estimated $17 million, to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal disaster. The company agreed to this.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-chrono-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Post-settlement activity</h3>In 1991, the local Bhopal authorities charged Anderson, who had retired in 1986, with manslaughter, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on 1 February 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide" title="Homicide" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">homicide</a> case in which he was named the chief defendant. Orders were passed to the Government of India to press for an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extradition" title="Extradition" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">extradition</a> from the United States. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States" title="Supreme Court of the United States" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">U.S. Supreme Court</a> refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal courts in October 1993, meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek damages in a U.S. court.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-chrono-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a>In 2004, the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any remaining settlement funds to victims. And in September 2006, the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation claims and revised petitions had been "cleared".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-chrono-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Second_Circuit" title="United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Second Circuit Court of Appeals</a> in New York City upheld the dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v. Union Carbide Corporation in 2006. This move blocked plaintiffs' motions for class certification and claims for property damages and remediation. In the view of UCC, "the ruling reaffirms UCC's long-held positions and finally puts to rest—both procedurally and substantively—the issues raised in the class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and several organisations representing the residents of Bhopal".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-chrono-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a>In June 2010, seven former employees of UCIL, all Indian nationals and many in their 70s, were convicted of causing death by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negligence" title="Negligence" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">negligence</a> and each sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Rs.</a>100,000 (US$2,124). All were released on bail shortly after the verdict. The names of those convicted are: Keshub Mahindra, former non-executive chairman of Union Carbide India Limited; V. P. Gokhale, managing director; Kishore Kamdar, vice-president; J. Mukund, works manager; S. P. Chowdhury, production manager; K. V. Shetty, plant superintendent; and S. I. Qureshi, production assistant.US Federal class action litigation, Sahu v. Union Carbide and Warren Anderson, had been filed in 1999 under the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Tort_Statute" title="Alien Tort Statute" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">U.S. Alien Torts Claims Act</a> (ATCA), which provides for civil remedies for "crimes against humanity."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[20]</a> It sought damages for personal injury, medical monitoring and injunctive relief in the form of clean-up of the drinking water supplies for residential areas near the Bhopal plant. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2012 and subsequent appeal denied.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[21]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Long-term health effects</h3>Some data about the health effects are still not available. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Council_of_Medical_Research" title="Indian Council of Medical Research" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">Indian Council of Medical Research</a> (ICMR) was forbidden to publish health effect data until 1994.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a>A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being "gas affected," affecting a population of 520,000. Of these, 200,000 were below 15 years of age, and 3,000 were pregnant women. The official immediate death toll was 2,259, and in 1991, 3,928 deaths had been officially certified. Ingrid Eckerman estimated 8,000 died within two weeks.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2001-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Madhya_Pradesh" title="Government of Madhya Pradesh" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">government of Madhya Pradesh</a> confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-rehabilitation1-3" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[3]</a>Later, the affected area was expanded to include 700,000 citizens. A government affidavit in 2006 stated the leak caused 558,125 injuries including 38,478 temporary partial injuries and approximately 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-first3-4" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[4]</a>A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohort(statistics)" title="Cohort (statistics)" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">cohort</a> of 80,021 exposed people was registered, along with a control group, a cohort of 15,931 people from areas not exposed to MIC. Nearly every year since 1986, they have answered the same questionnaire. It shows <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortality_rate" title="Mortality rate" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">overmortality</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease#Morbidity" title="Disease" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">overmorbidity</a> in the exposed group. However, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias" title="Bias" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">bias</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confounding_factor" title="Confounding factor" class="mw-redirect" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none;">confounding factors</a> cannot be excluded from the study. Because of migration and other factors, 75% of the cohort is lost, as the ones who moved out are not followed.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-23" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[23]</a>A number of clinical studies are performed. The quality varies, but the different reports support each other.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a> Studied and reported long term health effects are:<ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" line-height="line-height" px="px" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Eyes: Chronic conjunctivitis, scars on cornea, corneal opacities, early cataracts</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Respiratory tracts: Obstructive and/or restrictive disease, pulmonary fibrosis, aggravation of TB and chronic bronchitis</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Neurological system: Impairment of memory, finer motor skills, numbness etc.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Psychological problems: Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Children’s health: Peri- and neonatal death rates increased. Failure to grow, intellectual impairment, etc.</li></ul>Missing or insufficient fields for research are female reproduction, chromosomal aberrations, cancer, immune deficiency, neurological sequelae, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and children born after the disaster. Late cases that might never be highlighted are respiratory insufficiency, cardiac insufficiency (cor pulmonale), cancer and tuberculosis.A 2014 report in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Jones(magazine)" title="Mother Jones (magazine)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Mother Jones</a> quotes a "spokesperson for the Bhopal Medical Appeal, which runs free health clinics for survivors" as saying "An estimated 120,000 to 150,000 survivors still struggle with serious medical conditions including nerve damage, growth problems, gynecological disorders, respiratory issues, birth defects, and elevated rates of cancer and tuberculosis."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[24]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Health care</h3>The Government of India had focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based services for gas victims thus hospitals had been built after the disaster. When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL, it was directed by the Supreme Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors. Thus, Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998 and was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years. BMHRC was a 350-bedded super speciality hospital where heart surgery and hemodialysis were done. However, there was a dearth of gynaecology, obstetrics and paediatrics. Eight mini-units (outreach health centres) were started and free health care for gas victims were to be offered till 2006.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a> The management had also faced problems with strikes, and the quality of the health care being disputed.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-BMHT2005-25" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[25]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[26]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambhavna_Trust" title="Sambhavna Trust" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">Sambhavna Trust</a> is a charitable trust, registered in 1995, that gives <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_medicine" title="Modern medicine" class="mw-redirect" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">modern</a> as well as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurvedic" title="Ayurvedic" class="mw-redirect" style="background: none; text-decoration: none;">ayurvedic</a> treatments to gas victims, free of charge.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-sambhavna-27" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[27]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Environmental rehabilitation</h3>When the factory was closed in 1986, pipes, drums and tanks were sold. The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there, as are storages of different residues. Isolation material is falling down and spreading.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a> The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals. In 1982 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tubewell" title="Tubewell" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">tubewells</a> in the vicinity of the UCIL factory had to be abandoned and tests in 1989 performed by UCC's laboratory revealed that soil and water samples collected from near the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-UCC1989-28" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[28]</a> Several other studies had also shown polluted soil and groundwater in the area. Reported polluting compounds include <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-naphthol" title="1-naphthol" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">1-naphthol</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphthalene" title="Naphthalene" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">naphthalene</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbaryl" title="Carbaryl" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Sevin</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar" title="Tar" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">tarry residue</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury(element)" title="Mercury (element)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">mercury</a>, toxic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organochlorine" title="Organochlorine" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">organochlorines</a>, volatile organochlorine compounds, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium" title="Chromium" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">chromium</a>, copper, nickel, lead, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexachloroethane" title="Hexachloroethane" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">hexachloroethane</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexachlorobutadiene" title="Hexachlorobutadiene" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">hexachlorobutadiene</a>, and the pesticide <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexachlorocyclohexane" title="Hexachlorocyclohexane" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">HCH</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">[5]</a>In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCIL factory, Government of Madhya Pradesh presented a scheme for improvement of water supply.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-GovMP-29" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[29]</a> In December 2008, the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste should be incinerated at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankleshwar" title="Ankleshwar" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ankleshwar</a> in Gujarat, which was met by protests from activists all over India.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Times_of_India_16_Dec_2008-30" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[30]</a> On 8 June 2012, the Centre for incineration of toxic Bhopal waste agreed to pay ₹250 million (US$4.0 million) to dispose of UCIL chemical plants waste in Germany.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[31]</a> On 9 August 2012, Supreme court directed the Union and Madhya Pradesh Governments to, take immediate steps for disposal of toxic waste lying around and inside the factory within six months.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[32]</a>A U.S. court rejected the lawsuit blaming UCC for causing soil and water pollution around the site of the plant and ruled that responsibility for remedial measures or related claims rested with the State Government and not with UCC.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-33" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[33]</a> In 2005, the state government invited various Indian architects to enter their "concept for development of a memorial complex for Bhopal gas tragedy victims at the site of Union Carbide". In 2011, a conference was held on the site, with participants from European universities which was aimed for the same.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[34]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-35" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[35]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Occupational and habitation rehabilitation</h3>...33 of the 50 planned work-sheds for gas victims started. All except one was closed down by 1992. 1986, the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal. 152 of the planned 200 work sheds were built and in 2000, 16 were partially functioning. It was estimated that 50,000 persons need alternative jobs, and that less than 100 gas victims had found regular employment under the government's scheme. The government also planned 2,486 flats in two- and four-story buildings in what is called the "widow's colony" outside Bhopal. The water did not reach the upper floors and it was not possible to keep cattle which were their primary occupation. Infrastructure like buses, schools, etc. were missing for at least a decade.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Economic rehabilitation</h3>Immediate relieves were decided two days after the tragedy. Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period along with ration cards.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhya_Pradesh" title="Madhya Pradesh" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Madhya Pradesh</a> government's finance department allocated <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">₹</a>874 million (US$14 million) for victim relief in July 1985.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-India1985_1-36" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[36]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-India1985_2-37" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[37]</a> Widow pension of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">₹</a>200 (US$3.20)/per month (later <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">₹</a>750 (US$12)) were provided. The government also decided to pay <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">₹</a>1500(US$24) to families with monthly income <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">₹</a>500 (US$7.90) or less. As a result of the interim relief, more children were able to attend school, more money was spent on treatment and food, and housing also eventually improved. From 1990 interim relief of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">₹</a>200 (US$3.20) was paid to everyone in the family who was born before the disaster.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a>The final compensation, including interim relief for personal injury was for the majority <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">₹</a>25,000 (US$400). For death claim, the average sum paid out was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">₹</a>62,000 (US$980). Each claimant were to be categorised by a doctor. In court, the claimants were expected to prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that death or injury in each case was attributable to exposure. In 1992, 44 percent of the claimants still had to be medically examined.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a>By the end of October 2003, according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, compensation had been awarded to 554,895 people for injuries received and 15,310 survivors of those killed. The average amount to families of the dead was $2,200.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-broughton-38" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[38]</a>In 2007, 1,029,517 cases were registered and decided. Number of awarded cases were 574,304 and number of rejected cases 455,213. Total compensation awarded was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">₹</a>15465 million (US$250 million).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-GovMP-29" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[29]</a> On 24 June 2010, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Cabinet" title="Union Cabinet" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Union Cabinet</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_India" title="Government of India" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Government of India</a> approved a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_rupee" title="Indian rupee" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">₹</a>12650 million (US$200 million) aid package which would be funded by Indian taxpayers through the government.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-39" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[39]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Other impacts</h3>In 1985, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Waxman" title="Henry Waxman" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Henry Waxman</a>, a California Democrat, called for a U.S. government inquiry into the Bhopal disaster, which resulted in U.S. legislation regarding the accidental release of toxic chemicals in the United States.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-40" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[40]</a><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Causes of the disaster: overview</h2>There are two main lines of argument involving the disaster. The "Corporate Negligence" point of view argues that the disaster was caused by a potent combination of under-maintained and decaying facilities, a weak attitude towards safety, and an undertrained workforce, culminating in worker actions that inadvertently enabled water to penetrate the MIC tanks in the absence of properly working safeguards.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2001-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a>The "Worker Sabotage" point of view argues that it was not physically possible for the water to enter the tank without concerted human effort, and that extensive testimony and engineering analysis leads to a conclusion that water entered the tank when a rogue individual employee hooked a water hose directly to an empty valve on the side of the tank. This point of view further argues that the Indian government took extensive actions to hide this possibility in order to attach blame to UCC.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kalelkar1988-41" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[41]</a>Theories differ as to how the water entered the tank. At the time, workers were cleaning out a clogged pipe with water about 400 feet from the tank. They claimed that they were not told to isolate the tank with a pipe slip-blind plate. The operators assumed that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves, it was possible for the water to leak into the tank.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[42]</a>However, this water entry route could not be reproduced despite strenuous efforts by motivated parties.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Weisman_NYT_Dec_1985_p.5-43" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[43]</a> UCC claims that a "disgruntled worker" deliberately connecting a hose to a pressure gauge connection was the real cause.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kalelkar1988-41" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[41]</a>Early the next morning, a UCIL manager asked the instrument engineer to replace the gauge. UCIL's investigation team found no evidence of the necessary connection; however, the investigation was totally controlled by the government, denying UCC investigators access to the tank or interviews with the operators.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kalelkar1988-41" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[41]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-tradeunion1985-44" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[44]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Causes of the disaster: The "corporate negligence" argument</h3>This point of view argues that management (and to some extent, local government) underinvested in safety and allowed for a dangerous working environment. Factors cited include the filling of the MIC tanks beyond recommended levels, poor maintenance after the plant ceased MIC production at the end of 1984, allowing several safety systems to be inoperable due to poor maintenance, and switching off safety systems to save money— including the MIC tank refrigeration system which could have mitigated the disaster severity, and non-existent catastrophe plans.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2001-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a> Other factors identified by government inquiries included undersized safety devices and the dependence on manual operations.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a> Specific plant management deficiencies that were identified include the lack of skilled operators, reduction of safety management, insufficient maintenance, and inadequate emergency action plans.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2006-13" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a>UnderinvestmentUnderinvestment is cited as contributing to an environment. Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factory's employees and their conditions. Kurzman argues that "cuts ... meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety rules. A pipe leaked? Don't replace it, employees said they were told ... MIC workers needed more training? They could do with less. Promotions were halted, seriously affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled ... elsewhere".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kurzman1987-45" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[45]</a> Workers were forced to use English manuals, even though only a few had a grasp of the language.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Cassels-46" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[46]</a>Subsequent research highlights a gradual deterioration of safety practices in regard to the MIC, which had become less relevant to plant operations. By 1984, only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the number of supervisory personnel had also been halved. No maintenance supervisor was placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours, rather than the previous and required one-hour readings.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kurzman1987-45" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[45]</a> Workers made complaints about the cuts through their union but were ignored. One employee was fired after going on a 15-day hunger strike. 70% of the plant's employees were fined before the disaster for refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from the management.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kurzman1987-45" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[45]</a>In addition, some observers, such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database (TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_University" title="American University" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">American University</a>, have pointed to "serious communication problems and management gaps between Union Carbide and its Indian operation", characterised by "the parent companies [<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sic" title="Sic" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">sic</a>] hands-off approach to its overseas operation" and "cross-cultural barriers".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-TED-47" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[47]</a>Adequacy of equipment and safety regulationsThe factory was not well equipped to handle the gas created by the sudden addition of water to the MIC tank. The MIC tank alarms had not been working for four years and there was only one manual back-up system, compared to a four-stage system used in the United States.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2001-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Lepowski-48" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[48]</a> The flare tower and several vent gas scrubbers had been out of service for five months before the disaster. Only one gas scrubber was operating: it could not treat such a large amount of MIC with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide" title="Sodium hydroxide" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">sodium hydroxide</a> (caustic soda), which would have brought the concentration down to a safe level.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Lepowski-48" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[48]</a> The flare tower could only handle a quarter of the gas that leaked in 1984, and moreover it was out of order at the time of the incident.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2001-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Weir-49" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[49]</a> To reduce energy costs, the refrigeration system was idle. The MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius, not the 4.5 degrees advised by the manual.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2001-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Lepowski-48" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[48]</a> Even the steam boiler, intended to clean the pipes, was non-operational for unknown reasons.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2001-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Lepowski-48" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[48]</a> Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from leaking into the MIC tanks, had the valves been faulty, were not installed and their installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2001-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a> As MIC is water-soluble, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deluge_gun" title="Deluge gun" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">deluge guns</a> were in place to contain escaping gases from the stack. However, the water pressure was too weak for the guns to spray high enough to reach the gas which would have reduced the concentration of escaping gas significantly.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2001-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Lepowski-48" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[48]</a> In addition to it, carbon steel valves were used at the factory, even though they were known to corrode when exposed to acid.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kovel-11" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[11]</a>According to the operators, the MIC tank pressure gauge had been malfunctioning for roughly a week. Other tanks were used, rather than repairing the gauge. The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the magnitude of the gas release.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2001-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Lepowski-48" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[48]</a> UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems were not functioning on the night of 3 December 1984.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-UCC1985-50" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[50]</a> The design of the MIC plant, following government guidelines, was "Indianized" by UCIL engineers to maximise the use of indigenous materials and products. Mumbai-based Humphreys and Glasgow Consultants Pvt. Ltd., were the main consultants, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larsen%26_Toubro" title="Larsen & Toubro" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Larsen & Toubro</a> fabricated the MIC storage tanks, and Taylor of India Ltd. provided the instrumentation.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-D-16" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[16]</a> In 1998, during civil action suits in India, it emerged that the plant was not prepared for problems. No action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude. This included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals used and manufactured at Bhopal.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kovel-11" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[11]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2001-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a>Safety auditsSafety audits were done every year in the US and European UCC plants, but only every two years in other parts of the world.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-varadarajan1985-51" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[51]</a> Before a "Business Confidential" safety audit by UCC in May 1982, the senior officials of the corporation were well aware of "a total of 61 hazards, 30 of them major and 11 minor in the dangerous phosgene/methyl isocyanate units" in Bhopal.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-52" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[52]</a> In the audit 1982, it was indicated that worker performance was below standards.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-tradeunion1985-44" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[44]</a> Ten major concerns were listed.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a> UCIL prepared an action plan, but UCC never sent a follow-up team to Bhopal. Many of the items in the 1982 report were temporarily fixed, but by 1984, conditions had again deteriorated.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-tradeunion1985-44" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[44]</a> In September 1984, an internal UCC report on the Virginia plant in the USA revealed a number of defects and malfunctions. It warned that "a runaway reaction could occur in the MIC unit storage tanks, and that the planned response would not be timely or effective enough to prevent catastrophic failure of the tanks". This report was never forwarded to the Bhopal plant, although the main design was the same.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Lapierre-53" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[53]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Causes of the disaster: the "disgruntled employee sabotage" case</h3>Now owned by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Chemical_Company" title="Dow Chemical Company" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Dow Chemical Company</a>, Union Carbide maintains a website dedicated to the tragedy and claims that the incident was the result of sabotage, stating that sufficient safety systems were in place and operative to prevent the intrusion of water.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-ucs-54" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[54]</a>The impossibility of the "negligence" argumentAccording to the "Corporate Negligence" argument, workers had been cleaning out pipes with water nearby. This water was diverted due to a combination of improper maintenance, leaking and clogging, and eventually ended up in the MIC storage tank. Indian scientists also suggested that additional water might have been introduced as a "back-flow" from a defectively designed vent-gas scrubber. However, none of these theoretical routes of entry were ever successfully demonstrated during tests by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Central_Bureau_of_Investigators&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Central Bureau of Investigators (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Central Bureau of Investigators</a> (CBI) and UCIL engineers.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Chouhan-42" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[42]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-tradeunion1985-44" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[44]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-varadarajan1985-51" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[51]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-UCCreport1985-55" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[55]</a>An analysis by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_D.Little" title="Arthur D. Little" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Arthur D. Little</a> argues that the Negligence argument was impossible for several tangible reasons:<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kalelkar1988-41" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[41]</a><ol style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The pipes being used by the nearby workers were only 1/2 inch in diameter and were physically incapable of producing enough hydraulic pressure to raise water the more than 10 feet that would have been necessary to enable the water to "backflow" into the MIC tank.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">A key intermediate valve would have had to be open for the Negligence argument to apply. However, this valve was "tagged" closed, meaning that it had been inspected and found to be closed. While it is possible for open valves to clog over time, the only way a closed valve allows penetration is if there is leakage, and 1985 tests carried out by the government of India found this valve to be non-leaking.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">In order for water to have reached the MIC tank from the pipe-cleaning area, it would have had to flow through a significant network of pipes ranging from 6 to 8 inches in diameter, before rising ten feet and flowing into the MIC tank. Had this occurred, most of the water that was in those pipes at the time the tank had its critical reaction would have remained in those pipes, as there was no drain for them. However, investigation by the Indian government in 1985 revealed that the pipes were bone dry.</li></ol><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">The argument for sabotage</h3>The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_D.Little" title="Arthur D. Little" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Arthur D. Little</a> report concludes that it is likely that a single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through the metering port.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Kalelkar1988-41" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[41]</a>UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves from the incident and absolve themselves of blame, and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined to prosecute the employee responsible, presumably because that would weaken its allegations of negligence by Union Carbide.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-56" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[56]</a>The evidence in favor of this point of view includes:<ol style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 3.2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">A key witness (the "tea boy") testified that when he entered the control room at 12:15am, prior to the disaster, the "atmosphere was tense and quiet".</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Another key witness (the "instrument supervisor") testified that when he arrived at the scene immediately following the incident, he noticed that the local pressure indicator on the critical Tank 610 was missing, and that he had found a hose lying next to the empty manhead created by the missing pressure indicator, and that the hose had had water running out of it.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">This testimony was corroborated by other witnesses.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Graphological analysis revealed major attempts to alter logfiles and destroy log evidence.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Other logfiles show that the control team had attempted to purge 1 ton of material out of Tank 610 immediately prior to the disaster. An attempt was then made to cover up this transfer via log alteration. Water is heavier than MIC, and the transfer line is attached to the bottom of the tank. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_D.Little" title="Arthur D. Little" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Arthur D. Little</a> report concludes from this that the transfer was an effort to transfer water out of Tank 610 that had been discovered there.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">A third key witness (the "off-duty employee of another unit") stated that "he had been told by a close friend of one of the MIC operators that water had entered through a tube that had been connected to the tank." This had been discovered by the other MIC operators (so the story was recounted) who then tried to open and close valves to prevent the release.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">A fourth key witness (the "operator from a different unit") stated that after the release, two MIC operators had told him that water had entered the tank through a pressure gauge.</li></ol>The Little report argues that this evidence demonstrates that the following chronology actually took place:<ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20version%3D%221.1%22%20width%3D%225%22%20height%3D%2213%22%3E%0A%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%222.5%22%20cy%3D%229.5%22%20r%3D%222.5%22%20fill%3D%22%2300528c%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A); line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">At 10:20pm, the tank was at normal pressure, indicating the absence of water.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">At 10:45pm, a shift change took change, during which time the MIC storage area "would be completely deserted".</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">During this period, a "disgruntled operator entered the storage area and hooked up one of the readily available rubber water hoses to Tank 610, with the intention of contaminating and spoiling the tank's contents."</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Water began to flow, beginning the chemical reaction that caused the disaster.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">After midnight, control room operators saw the pressure rising and realized there was a problem with Tank 610. They discovered the water connection, and decided to transfer one ton of the contents out to try and remove the water.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The disaster then occurred, a major release of poisonous gas.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">The cover-up activities discovered during the investigation then took place.</li></ul><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Additional Union Carbide actions</h2>The corporation denied the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning, and claimed that the documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve close to the plant's water-washing operation was closed and was leak-tight. Furthermore, process safety systems had prevented water from entering the tank by accident. Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982 were all allayed before 1984 and had nothing to do with the incident.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-faq-57" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[57]</a>The company admitted that the safety systems in place would not have been able to prevent a chemical reaction of that magnitude from causing a leak. According to Carbide, "in designing the plant's safety systems, a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not factored in" because "the tank's gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system" and "process safety systems—in place and operational—would have prevented water from entering the tank by accident". Instead, they claim that "employee sabotage—not faulty design or operation—was the cause of the tragedy".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-faq-57" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[57]</a>Tactical responseThe company stresses the immediate action taken after the disaster and its continued commitment to helping the victims. On 4 December, the day following the leak, Union Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical facilities in Bhopal.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-faq-57" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[57]</a>Financial responseThe primary financial restitution paid by UCC was negotiated in 1989, when the Indian Supreme Court approved a settlement of US$470 million (Rs 7.52 billion, equivalent to $907 million in 2014 dollars, and RS 55.42 billion in 2014 rupees). This amount was immediately paid by UCC to the Indian government. The company states that the restitution paid "was $120 million more than plaintiffs' lawyers had told U.S. courts was fair" and that the Indian Supreme Court stated in its opinion that "compensation levels under the settlement were far greater than would normally be payable under Indian law."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-irs-58" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[58]</a>In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, Union Carbide states on its website that it put $2 million into the Indian prime minister's immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-faq-57" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[57]</a> The corporation established the Employees' Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985, which raised more than $5 million for immediate relief.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-chrono-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[19]</a> According to Union Carbide, in August 1987, they made an additional $4.6 million in humanitarian interim relief available.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-chrono-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[19]</a>Union Carbide stated that it also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the victims of the Bhopal disaster. The sale of its 50.9 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital. The sale was finalised in November 1994. The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was opened in 2001. The company provided a fund with around$90 million from sale of its UCIL stock. In 1991, the trust had amounted approximately $100 million. The hospital catered for the treatment of heart, lung and eye problems.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-ucs-54" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[54]</a> UCC also provided a $2.2 million grant to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_State_University" title="Arizona State University" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Arizona State University</a> to establish a vocational-technical center in Bhopal, which was opened, but was later closed by the state government.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-irs-58" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[58]</a> They also donated $5 million to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Red_Cross" title="Indian Red Cross" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Indian Red Cross</a> after the disaster.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-irs-58" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[58]</a> They also developed a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsible_Care" title="Responsible Care" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Responsible Care</a> system with other members of the chemical industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis, which was designed to help prevent such an event in the future.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-chrono-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[19]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Charges against UCC and UCIL employees</h3>UCC chairman and CEO Warren Anderson was arrested and released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on 7 December 1984. Anderson was taken to UCC's house after which he was released six hours later on $2,100 bail and flown out on a government plane. These actions were allegedly taken under the direction of then chief secretary of the state, who was possibly instructed from chief minister's office, who himself flew out of Bhopal immediately.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Escapes_on_Bhopal_disaster_1-59" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[59]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Escapes_on_Bhopal_disaster_2-60" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[60]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Escapes_on_Bhopal_disaster_3-61" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[61]</a> Later in 1987, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_government" title="Indian government" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Indian government</a> summoned Anderson, eight other executives and two company affiliates with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide" title="Homicide" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">homicide</a> charges to appear in Indian court.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-nytimes88-62" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[62]</a>In response, Union Carbide said the company is not under Indian jurisdiction.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-nytimes88-62" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[62]</a><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ongoing contamination</h2><div>Chemicals abandoned at the plant continue to leak and pollute the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundwater" title="Groundwater" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">groundwater</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-broughton-38" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[38]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-63" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[63]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-64" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[64]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-ram2012-65" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[65]</a> Whether the chemicals pose a health hazard is disputed.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-msnbc-66" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[66]</a>Contamination at the site and surrounding area was not caused by the gas leakage. The area around the plant was used as a dumping ground for hazardous chemicals and by 1982 water wells in the vicinity of the UCIL factory had to be abandoned.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a> UCC states that "after the incident, UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the direction of Indian central and state government authorities", which was continued after 1994 by the successor to UCIL. The successor, Eveready Industries India, Limited (EIIL), ended cleanup on the site in 1998, when it terminated its 99-year lease and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya Pradesh.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-chrono-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[19]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-ucs-54" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[54]</a>UCC's laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near the factory were toxic to fish. Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be highly polluted. In 1991 the municipal authorities declared that water from over 100 wells was hazardous for health if used for drinking.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a> In 1994 it was reported that 21% of the factory premises were seriously contaminated with chemicals.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-UCC1989-28" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[28]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Labunska-67" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[67]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-down-68" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[68]</a> Beginning in 1999, studies made by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenpeace" title="Greenpeace" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Greenpeace</a>and others from soil, groundwater, wellwater and vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds. Substances found, according to the reports, are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-Naphthol" title="1-Naphthol" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">naphthol</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphthalene" title="Naphthalene" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">naphthalene</a>, Sevin, tarry residues, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-naphthol" title="1-naphthol" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">alpha naphthol</a>, mercury, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organochlorines" title="Organochlorines" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">organochlorines</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium" title="Chromium" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">chromium</a>, copper, nickel, lead, hexachlorethane, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexachlorobutadiene" title="Hexachlorobutadiene" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">hexachlorobutadiene</a>, pesticide HCH (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexachlorocyclohexane" title="Hexachlorocyclohexane" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">BHC</a>), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound" title="Volatile organic compound" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">volatile organic compounds</a> and halo-organics.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Labunska-67" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[67]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-down-68" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[68]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-stringer-69" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[69]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-srishti-70" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[70]</a> Many of these contaminants were also found in breast milk of women living near the area.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-BMA-71" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[71]</a> Soil tests were conducted by Greenpeace in 1999. One sample (IT9012) from "sediment collected from drain under former Sevin plant" showed mercury levels to be at "20,000 and 6 million times" higher than expected levels. Organochlorine compounds at elevated levels were also present in groundwater collected from (sample IT9040) a 4.4 meter depth "bore-hole within the former UCIL site". This sample was obtained from a source posted with a warning sign which read "Water unfit for consumption".<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-72" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[72]</a> Chemicals that have been linked to various forms of cancer were also discovered, as well as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichloroethylene" title="Trichloroethylene" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">trichloroethylene</a>, known to impair fetal development, at 50 times above safety limits specified by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency" title="United States Environmental Protection Agency" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</a> (EPA).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-BMA-71" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[71]</a> In 2002, an inquiry by Fact-Finding Mission on Bhopal found a number of toxins, including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury(element)" title="Mercury (element)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">mercury</a>, lead, 1,3,5 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichlorobenzene" title="Trichlorobenzene" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">trichlorobenzene</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichloromethane" title="Dichloromethane" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">dichloromethane</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloroform" title="Chloroform" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">chloroform</a>, in nursing women's breast milk.A 2004 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Radio_5_Live" title="BBC Radio 5 Live" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">BBC Radio 5</a> broadcast reported the site is contaminated with toxic chemicals including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexachlorocyclohexane" title="Hexachlorocyclohexane" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">benzene hexachloride</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury(element)" title="Mercury (element)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">mercury</a>, held in open containers or loose on the ground.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-BBC-73" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[73]</a> A drinking water sample from a well near the site had levels of contamination 500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization" title="World Health Organization" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">World Health Organization</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-BBC_Radio_5_website-74" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[74]</a> In 2009, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_for_Science_and_Environment" title="Centre for Science and Environment" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Centre for Science and Environment</a>, a Delhi-based pollution monitoring lab, released test results showing pesticide groundwater contamination up to three kilometres from the factory.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-75" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[75]</a> Also in 2009, the BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump, located just north of the plant. The sample, tested in UK, was found to contain 1,000 times the World Health Organization's recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinogen" title="Carcinogen" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">carcinogen</a>ic toxin.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-76" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[76]</a> In October 2011, the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment published an article and video by two British environmental scientists, showing the current state of the plant, landfill and solar evaporation ponds and calling for renewed international efforts to provide the necessary skills to clean up the site and contaminated groundwater.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-the_environmentalist_October_2011-77" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[77]</a><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Film</h2>To coincide with the 30th anniversary of the disaster, historical-drama <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal:A_Prayer_for_Rain" title="Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain</a>, starring <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sheen" title="Martin Sheen" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Martin Sheen</a> as Union Carbide CEO <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Anderson(American_businessman)" title="Warren Anderson (American businessman)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Warren Anderson</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kal_Penn" title="Kal Penn" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Kal Penn</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mischa_Barton" title="Mischa Barton" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Mischa Barton</a> was released. The film has earned global praise and LA Times critic Martin Tsai said the film was "ambitious and shattering" and that "Although the real-life events took place three decades ago, the cautionary tale could not be more relevant."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-78" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[78]</a><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Activism</h2>Since 1984, individual activists have played a role in the aftermath of the tragedy. The best-known is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satinath_Sarangi" title="Satinath Sarangi" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Satinath Sarangi</a> (Sathyu), a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallurgic_engineering" title="Metallurgic engineering" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">metallurgic engineer</a> who arrived at Bhopal the day after the leakage. He founded several activist groups, as well as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambhavna_Trust" title="Sambhavna Trust" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Sambhavna Trust</a>, the clinic for gas affected patients, where he is the manager.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a> Other activists include Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla, who received the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldman_Prize" title="Goldman Prize" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Goldman Prize</a> in 2004, Abdul Jabbar and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachna_Dhingra" title="Rachna Dhingra" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Rachna Dhingra</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-79" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[79]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-80" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[80]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Local activism</h3>Soon after the accident, representatives from different activist groups arrived. The activists worked on organising the gas victims, which led to violent repression from the police and the government.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a>Numerous actions have been performed: demonstrations, sit-ins, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunger_strike" title="Hunger strike" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">hunger strike</a>s, marches combined with pamphlets, books, and articles. Every anniversary, actions are performed. Often these include marches around Old Bhopal, ending with burning an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effigy" title="Effigy" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">effigy</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Anderson(chairman)" title="Warren Anderson (chairman)" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Warren Anderson</a>.<h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">International activism</h3>Cooperation with international NGOs including <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pan-uk.org/" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background-image: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E); background-attachment: initial, initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial, initial; background-origin: initial, initial; background-clip: initial, initial; background-position: 100% 50%, 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat, repeat;">Pesticide Action Network UK</a> and <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/toxics/justice-for-bhopal/" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background-image: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E); background-attachment: initial, initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial, initial; background-origin: initial, initial; background-clip: initial, initial; background-position: 100% 50%, 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat, repeat;">Greenpeace</a> started soon after the tragedy. One of the earliest reports is the Trade Union report from ILO 1985.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-tradeunion1985-44" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[44]</a>In 1992, a session of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_Peoples%27_Tribunal" title="Permanent Peoples' Tribunal" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Permanent Peoples' Tribunal</a> on Industrial Hazards and Human Rights took place in Bhopal, and in 1996,the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/212/45285.html" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; background-image: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%2210%22%20height%3D%2210%22%3E%3Cg%20transform%3D%22translate%28-826.429%20-698.791%29%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%225.982%22%20height%3D%225.982%22%20x%3D%22826.929%22%20y%3D%22702.309%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%20stroke%3D%22%2306c%22%2F%3E%3Cg%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M831.194%20698.791h5.234v5.391l-1.571%201.545-1.31-1.31-2.725%202.725-2.689-2.689%202.808-2.808-1.311-1.311z%22%20fill%3D%22%2306f%22%2F%3E%3Cpath%20d%3D%22M835.424%20699.795l.022%204.885-1.817-1.817-2.881%202.881-1.228-1.228%202.881-2.881-1.851-1.851z%22%20fill%3D%22%23fff%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fg%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E); background-attachment: initial, initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial, initial; background-origin: initial, initial; background-clip: initial, initial; background-position: 100% 50%, 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat, repeat;">"Charter on Industrial Hazards and Human Rights"</a> was adopted.In 1994, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Medical_Commission_on_Bhopal" title="International Medical Commission on Bhopal" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">International Medical Commission on Bhopal</a> (IMCB) met in Bhopal. Their work contributed to long term health effects being officially recognised.Important international actions have been the tour to Europe and United States in 2003,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-81" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[81]</a> the marches to Delhi in 2006 and 2008, all including hunger strikes, and the Bhopal Europe Bus Tour in 2009.<h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Activist organisations</h3>At least 14 different NGOs were immediately engaged.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a> The first disaster reports were published by activist organisations, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eklavya" title="Eklavya" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Eklavya</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Delhi_Science_Forum&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Delhi Science Forum (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Delhi Science Forum</a>.Around ten local organisations, engaged on long term, have been identified. Two of the most active organisations are the women's organisations—Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila-Stationery Karmachari Sangh and Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangthan.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a>More than 15 national organisations have been engaged along with a number of international organisations.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-Eckerman2005-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[5]</a>Some of the most important organisations are:<ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(data:image/svg+xml,%3C%3Fxml%20version%3D%221.0%22%20encoding%3D%22UTF-8%22%3F%3E%0A%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20version%3D%221.1%22%20width%3D%225%22%20height%3D%2213%22%3E%0A%3Ccircle%20cx%3D%222.5%22%20cy%3D%229.5%22%20r%3D%222.5%22%20fill%3D%22%2300528c%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A); line-height: 22.3999996185303px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Campaign_for_Justice_in_Bhopal" title="International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal</a> (ICJB), coordinates international activities.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bhopal_Medical_Appeal&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Bhopal Medical Appeal (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Bhopal Medical Appeal</a>, collects funds for the Sambhavna Trust.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambhavna_Trust" title="Sambhavna Trust" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Sambhavna Trust</a> or Bhopal People's Health and Documentation Clinic. Provides medical care for gas affected patients and those living in water-contaminated area.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chingari_Trust&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Chingari Trust (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Chingari Trust</a>, provides medical care for children being born in Bhopal with malformations and brain damages.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Students_for_Bhopal" title="Students for Bhopal" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Students for Bhopal</a>, based in USA.</li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Medical_Commission_on_Bhopal" title="International Medical Commission on Bhopal" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">International Medical Commission on Bhopal</a>, provided medical information 1994–2000.</li></ul><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Settlement fund hoax</h3>On 3 December 2004, the twentieth anniversary of the disaster, a man falsely claiming to be a Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_World_News" title="BBC World News" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">BBC World News</a>. He claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in the incident, by liquidating Union Carbide for US$12 billion.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-82" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[82]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-83" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[83]</a> Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by that name—that he was an impostor, not affiliated with Dow, and that his claims were a hoax. The BBC later broadcast a correction and an apology.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-84" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[84]</a>Jude Finisterra was actually <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacque_Servin" title="Jacque Servin" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Andy Bichlbaum</a>, a member of the activist prankster group <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yes_Men" title="The Yes Men" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">The Yes Men</a>. In 2002, The Yes Men issued a fake press release explaining why Dow refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website, at "DowEthics.com", designed to look like the real Dow website, but containing hoax information.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-85" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[85]</a><h3 style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 1.6; background: none rgb(255, 255, 255);">Monitoring of Bhopal activists</h3>A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Stratfor_email_leak" title="2012 Stratfor email leak" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">release of an email cache</a> related to intelligence research organisation <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratfor" title="Stratfor" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Stratfor</a> was leaked by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks" title="WikiLeaks" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">WikiLeaks</a> on 27 February 2012.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-86" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[86]</a> It revealed that Dow Chemical had engaged Stratfor to spy on the public and personal lives of activists involved in the Bhopal disaster, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Men" title="Yes Men" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Yes Men</a>. E-mails to Dow representatives from hired security analysts list the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube" title="YouTube" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">YouTube</a> videos liked, Twitter and Facebook posts made and the public appearances of these activists.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-87" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[87]</a> Stratfor released a statement condemning the revelation by Wikileaks while neither confirming nor denying the accuracy of the reports, and would only state that it had acted within the bounds of the law. Dow Chemical also refrained to comment on the matter.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-88" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[88]</a>Ingrid Eckerman, a member of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Medical_Commission_on_Bhopal" title="International Medical Commission on Bhopal" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">International Medical Commission on Bhopal</a>, has been denied a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_(document)" title="Visa (document)" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">visa</a> to visit India.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster#cite_note-89" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-color: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">[89]</a></div>=<a href="http://bhopal.bard.edu/classroom/other.shtml">http://bhopal.bard.edu/classroom/other.shtml</a>Union Carbide hired the consulting firm, Arthur D. Little, Inc. to investigate what happened in December 1984.  The results of that investigation were presented at a technical meeting in London in May 1988; excerpts from their report follow.  ................. 47<div align="left" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><blockquote style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">A Carbide Worker Speaks Out (1994)  ... 49
M.L, Varma, the worker believed to be Carbide’s sabotage suspect, tells his story of the night of the gas disaster and of the factory’s internal politics.  ................. 494.              Just Compensation?              52</blockquote></div>===c8wiki<a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/print/article/364803" class="external text" title="http://www.digitaljournal.com/print/article/364803" rel="nofollow" style="margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; line-height: 16.7039985656738px; background: url(http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/skins/monobook/external.png) 100% 50% no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);">Dow hires private security firm to spy on Bhopal activists</a>. New documentary, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttD-1oT9M7M" class="external text" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttD-1oT9M7M" rel="nofollow" style="margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; line-height: 16.7039985656738px; background: url(http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/skins/monobook/external.png) 100% 50% no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);">Bhopali</a> (trailer.)

<a href="http://www.markhertsgaard.com/articles/165" class="external text" title="http://www.markhertsgaard.com/articles/165" rel="nofollow" style="margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; line-height: 16.7039985656738px; background: url(http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/skins/monobook/external.png) 100% 50% no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);">Bhopal</a> is one of the worst chemical accidents in history. Article by Mark Hertsgaard. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz-BfXLjQ9c&feature=related" class="external text" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz-BfXLjQ9c&feature=related" rel="nofollow" style="margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; line-height: 16.7039985656738px; background: url(http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/skins/monobook/external.png) 100% 50% no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);">It Happened in Bhopal</a> (video). Another <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ehFcv4ywvA&feature=related" class="external text" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ehFcv4ywvA&feature=related" rel="nofollow" style="margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; line-height: 16.7039985656738px; background: url(http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/skins/monobook/external.png) 100% 50% no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);">documentary</a>. The<a href="http://theyesmen.org/" class="external text" title="http://theyesmen.org/" rel="nofollow" style="margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; line-height: 16.7039985656738px; background: url(http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/skins/monobook/external.png) 100% 50% no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);">Yes Men</a> (who spoke at UCSC's <a href="http://eslp.enviroslug.org/" class="external text" title="http://eslp.enviroslug.org/" rel="nofollow" style="margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; line-height: 16.7039985656738px; background: url(http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/skins/monobook/external.png) 100% 50% no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);">ESLP course</a>) are activists who <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiWlvBro9eI&feature=related" class="external text" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiWlvBro9eI&feature=related" rel="nofollow" style="margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; line-height: 16.7039985656738px; background: url(http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/skins/monobook/external.png) 100% 50% no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);">announced the Dow was going to do the right thing</a> on Bhopal. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttD-1oT9M7M" class="external text" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttD-1oT9M7M" rel="nofollow" style="margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; line-height: 16.7039985656738px; background: url(http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/skins/monobook/external.png) 100% 50% no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);">A new 2011 documentary</a>.<a href="http://www.naturalheroestv.org/season2/justiceforbhopal.html" class="external text" title="http://www.naturalheroestv.org/season2/justiceforbhopal.html" rel="nofollow" style="margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; line-height: 16.7039985656738px; background: url(http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/skins/monobook/external.png) 100% 50% no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);">Natural Heroes</a> on 20th anniversary.<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz-BfXLjQ9c&feature=related" class="external text" title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz-BfXLjQ9c&feature=related" rel="nofollow" style="margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; line-height: 16.7039985656738px; background: url(http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/college8core/c8wiki/skins/monobook/external.png) 100% 50% no-repeat rgb(255, 255, 255);">It Happened in Bhopal</a>

----Activist connects dots from Bhopal to Hammond, Stratfor, and Dow SPECIALPosted Dec 29, 2013 by Justin KingIn 1984, a Union Carbide Corporation plant expelled a deadly gas in the Indian city of Bhopal, killing an estimated 15,000 people. Thirty years later, the story continues and has involved people and corporations all over the world.
Sanjay VermaActivist Reena Shadaan discussed the winding road leading from the plant’s opening, to the first safety issues, to the disaster, though the court cases, the Dow purchase, the intelligence gathering activities that followed, the Jeremy Hammond leak, all the way to the current campaign in support of the residents in Bhopal, which has received a major boost from an award-winning documentary.Digital Journal publishes the interview, in its entirety, below. Information is sourced where appropriate.The Interview:To give readers some context, tell us about the plant in Bhopal. What did it make, what kinds of chemicals were used in production, and so on?The Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) opened up its Bhopal plant with Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), its Indian subsidiary, in 1969. The American-owned UCC had the majority share in the plant. The plant was built very near to a number of slum communities in the poorest section of Bhopal, which is called Old Bhopal. These communities were occupied by some of the most marginalized sections of Indian society –poor, displaced populations/migrants from nearby villages, scheduled-caste Hindus, Muslims, and so on, who were primarily daily wage earners. The fact that UCC situated the plant near these communities is not a shock. Toxic plants are routinely placed in or near low-income, racialized areas. The same is true here in North America.The original purpose of the plant was to formulate pesticides. It was the beginning of India’s Green Revolution, which basically meant the shift from indigenous agricultural methods to the use of GMOs, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.From 1975 onwards, the Bhopal plant shifted from formulating pesticides to manufacturing pesticides, such as Sevin. Methyl isocyanate (MIC) was used in the formulation of Sevin. Even short term exposure to MIC is extremely toxic for humans and other living things. In fact, MIC is more toxic than phosgene, which has been used as a chemical weapon.Can you provide a brief overview of the events of December 1984 in Bhopal?
Sanjay VermaOn the evening of December 2nd, workers were instructed to use a water wash on the pipelines, which were extremely clogged. The water accumulated in the pipelines, and eventually found its way to tank E610, which contained over 40 tonnes of MIC. This caused an exothermic reaction, resulting in the 40 tonnes of MIC, in gas form, leaking into the communities of Old Bhopal. People awoke coughing, with their eyes burning. Some people thought someone in the neighbourhood was burning chillies (a custom to ward off the ‘evil eye’). When word of the gas leak spread, people began to run frantically. As an outsider, I can’t explain the terror people experienced on that night, so I’ll offer some words from a leading survivor/activist named Rashida Bi:“The poison cloud was so dense and searing that people were reduced to near blindness. As they gasped for breath its effects grew ever more suffocating. The gases burned the tissues of their eyes and lungs and attacked their nervous systems. People lost control of their bodies. Urine and feces ran down their legs. Women lost their unborn children as they ran, their wombs spontaneously opening in bloody abortion.”Storing 40 tonnes of MIC in a large container is a serious safety hazard in itself, but this was approved by UCC. Moreover, most of the plant’s safety systems were not operational during the night of the disaster. According to plant workers, of the 4 safety systems related to MIC, 3 were not operational.What was the death toll of the event? [Shadaan's death toll estimate is conservative. Most sources place it at 15,000]Within the first week of the disaster, 7,000 to 10,000 people died.
Sanjay VermaHow many have died to date from causes attributed to the plant disaster?To date, more than 25,000 people have died as a result of injuries sustained on that day, and over 500,000 are affected. Chronic health problems, including cancers and sickness in the respiratory, ocular, neurological, neuromuscular, gynecological and reproductive systems, continue to plague survivors. Children can’t even drink their mothers’ breast milk because of the presence of toxins.Communities are also facing widespread soil and groundwater contamination, which has been a focal point of the ongoing struggle for justice by survivors/activists. Because of this struggle, pipelines supplying clean water have been installed in the affected communities. This is a very recent development; for many years, people were forced to rely on contaminated water for their drinking, cooking and washing needs.On top of this, children in the affected communities are born with higher rates of developmental disabilities and congenital malformations. This has now reached the third generation. Like Agent Orange in Vietnam, there doesn’t seem to be a clear end in sight.What kind of warnings did Union Carbide have ahead of time?UCC was well aware of deteriorating safety conditions in the plant, and in fact, signed off on this! All design-related decisions were approved by UCC officials in the U.S. The plant was built using untested technology, it was alarmingly close to a number of densely populated communities and MIC was stored in large storage containers when it should have stored in smaller containers.Moreover, because of UCCs cost cutting decisions, the plant was ridden with serious safety problems. In fact, most of the safety systems in the plant were not functioning during the night of the disaster.As far back as 1976, two labour unions sent letters regarding pollution in the plant to management; however, they received no response. In December 1981, a worker named Mohammed Ashraf was splashed with phosgene. He was not given a proper safety uniform and a malfunctioning valve was the cause of the phosgene leak. After Mohammed was splashed, he panicked and took off his mask, resulting in him inhaling a large quantity of phosgene. Management blamed the entire incident on the worker removing his mask, and ignored the fact that a malfunctioning valve caused the leak and that the worker was not provided a proper safety uniform. In January 1982, another phosgene leak hospitalized 25 workers. In February 1982, there was a MIC leak, affecting 18 workers. These are just a few examples.Workers at the plant demanded better safety conditions, but management denied any safety problems, intimidated unionized workers and continued to put the safety of the workers/communities nearby at risk.In May 1982 a safety audit was carried out, where 61 hazards were found –30 major and 11 in the MIC/phosgene units. Nothing was done by UCC officials to remediate these hazards. In fact, in August 1982, a chemical engineer was burnt on over 30% of his body because he was exposed to liquid MIC. A month later, they turned off the alarm system that alerted the communities nearby of leaks.In the context of UCC’s hazardous design of the plant and its cost-cutting at the expense of worker/public safety, the Bhopal gas disaster is not surprising at all. So many lives were lost before, during and after the disaster, not because of UCC’s negligence, but because they knowingly put profit before human life.Could you tell us a little about what companies have owned the site since the disaster?Initially, UCC had the majority share in the Bhopal plant. In 1994, UCC sold its shares to Mcleod Russel (India) Limited. UCIL was then renamed Eveready Industries. In 1998, the government of Madhya Pradesh took over ownership of the factory site.In 2001, the Dow Chemical Company purchased UCC. As a result, Dow inherited the legal liabilities of UCC, which includes the Bhopal gas disaster. However, Dow denies all responsibility for the disaster, saying that because Dow did not own the factory at the time of the disaster, Dow was not liable. This is despite the fact that Dow settled UCCs outstanding legal liabilities in the U.S. The Bhopal-based survivor/support groups that lead the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, and we at the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, North America (ICJB-NA), have fought to bring awareness to Dow’s double standards.It’s been almost thirty years. Is the site clean now?No, the site continues to be contaminated.Now that the government has control of the site, is the situation improving?No, the situation has not improved.The documentary talks a little about a settlement that provided financial compensation for loss of life and permanent disability and loss of life. How much was a lifetime of disability deemed to be worth?In the years following the disaster, the Government of India made itself the sole representative of survivors in the legal case against UCC, without any consultation with survivors or survivors groups. This resulted in a $470 million USD settlement, which was incredibly low. Survivors ended up receiving about $500 USD per person. A Dow PR person named Kathy Hunt later commented that “$500 is plenty good for an Indian.” Apparently $500 USD is enough to cover a lifetime of health problems and a loss of working ability amongst the already poor communities that were impacted by the gas disaster. It’s absolutely ridiculous that survivors are subject to this treatment.One of the current demands by ICJB is that every person known to be disabled or made destitute as a result of the disaster receives 1000 INR monthly.
Tell us a little about that documentary, please.Bhopali is an award-winning documentary that details the ongoing disaster in Bhopal, which includes the prevalence of children with congenital malformations/developmental disabilities, illnesses amongst the children of gas affected persons, and the experience of those orphaned by the disaster.Bhopali has given people all over the world the opportunity to see the on-the-ground situation in Bhopal, and to understand the reason why survivors and others in solidarity have sustained a 29 year struggle for justice, which is still going strong.I recommend all those interested in environmental justice and corporate accountability struggles to watch this documentary. More information is available on the website: www.bhopalithemovie.comJeremy Hammond’s leaks from Stratfor contained information relating to the Bhopal disaster. Are you familiar those? If so, can you tell us a little about what was revealed?The leaks revealed that Dow Chemical had hired the private intelligence firm, Stratfor, to follow survivors and activists involved in the struggle for justice in Bhopal. This includes the Yes Men who very famously pranked Dow on BBC. They monitored the activities of activists in India, North America, and the U.K. by documenting solidarity events, press releases, blog/social media posts, and our mailing lists. In addition to this, they monitored media reports on UCC, Dow and Bhopal, and went so far as to note those who commented on these news reports!
Protester carries a photo of imprisoned American activist Jeremy Hammond during Bhopal protest.Sanjay VermaNot only did Jeremy show us that Dow was spying on survivors/activists involved in the Bhopal struggle; it showed us that, despite Dow constantly denying their liability in the Bhopal gas disaster case, our struggle to hold them accountable was reaching their door step.One of the leading campaigners in the Bhopal struggle, Rachna Dhingra said, “Jeremy Hammond, Bhopal survivors salute you for your courage. We thank you for exposing that Dow Chemical was spying on Bhopal campaigners. You have been imprisoned for 10 years for speaking the truth and the company whose lies continue to kill people in Bhopal every day faces no liability."In June of 2010, some Union Carbide India Limited employees were convicted of crimes that are roughly equivalent to manslaughter charges in the United States. How much time did they spend in prison?None! The eight Indian officials charged were sentenced to two years each, which is the maximum sentence for the charge of criminal negligence, and then they were let off on bail!On the positive side, this led to massive outcry amongst the general public and resulted in the Indian government instituting a new compensation package for survivors. But this new compensation package had its own problems. Less than 10% of those impacted by the gas disaster were included, and the second-generation victims were excluded.They were also given a fine. What was the fine given to the defendants?They were fined 100,000 INR, which is about $2,100 USD.I’m sorry, and what was the total cost of clean up again? [Although the cost is still unclear, it is estimated to be near $60 million US]At this time we’re not sure, as there hasn’t been a proper assessment of the site. Proper scientific assessment is actually one of ICJBs demands. There is no doubt that it will be a huge task. It is estimated that there is more than 20,000 metric tonnes of toxic waste just in and around the plant site.I see. So where is the activist movement in Bhopal and the United States going from here?We’re entering the 30th anniversary year. The survivors’ struggle has seen many important victories; however, the struggle for justice and accountability continues. During the 29th anniversary, ICJB released a press statement, detailing survivors’ demands going forward. A number of demands to Dow, the Government of India and the state government of Madhya Pradesh were outlined. This includes proper clean-up of the site, that Dow and UCC officials (including former UCC CEO, Warren Anderson) will cease to abscond from legal proceedings in India, epidemiological studies to document the health impact of exposure, and proper medical/rehabilitation facilities to treat the affected populations, including those impacted by groundwater contamination and the children born with congenital malformations and developmental disabilities.In North America and beyond, it is critical that we keep the Bhopal gas disaster in the public eye. It’s the world’s worst industrial disaster, and it’s ongoing. We play an important role in North America, since Dow is headquartered here.We want to continue to connect with other groups who believe in corporate accountability and justice, so that we gain enough people-power to contest corporate-power. We want to connect with social justice groups, environmental groups, environmental justice groups, and all other like-minded organizations and individuals. Our struggles are intrinsically connected –we’re fighting against corporate power, the blurring line between corporations and governments, and diminishing environmental and human rights.Executive being burned in effigy during a Bhopal protest.
Sanjay VermaTell us a little about the 29th anniversary protests.Every year, survivors groups in Bhopal hold events to commemorate the anniversary. The staff, children and parents of the Chingari Trust, a school/rehabilitation center for children with developmental disabilities and congenital malformations caused by the gas disaster, hold a candlelit vigil. There was a rally of about 5,000 people that concluded with an effigy burning outside the factory, and there was a torch rally of about 300 people.Solidarity events take place in other parts of India and the rest of the world. In North America, we hold various events to honour those that died and those that continue to struggle for life, dignity and justice. In the past, this has included film screenings, candlelit vigils and other protest actions.Every anniversary rejuvenates the struggle.What can readers do if they wanted to get involved?We are approaching the 30th anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster. Can you believe that this struggle, which seems like an open and shut case, has been going on for almost 30 years? And not only going on, getting worse!ICJB North America is always looking for people to join us as volunteers and supporters. We’re a relatively small number of people trying to do big things. The more people we have, the stronger our struggle becomes. If readers are interested in getting involved in any way, please contact us at: icjb.us.ab@gmail.com or visit our website, at www.icjb.orRead more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/print/article/364803#ixzz3fQuMUwYU==

a storage tank containing methyl isocyanate (MIC)  stratfor

bayer?

UPDATE: 3/18/11 @ 10:30 p.m.

INSTITUTE, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Bayer CropScience will not go forward with a plan to restart methyl isocyanate production at its plant, company managers announced Friday.

MIC is a toxic chemical that’s used in the process of developing Temik, an insecticide.

Bayer managers announced in January they planned to phase out production of MIC by the middle of next year. The move meant 220 jobs would be cut at the plant, in addition to 80 jobs at the company’s Woodbine, Ga. facility.

As a result of Friday’s announcement, company managers say the job cuts will happen sooner. However, the say the timeline is uncertain.

"The temporary restraining order that was put in place by the court was part of the overall picture that we're looking at with regards to timing of restart as well as being able to meet the needs of our customers," says Steve Hedrick, Bayer CropScience vice president.

The facility is in the midst of a government inspection by OSHA.

At the same time, a group of concerned citizens recently filed a lawsuit aimed at getting the company to stop producing MIC. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order while the issue was studied.

---

bm BS

Bhopal disaster

Burson-Marsteller represented Union Carbide Corporation, jointly responsible for the Bhopal disaster in 1984 that killed some 2,000 employees and nearby

neighbors and seriously injured thousands more.[22] The plant was a joint venture of Union Carbide Corporation, a long time B-M client, and the Indian

government. While originally operated by Union Carbide, it was taken over by local Indian management prior to the accidental discharge of a deadly gas used

in the manufacture of insecticides. Burson-Marsteller's first objective was establishing a mechanism that would be helpful to global media representatives in

transmitting news from a remote location in India to newspaper, TV and radio outlets. Two B-M executives were sent to Bhopal for this purpose and remained

there more than a month. This facilitated daily press conferences that reported on steps taken following the accident.

As a result of B-M's work, the Indian Supreme Court dropped all charges of manslaughter against Union Carbide, although safety mechanisms at the plant were

"appallingly inadequate." The company has now left India, leaving most of the responsibility with the Indian government.[23]EVIDENCE UNION CARBIDE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO SEE(For a side-by-side comprehensive comparison of all the studies conducted through 2013, please see this PDF, which provides a chart analysis of results and summary of each study’s findings.)<a href="http://www.bhopal.net/what-happened/contamination/evidence-carbide-doesnt-want/">http://www.bhopal.net/what-happened/contamination/evidence-carbide-doesnt-want/</a>Despite the overwhelming evidence, Union Carbide has never owned up to its role in the contamination of land surrounding the factory.
On Union Carbide’s website, www.bhopal.com, its PR firm claims that there isn’t sufficient evidence linking the UCC factory to the contamination just a few hundred meters away. In fact, UCC  prefers to pretend that the contamination doesn’t exist at all or that it might be caused by agricultural run-off. (Carbide’s excuse-making reminds us of their lies after the disaster too – see sabotage theory.)
To debunk Union Carbide’s incessant lies, ICJB has put together this comprehensive page examining the results of public and confidential studies conducted in and around the factory site. In the process, we demonstrate how UCC has continued to lie to avoid responsibility for its crimes, leading to thousands of more deaths and illnesses.
 1989 Union Carbide Begins TestsAlarmed by comment about contamination in the local press, Carbide hastily conducted its own private investigation. In 1989, Union Carbide management began the “Site Rehabilitation Project –Bhopal Plant,” which was shortly to become the “Bhopal Site Rehabilitation and Assets Recovery Project.” Internal documents on the project show that Union Carbide hired its appointed consultant, Arthur D Little (ADL), to be “Primarily Responsible For All Aspects of Site Rehabilitation Efforts” (UCC Internal Document 02271) and to find the cheapest possible method of site rehabilitation. (Previously, as UCC’s consultant directly after the disaster, ADL came up with the bogus Sabotage Theory to explain why the disaster occurred in the first place.) Though the record shows that the Indian government and the Madhya Pradesh state government cooperated fully with UCIL and UCC throughout their site remediation activities, further documents reveal that UCC attempted to actively conceal the existence, nature and scale of the developing problem of environmental contamination at the Bhopal site.
The key document, an internal Union Carbide study entitled the “Presence of Toxic Ingredients In Soil/Water Samples Inside Plant Premises,” gives a frightening insight into the cover-up perpetuated by Union Carbide. “The seriousness of the issue needs no elaboration. Samples drawn in June-July ’89 from land-fill areas and effluent treatment pits inside the plant were sent to R and D. They consisted nine soil/solid samples and eight liquid samples. The solid samples had organic contamination varying from 10% to 100% and contained known ingredients like napthol and naphthalene in substantial quantities. Majority of the liquid samples contained napthol and/or Sevin in quantities far more than permitted by ISI for onland disposal. All samples caused 100% mortality to fish in toxicity assessment studies and were to be diluted several fold to render them suitable for survival of fish.”
Nevertheless Carbide issued no public warning of the danger. An internal UCC memo referred to the need for secrecy, suggesting that the information should be kept “for our own understanding.” Not only did UCC fail to warn people living nearby, it vociferously denied that there was a problem and, incredibly, wrote to the Gas Relief Minister criticizing those who were trying to make people aware of the danger, suggesting the news reports were “mischievous attempts to cause panic.” Meanwhile in the USA, UCC tried to portray Bhopal activists and their supporters as “communists” who aimed “to restructure US society into something unrecognizable and probably unworkable.”
Carbide could argue that the gas disaster had been an accident, but deliberately withholding vital information while people are being poisoned is premeditated and wicked. It seems that Union Carbide learned nothing from the gas disaster, except that its “reckless and depraved indifference” would probably never be punished.
1990 BGIA StudyThe Bhopal Group for Information & Action (BGIA) is one of the groups on the ground in Bhopal representing survivors. In early 1990 BGIA contacted a government research center, including the State Research Laboratory of Bhopal, regarding analysis of soil and groundwater samples from the vicinity of the factory site. The BGIA was told that anything connected with Union Carbide was highly sensitive and required clearance from top officials. Analysis by independent agencies was pursued instead. ? In April 1990 BGIA sent sediment from the Solar Evaporation Ponds, soil samples taken from near the ponds, and community well water from the Jai Prakash Nagar neighborhood (which is located next to the factory) to the Citizen’s Environmental Laboratory, Boston (CEL). The following toxic materials were found in the sediment sample:
Waste Pond (parts per billion)Benzene, oxybis 7, 890Dichlorobenzenes 87,500Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons 2,340Phthalates 9,940Trichlorobenzenes 9,410Trimethyl Trianzintrione 24,4701-Napthalenol 59,090Additionally, Dichlorobenzenes and Trichlorobenzenes were found in the soil and water samples. Phthalates were also found in the soil.The issue of this contamination was raised at the 1990 Union Carbide AGM by Marco Kaloften of CEL.
 
1990 NEERI ReportNEERI, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute of Nagpur, was named as an “expert” member of a special Task Force convened by Madhya Pradesh politicians to work on the issue of contamination at the Bhopal plant site.In 1989 UCIL, at the approval of its consultant firm Arthur D Little (ADL), retained NEERI to conduct an official investigation of contamination at the site. The results, published in the 1990 report, titled “Assessment of pollution damage due to Solar Evaporation Ponds at UCIL,” seemed to find little significant contamination. But NEERI failed to identify at least nine chemicals that showed their presence as characteristic peaks in the High Performance Liquid Chromotography used on samples taken from the SEPs. The authors of the report concluded that the SEPs had not contaminated soil and groundwater, despite the caveat expressed on page 142: “There are a few organic compounds which could not be identified and hence the sediment [in the SEPs] cannot be ruled out to be non-hazardous.”In an internal memo never meant to be seen by the outside world, Carbide’s head of Health, Safety & Environmental Research at Danbury, Connecticut cautioned his colleagues about NEERI’s puzzling results, writing, “This [NEERI] study… seems to implicitly ‘clear’ the plant site itself. However, I would advise caution in using the NEERI data… we do not know the exact sample and analytical protocols used” (UCC Internal Document 02050). Union Carbide authorized a confidential ‘in-house’ investigation, the results of which were not shared with local authorities or made public at the time (they only came to light as a result of discovery in the New York lawsuit in 2002).But this did not stop Union Carbide from quoting the NEERI study later when defending itself against allegations regarding the contamination. The company has continuously used the 1990 NEERI report to assert that there was no danger.
“Union Carbide publicly cited a flawed study to mislead local residents and the [Madhya Pradesh State] government on the extent of the water and soil contamination”, Sathyu Sarangi of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) remarked. “But they hid their own studies from public view, because their own studies show that by 1989 the local water was already deadly.”
1995-1996 Toxic Dumping ContinuesIt is important to note that in all probability the dumping of toxic materials continued even after the factory ceased manufacturing. For example, it has been reported that in 1995 Ortho-dichlorobenzenes – likely used as a carrier for the pesticides manufactured at the plant – were poured by UCIL directly into the ground by the north perimeter wall. Residents of Atal Ayub Nagar attested that within a few weeks drinking water from the community tube wells became yellow and foul tasting.According to security working at the factory site, for a period of 3-4 months in 1995 fountains of chemical wastewater were being pumped into the SEPs. In 1996 management attempted to cover up the environmental damage caused by the SEPs: the toxic sludge was all dumped into one pond and covered over with farm soil, layers of polythene plastic, and finally a concrete cover. The two other ponds were leveled (during which their black polythene liners were ruptured). Now, soil has eroded around the concrete covers allowing the surrounding water to become contaminated with toxic material. Populous settlements have since sprung up around this area.
1991 & 1996 State Research Laboratory TestsIn 1991 and 1996 the Madhya Pradesh Public Health Engineering Department’s State Research Laboratory carried out confidential tests on local groundwater taken from 11 tube wells located in communities situated around the periphery of the factory (J P Nagar, Atal Ayub Nagar, Arif Nagar, Chhola and Kainchi Chhola). Both studies reported heavy contamination, though the tests did not attempt to identify specific contaminants.
On November 1996 the State Research Laboratory of the Madhya Pradesh Public Health and Engineering department completed its own report. Instead of being released, the report was filed under The Official Secrets Act. But in 1999, the memo from the November 1996 report was accidentally leaked.
Written by the Chief Chemist of State Research Laboratory, Bhopal, the memo confirms that Bhopal’s groundwater was contaminated. Excerpts from the memo:
“All samples were subjected to both bacteriological and chemical analysis. The results show that the ground water is contaminated with bacteria and there is a heavy presence of chemicals. Normally the COD [Chemical Oxygen Demand] value in ground water is zero but the samples tested here had COD values between 45 mg/l and 98 mg/l whereas, the WHO has fixed the standard value of C O D for natural water at 6 mg/l. The high values of COD found in the ground water establishes that large amounts of chemicals are dissolved in it.” High levels of CODs point to contamination with oxidisable material, probably organic chemical contamination.
The report also mentions that the results reflect those obtained in a similar 1991 investigation by the same agency: “Usually C O D cannot be brought down by commonly used techniques. When river water is contaminated with chemicals one has to wait for it to come down and this problem is controlled in a few days by dilution. With ground water such a solution is not possible hence, it will be proper to stop these sources. Water from tubewells in other parts of Bhopal were examined at this laboratory. However, chemical contamination was found only in these areas. The tubewells in these areas were tested five years back and at that time too the results showed chemical contamination. Hence, it is established that this pollution is due to chemicals used in the Union Carbide factory that have proven to be extremely harmful for health. Therefore the use of this water for drinking must be stopped immediately.” – Sd. Chief Chemist, Madhya Pradesh Public Health Engineering Dept., State Research Laboratory, Shyamla Hills, Bhopal
One can only guess as to why this important report was classified and not released to the public.
1997 NEERI ReportPeople living in the neighboring communities continued to protest, saying that their water tasted and smelled horrible and that people were getting very ill. By the mid-nineties, the state of Madhya Pradesh wanted to conduct another study of the Bhopal site.
By 1993 UCC had recognized that NEERI’s previous incompetence in 1990 was extremely valuable to the corporation’s interests in covering up the contamination. Carbide decided that, judging by its past performance, NEERI would again do a wonderful job. In internal documents, Carbide listed NEERI’s observed weaknesses in detail:
NEERI was not used to developing standards of contamination on its ownNEERI was found to ignore standard sampling proceduresNEERI was likely to recommend unrealistic standards of contamination without sufficient back-upNEERI had a tendency of playing it safe(UCC Internal Documents 02400 and 02401)
UCC also noted that, “It was noticed that State Pollution Control Board did not question the investigations and recommendations of NEERI. If the work is carried out by any other agency, the Board follows-up and examines the work critically and more so if UCIL is involved.” Therefore UCC’s strategy developed as such: “From the foregoing it is advisable to entrust the work to NEERI, but develop a strategy to minimize adverse effects of their weaknesses, with the help of expert advice and guidance of UCIL.” (UCC Internal Documents 02400 and 02401)
If you read between the lines it is clear that what UCC actually meant was that they would make full use of NEERI’s weaknesses and suggestibility. (For the whole Carbide discussion read UCC Internal Documents 02398, 02399, 02400, 02401, 02402.)
In 1994 the consultancy Arthur D. Little (ADL), acting on behalf of UCIL, retained NEERI again to assess soil and water contamination within the factory premises.
Important note: When first hired, ADL worked with the parent company UCC in Danbury. But in the final 1997 NEERI report all reference to UCC was omitted. Instead, ADL was to pretend that it had been working only with the subsidiary Union Carbide Indian Limited – UCIL. But a 1993 internal UCC memo revealed that the American Carbide executives were calling the shots, demonstrating once again that UCC knew about the contamination in Bhopal and played an active role in covering it up.see BM BS
The 1997 NEERI Executive Summary described the span of the below-ground dumping areas within the factory as at least 6.4 hectares, or 21% of the total site area. The NEERI report concluded that some 17 areas within the factory had been heavily contaminated, noting “high concentration of temik, sevin and lindane…in the entire Disposal Area – I” and in “55% of Disposal Area – II.” It found that the concentration of semivolatiles, including sevin, temik and alpha napthol, was very high at seven sites and moderately high at ten others. Tellingly, “the concentration of semivolatiles was observed to be higher at 60cm samples than 30cms in a few locations indicating the possibility of contamination even at higher depths.”
In spite of these significant findings, NEERI suggested that groundwater would be safe from contamination in the interim because, “In general the soil in the area is clayey soil…clayey soil is highly impermeable…ie. it would take 23 years for the contaminants to reach the ground water table provided the leachate does not find a channel to migrate at a faster rate.” (UCC Internal Documents 01100 and 01101)
Months earlier, in 1996, the State Research Laboratory report had found highly elevated levels of industrial chemicals in wells around the plant. Nevertheless, in NEERI’s report made the reckless claim that the groundwater is potable: “The water meets the drinking water quality criteria. This indicates that the contaminants have not reached the water table till now” (UCC Internal Document 01099). NEERI did recommend remedial measures for the highly contaminated areas and also noted the need to take soil samples at one meter of depth and deeper.
Arthur D Little’s Critique of the 1997 NEERI ReportWhen the first draft of the 1997 NEERI report was sent to Union Carbide, it was music to corporate ears. Though the report recognized that over 20% of the site area was heavily contaminated, it confidently gave the groundwater a clean bill of health.However, before being published, the Arthur D Little (ADL) consultancy firm reviewed the draft of the NEERI report. ADL’s task of reviewing the draft was no small feat. The criticisms in their private report to Carbide’s directors ran to seventeen pages, finding flaws right across the report’s spectrum. Most critically, ADL clearly advised against giving the water a clean bill of health: “While we agree that the ground water samples do not contain contamination, the sentence ‘The ground water appears to be suitable for drinking purposes’ is too strong given the limits of the data for the following reasons. First, there is only one round of ground water samples from these wells. Second, it is not known if contaminant migration will impact ground water in the near future. Finally, there is little information regarding the hygrogeology in the area.” p.13, ADL’s comments (UCC Internal Document 03043). ADL also suggested that NEERI had failed to find contamination because its sampling methods were flawed. ADL also pointed out that at one point it was unclear as to whether NEERI was claiming that laborers were or were not exposed to contaminated groundwater.Astonishingly, when NEERI published the final version of its report in 1997, the key data it used to support its (flawed, as was later proven) assertion that the groundwater was safe, was that the estimated migration time of the contaminants would be extremely slow – the key point that ADL had taken such strong issue with. NEERI wrote in its report that, “Statements concerning contaminant travel times to the aquifer below the site should be considered to be highly speculative. There is very little site-specific data that can be used to confidently predict infiltration rates.” Whereas page 2 of ADL’s criticisms says: “The conclusions regarding travel time to the water table may significantly underestimate the potential for ground water contamination…site-specific data from the report suggest that travel times could be significantly faster than assumed. For example, Table 5.33 indicates the majority of the stratigraphy above the water table consists of sandy soil and sandstone bedrock. Clay is only present to a depth of 6.1 metres… As an example, one can argue that the worst case scenario travel time would be 2 years, assuming the following…” pgs.12-13, comments (UCC Internal Documents 03042- 03043).All of ADL’s suggested changes to the NEERI report were for naught – the ADL analysis was never made public and none of the suggested changes were incorporated into NEERI’s 1997 published report. Indian agencies, Union Carbide, and now Dow Chemical have often cited the 1997 NEERI report in their repeated denial of contamination problems at the Bhopal site.
In Summation:The 1997 NEERI Report? concluded that water outside the factory was not contaminated. Carbide Consultant Arthur D Little (ADL) found the report to be deeply flawed, yet Union Carbide and Dow Chemical continue to quote this report in spite of the facts.ADL suggested that NEERI failed to find contamination because its sampling methods were flawed.ADL suggested it was irresponsible to claim that local water was safe for drinking.ADL warned that groundwater contamination could happen far more swiftly and seriously than envisaged.ADL wrote 17 pages of suggested changes, but NEERI did not incorporate any of them. Not one.
NEERI: Bumbling Idiot or Cunning Corporate Stooge?NEERI’s role has been, to speak generously, one of unparalleled incompetence. Either that, or it has played the principal part in a decades-long cover-up and has willfully sacrificed tens of thousands of men, women and children to daily exposure to lethal chemicals.
The 1990 and 1997 NEERI reports reveals not just incompetence but something far murkier. Both the MP State government and Union Carbide have consistently used the NEERI reports to deny what has now been proven – that the lethal contamination of the ground water which supplies the drinking wells of 20,000 Bhopalis has anything to do with Union Carbide’s factory. Questions regarding the less-than-clear relationships that existed between Carbide, the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board, which hired NEERI, and the-then senior ministers of Madhya Pradesh, who allowed this to happen, remain.
The Union Carbide Corporation, despite knowing the specific and damning criticisms of the 1997 NEERI report made by its consultant Arthur D Little, stated during proceedings in the US lawsuit concerning contamination that, “there was no groundwater contamination outside the plant” due to the “relative impermeability of the soil in and around the plant.” (Def. St. at ¶ 6; Ex. A to the Krohley Declaration.)
Who took the decision to leave the 1997 report unchanged in the face of such fundamental criticisms and why? What was NEERI’s relationship with Union Carbide’s agent in Bhopal, Arthur D Little? What was the nature of NEERI’s relationship with departments of the Madhya Pradesh government?
Union Carbide’s unreliability as a witness has been demonstrated often enough that it requires no further comment, but the honesty and motives of NEERI should continue to be questioned. Large questions hang over the organization’s integrity due to its contamination assessment of the site. There is no doubt that NEERI’s damning report, which stalled efforts to get clean water to contaminated area, has led to further loss of life and the permanent health damage of thousands more.
1999 Greenpeace ReportOn November 15, 1999, Greenpeace International published a report entitled “The Bhopal Legacy” (The Bhopal Legacy, Greenpeace Research Laboratories, University of Exeter, Nov. ’99), which included the results of testing conducted on samples of soil/waste from seven locations and samples of groundwater from twelve sites in and around the factory. The testing was conducted with the help of the laboratories and technical experts at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. This report provided the first public and scientifically reliable evidence of massive and spreading groundwater contamination emanating from the Bhopal plant. The findings led Greenpeace to declare the site a “global toxic hotspot.”Greenpeace collected 33 samples of soil and 22 samples of groundwater from in and around the factory site. It found heavy concentrations of carcinogenic chemicals and heavy metals like mercury. Mercury was found at between 20,000 to 6 million times the expected levels – “Sample IT9012, collected from a drain directly beneath the plant, contained free mercury at 12% of the overall weight of the sample (between 20,000 and 6 million times higher than might be expected as background).”
Elemental mercury was discovered to be widely distributed across the plant premises. (Mercury was originally used in the Sevin plant as a sealant in the pan filters, but this doesn’t explain its dispersal over such a large area.) Twelve volatile organic compounds (VOCs), most of them greatly exceeding WHO and EPA standard limits, were found to have seeped into local tube wells, which supplied water to more than 20,000 people in the immediate area.
The investigation demonstrated, “extensive and, in some cases, severe chemical contamination of the environment surrounding the former Union Carbide plant. As a result of the ubiquitous presence of contaminants, the exposure of the communities surrounding the plants to complex mixtures of hazardous chemicals continues on a daily basis…long-term chronic exposure to mixtures of toxic synthetic chemicals and heavy metals is also likely to have serious consequences for the health and survival of the local population.” Three water wells in the Atul Ayub Nagar community, northeast of the plant, were found to have the most severe contamination, containing chemicals known to produce cancer and genetic defects. This can partly be explained due to the movement of groundwater being in a northeasterly direction (NEERI, 1990). Other wells to the south of the plant, though not as severely contaminated, also showed elevated levels of toxic chemicals.
Greenpeace emphasized the need for an internationally verified survey and decontamination program for the factory and the surrounding area.
In summary the 1999 Greenpeace analysis found:
Chemical compound No. of times greaterthan US EPA limits (1) Potential effects on health1, 2-Dichlorobenzene 5 Reported effects include leukemia, liver and kidney damage and chromosomal aberrations1, 4-Dichlorobenzene 11Tetrachloroethene 9 Exposure to very high concentrations can cause dizziness, headaches, sleepiness, confusion, nausea, difficulty in speaking and walking, and unconsciousness This compound is classified as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” by the US Department of Health and Human services (US DHHS). Exposure to tetrachloroethene-contaminated drinking water has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of leukemia and bladder cancerTrichloroethene 50 Drinking large amounts of trichloroethylene may cause nausea, liver and kidney damage, convulsions, impaired heart function, coma, or death. Drinking small amounts of trichloroethylene for long periods may cause liver and kidney damage, nervous system effects, impaired immune system function and impaired foetal development in pregnant women, although the extent of some of these effects is not yet clear.Chloroform (2) 26 -32 Chloroform is classified as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” by the US Department of Health and Human services (US DHHS). The US EPA lists liver, kidney or central nervous system problems and an increased risk of cancer for trihalomethanes, as a group of chemicals of which chloroform is part.Carbon tetrachloride 682 “Reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” by the US Department of Health and Human services (US DHHS). High exposure can cause liver, kidney and central nervous system damage, including the brain. Causes headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. In severe cases coma and even death can occur. (1) EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs or primary standards), legally enforceable standards that apply to public water systems.(2) The value for chloroform is actually for a group of compounds called trihalomethanes, of which chloroform is one. There are four contaminants included in this group: chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane and bromoform. No other trihalomethanes were detected in any of the samples analyzed in 1999, nor in the sample analaysed in 2001. From 1st January 2002, the EPA level for trihalomethanes  changed from 100 ug/l to 80 ug/l.
Water samples from five locations contained a range of volatile and semi-volatile organochlorines.Volatile organochlorine compounds (VOCs), including chloroform (ranging from 0.1 to 2.59 mg/l respectively), carbon tetrachloride (range: 0.2 to 3.4 mg/l) and tetrachlorethene were found in groundwater collected from three wells close to the northern boundary of the former Union Carbide plant. Chloroform and carbon tetrachloride were both used as solvents in the Sevin manufacturing process. Despite warning signs not to drink the water, these wells remained accessible and in continued use by the local residents.Chlorobenzenes were also detectable in the groundwater. One sample adjacent to the northern plant boundary contained over 2.8 mg/l of 1,2-dichlorobenzene.Trichlorobenzenes, rarely reported in drinking water at levels in excess of 1 ug/l were found in four samples, the highest concentrations being 0.145 mg/l.In 2001 Greenpeace conducted further water tests, which reaffirmed the presence of chlorinated benzenes (1,2-dichlorobenzene, 1,3, dichlorobenzene and 1,4-dichlorobenzene), chloroform, trichloroethene and carbon tetrachloride (tetra chloromethane) in water wells being used by the communities. While no trichlorobenzenes were found in 2001, this is probably due to the monsoon diluting contaminates.
2002 Fact Finding Mission on BhopalIn 2002, the Fact Finding Mission on Bhopal (FFMB), led by Delhi-based environmental organization Shristi, conducted a study which found that many of Union Carbide’s most dangerous toxins – including lead, mercury and organochlorines such as 1,3,5 Trichlorobenzene, dichloromethane, and chloroform – can now be found in the breast milk of mothers living around the factory. Report after report has corroborated the extent and seriousness of this contamination. In its report, entitled “Surviving Bhopal 2002: Toxic Present Toxic Future,” published in January 2002, FFMB states that, “the groundwater, vegetables and even breast milk is contaminated to various degrees by heavy metals like nickel, chromium, mercury and lead, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like dichlorobenzene and halo-organics like dichloromethane and chloroform.”
The report highlighted the fact that the chemicals found in the samples can have a long-term impact on the reproductive, immune and nervous system through bio-accumulation, with potential effects including carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and chromosomal aberrations. Human breast milk samples showed maximum concentrations of Volatile Organic Chemicals and a higher concentration of pesticide in breast milk, allowing the shortest route of exposure to infants who are most vulnerable to these kinds of carcinogens. This report was the first to definitively demonstrate how the negligent actions of Union Carbide are being passed on to future generations at an exponential rate.
Other Mid-2000s ReportsIn September 2002, a report by The People’s Science Institute, Dehra Dun, found mercury in groundwater sources near the plant. Mercury levels were found to be twice as high as the one microgram per liter permitted by the WHO.
Between April 2003 and January 2004 the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) conducted four separate groundwater tests at ten community locations. With some consistency, “The pesticides Lindane, Endosulfan i- ii, Heptachlor, Aldrin, Dialdrin, BHC, Endrin and 4,4 DDT were detected in some of the samples” along with the halogenated hydrocarbon Trichlorobenzene. The reports came to light through submissions made in the Supreme Court of India.
2009 Centre for Science and Environment ReportJust before the 25th anniversary of the gas disaster, new evidence came to light showing that the problem is getting worse. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a non-governmental organization based in New Delhi, conducted a very comprehensive testing of the site, the report of which is available here as a PDF.Water from a hand pump in Atal Ayub Nagar, which had been found to be dangerously contaminated with carbon tetrachloride in 1999, was tested again in 2009, at which time it was discovered that the level of carbon tetrachloride had increased sevenfold.
2010 NEERI & NGRI ReportsDespite NEERI’s abysmal track record, it conducted a third test on the contamination in 2010. For a detailed technical review of these reports, please download this PDF document.Bopal: The Biggest Crime You've Never Heard Ofby Mark HertsgaardDragonfly Media, Dec 01, 2004On the night her world changed forever, Rashida Bee was 28 years old and had already been married for more than half her life. Her parents, traditional Muslims, had selected her husband for her when she was 13. He worked as a tailor, and they lived together in her parents' modest home in the industrial city of Bhopal, in central India. Bee didn't learn to read or write, and she ventured out of the house only when escorted by a male relative. It was nevertheless a full life; her extended family of siblings, nieces and nephews numbered 37 in all.The fateful night came on a Sunday. Bee and her family had gone to bed after sharing a simple supper. But shortly after midnight, in the early hours of Dec. 3, 1984, Bee was awakened by the sound of violent coughing. It was coming from the children's room.They said they felt like they were being choked, Bee later told the online environmental magazine Grist, and we [adults] felt that way too. One of the children opened the door and a cloud came inside. We all started coughing violently, as if our lungs were on fire.From out on the street came the sound of shouting. In the light of a streetlamp, Bee saw crowds of shadowy figures running past the house. Run, they yelled. A warehouse of red chiles is on fire. Run!A few blocks away, a woman who would later become a dear friend of Bee's was also running for her life. Champa Devi Shukla, a 32-year-old Hindu, lived down the street from the pesticide factory owned by Union Carbide. She knew better than to believe the rumors about a warehouse fire.We knew this smell, because Union Carbide often used to release these gases from the factory late at night, Shukla later told me. But this time it went on longer and stronger.Shukla was right. An explosion inside the Union Carbide factory had sent 27 tons of methyl isocyanate gas wafting over the shantytowns of Bhopal. The panic was so great, said Shukla, that as people ran, mothers were leaving their children behind to escape the gas.In the pandemonium, Bee too was separated from most of her family. She found herself running with her husband and father, but they didn't get far.Our eyes were so swollen that we could not open them, she recalled. After running half a kilometer we had to rest. We were too breathless to run, and my father had started vomiting blood, so we sat down.The scene around them was apocalyptic. There were corpses everywhere, many of them children. Those people still alive were bent over double or splayed on the ground, retching uncontrollably or frothing at the mouth. Some had lost control of their bowels, feces streamed down their legs.Exactly how many people died that night will never be known; many corpses were disposed of in emergency mass burials or cremations without documentation. Bee remembers that as she searched for family members in the following days, I had to look at thousands of dead bodies to find out if they were among the dead.Perhaps the most extraordinary fact about Bhopal is that no one has faced trial for what happened that night. Even though Union Carbide's own safety experts had warned two years before of a serious potential for sizable releases of toxic materials, the managers of the Bhopal factory had no system in place to warn and evacuate residents in the event of emergency. Indian government officials likewise failed to insist upon such basic precautions. And as thousands of survivors streamed into local hospitals that night, Union Carbide spokesmen actively denied that methyl isocyanate was poisonous, calling it nothing more than a potent tear gas.Despite all this, corporate officials have never answered in a court of law for their actions. Such an evasion of legal accountability would be inconceivable if the disaster had occurred in the United States or Europe. Had the victims been affluent westerners rather than impoverished Indians, they would have had their day in court long ago.India's courts have tried to pursue justice for Bhopal, but they have been thwarted. In 1991, an Indian court ordered Union Carbide officials, including Warren Anderson, the CEO at the time of the disaster, to face criminal charges. After Anderson and the other defendants failed to appear, India's Supreme Court named them proclaimed absconders — that is, fugitives from justice — and pressed for their extradition. After sitting on the extradition request for years, the U.S. State Department refused it without explanation in September 2004.Bhopal survivors, however, have never stopped pressing their demands for a proper trial, appropriate compensation for victims, and sufficient medical, economic and environmental rehabilitation for survivors. And in this 20th anniversary year of their struggle, they have gained new allies. In April, Bee and Shukla won the Goldman Prize, the biggest environmental award given in the United States. This week, Amnesty International has endorsed Bhopal activists' demands in a report launching Amnesty's first major campaign targeting a corporation for allegedly violating the human right to a healthy environment.Amnesty's report, Clouds of Injustice, estimates that 7,000 to 10,000 people died in the first three days of the Bhopal disaster and 15,000 more have died in the years since. Another 100,000 continue to suffer chronic, largely untreatable diseases of the lungs, eyes and blood. Meanwhile, a new generation in Bhopal endures an epidemic of infertility and grotesque birth defects, including missing palates and fingers growing out of shoulders, in part because of continuing contamination of the groundwater.Bhopal thus ranks as the single deadliest industrial disaster of the modern environmental era. With a death toll of 22,000, it has killed more people than the Chernobyl nuclear disaster did. And its victims are still dying today, 20 years later.Each Dec. 3, on the anniversary of the disaster, Bee and Shukla join other marchers who parade an effigy of Warren Anderson through the streets of Bhopal and burn it. Bee and Shukla continue to hold Anderson, now 83 and retired, personally responsible for the Bhopal disaster, which they insist on labeling a crime rather than an accident.It was Anderson's criminal negligence and insistence on cost-cutting that led to the disaster, Shukla says.Internal Union Carbide documents, released in the 1990s during the discovery phase of a civil lawsuit against the company, seem to support Shukla's contention. A 1973 document, signed by Anderson himself, notes that the technology that would be used in the Bhopal factory was unproven. A safety review conducted by Union Carbide experts in 1982 warned of a serious potential for sizable releases of toxic materials at the factory.John Musser, a company spokesman, confirmed the existence of the 1982 study but asserted, None of the issues [it] raised would have had an impact on the fatal gas leak and all of the issues had been addressed by the plant well before the December 1984 disaster. The real culprit, the company insists, was sabotage.Warren Anderson now appears to be living the life of a wealthy recluse, with luxury homes in Bridgehampton, Manhattan and Vero Beach, Florida. Company officials declined to provide contact information for him for the purposes of this article. But when Bee and Shukla were touring the United States last spring after winning the Goldman Prize, they considered trying to find Anderson and confront him face to face.We don't want him hanged or anything, said Champa. But he has to understand what it means to be cut off from one's family, what it is to suffer alone.If we see him, added Rashida, we will ask: 'If you are innocent, why are you hiding and not answering questions about what happened in Bhopal?Both Bee and Shukla lost loved ones in the disaster. Seven members of Bee's extended family have died, and her husband was left too ill to continue his work as a tailor. Shukla lost her husband and two sons. A daughter later suffered three miscarriages, a grandson died and a granddaughter was born with a cleft lip and a missing palate.The gas disaster was sudden, one night, but the last 20 years have also been miserable, Shukla says. People still have pain and breathlessness, and now we are seeing cancers too. There is mental and physical retardation among children. Many women are sterile or never begin menstruating, so men don't want to marry them. A 2002 study commissioned by Greenpeace International but conducted by independent scientists concluded that Bhopal's groundwater contains heavy metals and levels of mercury millions of times higher than recommended. (Spokesman Musser disputes these conclusions, citing studies in the late 1990s by government agencies in India.)One bright spot has been the founding of the Sambhavna Trust Clinic to treat survivors of the disaster. Its name translates from the Hindi as The Compassion Trust Clinic, for it was founded in the belief that compassion can create hope from despair. Since opening its doors half a kilometer from the blast site in 1996, the clinic has treated thousands of Bhopal victims by combining the best of both eastern and western health care.The staff biochemist, for example, doubles as a yoga teacher. Yoga is central to the clinic's approach, as is Ayurvedic herbal medicine. Patients pay nothing for treatment, even though they get far more care than at the crowded public hospitals India's poor usually visit. First-time patients at Sambhavna have broken down in tears, the clinic's Web site reports, because in 15 years no doctor had ever listened to their chests ... or taken their pulse ... during examination.Yoga therapies have produced some of the most remarkable results. Chronic respiratory disorders are Bhopal gas victims' most prevalent complaint. But a two-year study Sambhavna conducted indicates that regular yoga produces significant improvement in lung function; more than half of all yoga patients were able to stop taking pharmaceutical drugs against breathlessness.The clinic's staff includes community health workers who go door to door to monitor public health in Bhopal — a key task since official monitoring stopped in 1994. These surveys aid doctors by showing which diseases are increasing. More broadly, the surveys prove that, 20 years later, locals continue to fall sick and die in large numbers.Sambhavna's holistic approach sees both illness and healing in social context. The clinic thus insists that the long-term solution to disasters like Bhopal is to eliminate hazardous chemicals from the environment altogether. Until then, exemplary punishment of corporate polluters is essential — not only to achieving justice for Bhopal but to preventing future Bhopals elsewhere.Along with activists from around the world, Bee and Shukla are seizing upon the 20th anniversary of the disaster this week to launch a renewed campaign for justice in Bhopal and, more broadly, to demand meaningful international regulation of toxic substances and the corporations that produce them. The website of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, lists numerous planned actions and media events.The most important development is the addition of Amnesty International to the campaign for justice in Bhopal. The human rights group's reputation for fearless evenhandedness lends extra weight to the conclusions its Clouds of Injustice report. The report charges Union Carbide with serious failures at Bhopal, including ignoring overwhelming evidence of safety problems before the disaster, withholding information from doctors and investigators, and trying to avoid its legal and financial responsibilities for the disaster by shifting corporate ownership and dodging court dates.The legal case against Union Carbide is complicated by the fact that Dow Chemical purchased all shares of Union Carbide in 2001. Dow, however, denies any legal responsibility for Carbide's past actions. Dow remains firm in its position that in acquiring the shares of Union Carbide it acquired no new liability, says spokesman John Musser.This novel legal theory — since when can one company buy another company's assets but not its liabilities? — may soon be tested. Nitynand Jayaraman of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal says that activists plan to press the Indian government to include Dow Chemical in the outstanding criminal case against Union Carbide; the government could then attach Dow's assets if it refuses to appear in court. Gary Cohen, the director of the Environmental Health Fund in Washington, says, Dow wants to expand in India, and we're going to make that very difficult, by raising questions about the trustworthiness of a corporation that refuses to heed a court summons.Amnesty International urges that Dow Chemical, as Union Carbide's new corporate parent, take a series of actions to make amends. Those actions include: paying for a full clean up of the Bhopal site and its contaminated groundwater, standing trial as requested in India and paying full economic, medical and environmental reparations to the victims. More broadly, Amnesty echoes the activists' call for tougher regulation of chemical production, especially within impoverished communities and countries. Clouds of Injustice proposes that the United Nations adopt an international human rights framework that can be applied to companies directly to ensure transparency and public participation in... the operation of industries using hazardous materials.A further complication to this case is that Union Carbide did pay $470 million to the government of India in 1989 to settle all claims related to Bhopal. But there is much less to that settlement than meets the eye.The $470 million figure was based on now-discredited estimates that only 3,000 people died at Bhopal; the actual death toll is at least seven times that many. What's more, says Bee, Carbide made that settlement with the government, not with the people affected. We don't accept it. And $330 million of the settlement money has been tied up in legal wrangling instead of reaching victims. When India's Supreme Court ordered in July that the $330 million be distributed forthwith, activists appealed the ruling, arguing that victims deserve four times that much.Independent experts, including authors Arun Subramaniam and Ward Morehouse in their book The Bhopal Tragedy, have estimated the total damages of the disaster — including health care for survivors, compensation for families left without breadwinners and restoration of local ecosystems — at anywhere from $1.3 billion to $4 billion. Activists have filed a civil suit in the United States in an effort to force Dow Chemical to pay that compensation.Whatever the exact amount that is owed, it's clear that the people of Bhopal have been terribly mistreated. First they were left defenseless against a horrific but predictable disaster; then they were given a legal run-around for 20 years instead of just compensation for their suffering. There are many shades of gray in life, but sometimes the truth is black and white: it is shameful for Dow/Union Carbide to keep ducking its obligations in Bhopal and shameful for the U.S. State Department to help it do so. Doing the right thing — standing trial and facing a court's judgment — may cost Dow/Union Carbide financially, but continuing to stonewall could blacken the company's reputation forever.<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130524224842/http://www.markhertsgaard.com/articles/165">https://web.archive.org/web/20130524224842/http://www.markhertsgaard.com/articles/165</a>

</div>