Bhopal industrial incident

Bhopal industrial incident

Country: India.

Kill tally: About 22,000 killed as a result of the world's worst ever industrial incident at Bhopal, India, in December 1984. At least 100,000 more incapacitated by chronic illnesses caused by the incident.

Background: Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) is established in 1934. The company is 60% owned by the United States-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), one of the largest chemical companies in the world. UCIL reports to Union Carbide Eastern (UCE), a wholly owned subsidiary of UCC based in Hong Kong but incorporated in Delaware, US. UCE in turn reports to the UCC headquarters in, Danbury, Connecticut.

By 1983 UCIL will employ about 9,000 people at 14 plants and produce a diverse range of products including pesticides, chemicals, batteries and industrial carbon.

The lead-up: In 1967 the Indian Government designates the agricultural pesticide Sevin as an "essential insecticide" and asks UCIL to produce the chemical locally.

1969 - UCIL commissions a chemical plant at Bhopal, the capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh, in the centre of India. The plant initially formulates pesticides from concentrates imported from the US.

Two adjoining sites totalling 40 hectares are leased for 99 years at a "peppercorn" rent from the Madhya Pradesh Government for the factory. Both sites are located close to pre-existing settlements. A shanty town soon grows right up to the plant fences.

1973 - India amends the Foreign Exchange and Regulation Act to restrict foreign investment in Indian-based companies to 40% unless special circumstances apply.

Achieving self-sufficiency in the production of the "essential insecticide" Sevin is considered to be such a special circumstance and UCC is allowed to retain a controlling interest of 50.99% in UCIL when it agrees to upgrade the formulation plant at Bhopal into a full-scale chemical manufacturing plant using imported technology.

The plant will produce the key intermediary methyl isocyanate (MIC) then react it with the chemical alpha-naphtha to form Sevin. At the time the technique is being used in only one other location in the world, at a UCC chemical plant in Institute, West Virginia, US.

According to UCC's 'Reactive and Hazardous Chemicals Manual', "methyl isocyanate is a recognised poison by inhalation and is intensely irritating to breathe. It causes severe bronchospasm and asthma-like breathing. Major residual injury is likely in spite of prompt treatment."

The chemical reacts violently with water.

While the UCC plant at Institute, West Virginia, only produces and stores small quantities of MIC on an as needs basis, MIC will be stored in bulk at the Bhopal plant in two underground, 57,000 litre tanks, named tank 610 and tank 611. A third tank, 619, is to act as a backup.

On the night of the disaster, tank 610 will contain 41 tonnes of MIC.

According to memo from UCE dated 2 December 1973, "By (Indian) Government requirement all possible work in engineering and construction will be done in India with UCIL assuming an overall responsibility for implementation of the project. To the extent feasible UCC will provide the necessary technology and process design and will review any technology and design developed outside UCC. In addition to responsibility for these activities, UCC has also agreed to start up support and training outlined in the proposal."

A UCIL project proposal of the same date outlines some of the "risks" associated with the technology to be used in project:

"The comparative risk of poor performance and of consequent need for further investment to correct it is considerably higher in the UCIL operation then it would be had proven technology been followed throughout. CO and 1-Naphthol process have not been tried commercially and even the MIC-to-Sevin process, as developed by UCC, has had only a limited trial run. Furthermore, while similar waste streams have been handled elsewhere, this particular combination of materials to be disposed of is new and, accordingly, affords further chance for difficulty. In short, it can be expected that there will be interruptions in operations and delays in reaching capacity or product quality that might have been avoided by adoption of proven technology.

"UCIL finds the business risk in the proposed mode of operation acceptable, however, in view of the desired long term objectives of minimum capital and foreign exchange expenditures. As long as UCIL is diligent in pursuing solutions, it is their feeling any shortfalls can be mitigated by imports. UCC concurs."

The designs for the key manufacturing units are to be sourced directly from UCC, including the plans for three critical safety systems that will fail during the Bhopal disaster - the vent gas scrubber, the flare tower and the water spray system.

According to a UCC memo released in 1986 no design changes are made without the concurrence of UCC engineers in the US.

Safety audits at the Bhopal plant will also be performed by UCC engineers.

1979 - Work begins on the construction of the manufacturing plant.

1980 - The plant is commissioned in February. MIC is now being produced on-site.

1981 - At the end of December a phosgene leak at the plant injures three workers, one of who dies the next day. UCC promises that improvements "will receive close attention by the management committee in New York".

1982 - In January 24 workers at the plant are overcome by a second phosgene leak.

In February a MIC leak affects 18 people.

In May a three-man safety audit team from UCC headquarters in the US finds "a total of 61 hazards, 30 of them major and 11 of them in the dangerous phosgene/methyl isocyanate units," at the Bhopal plant.

Among the major concerns identified by the team are:

"Potentials for release of toxic materials in the phosgene/MIC unit and storage areas, either due to equipment failure, operating problems, or maintenance problems.

"Lack of fixed water spray protection in several areas of the plant. ...

"Deficiencies in safety valve and instrument maintenance program. ...

"Problems created by high personnel turnover at the plant, particularly in operations."

The safety audit also states that "the housekeeping in and around the entire area was found to be poor. The naphthol spillage is difficult to control but the general pile of old and oily drums, old pipe, pools of oil on ground, etc., create unnecessary fire and access problems in the area."

According to UCC all the problems identified in the report are subsequently addressed.

Amnesty International will later find that there was "no evidence of an effective instrument maintenance program" at the plant and that the safety valve testing program was "largely ineffective" with "no proper records (being) maintained of reviews of instruments, valves and alarm systems, etc.."

Amnesty also finds that the plant had no emergency scrubbers to neutralise any MIC leak; there was no computerised monitoring of instruments and processes; the MIC tank cooling system used brine, which is highly reactive with MIC; and there was no emergency plan to inform authorities and nearby communities of an accident.

In August a chemical engineer at Bhopal receives burns to over 30% of his body after coming into contact with liquid MIC. In October a combined MIC, hydrochloric acid and chloroform leak injures three workers in the plant and affects a number of residents in the surrounding neighbourhoods.

1983 - The pressure indicator control, temperature indicator and the level indicator for the MIC storage tanks begin to malfunction. They are still malfunctioning on 2 December 1984.

1984 - In June the refrigeration unit used to cool the MIC tanks is shut down as a cost-cutting measure.

The same month an article titled 'Bhopal: On the brink of a disaster' is published in the Indian newspaper 'Jansatta'.

Staff cutbacks affect the MIC facility. The production crew is cut by half from 12 to six workers. The maintenance crew is reduced from six to two workers. In the control room one operator monitors about 70 panels, indicators and controllers. The period of safety training for workers in the MIC unit is brought down from six months to 15 days.

In August 1984 the general secretary of the Union Carbide Karamchari Sangh (Workers' Union), a union of the Bhopal plant workers, writes to the works manager of the Bhopal plant raising concerns about air and noise pollution and workers' exposure to hazardous substances. "We have complained so many times against the rising pollution of air and noise in different departments of our factory but we are disappointed that ... it is increasing day by day in an uncontrolled manner," the letter says.

On 11 September UCC's safety and health inspectors warn of the potential of a disastrous accident at company's plant at Institute, West Virginia, saying that "a runaway reaction could occur in one of the MIC unit storage tanks and that response to such a situation would not be timely or effective enough to prevent catastrophic failure of the tank."

In October the vent gas scrubber connected to tank 610 at the Bhopal plant begins to malfunction. The caustic flow indicator on the scrubber is also malfunctioning, making it difficult to verify whether the unit is operating or not.

Also in October the flare tower goes out of service when a section of corroded pipe leading to it is removed. On the night of the disaster the pipe has still not been replaced.

In the middle of October the MIC production unit is temporarily shut down because a large amount of the chemical is already in storage in tanks 610 and 611.

On 26 November the position of second shift maintenance supervisor for the MIC unit is abolished.

The incident: In the hours before midnight on 2 December 1984 water enters MIC storage tank 610. A runaway reaction occurs that releases tonnes of toxic, white, MIC gas.

According to UCC, staff at the plant do not realise the magnitude of the gas leak until shortly after midnight on 3 December.

Attempts to control the leak fail due to either the breakdown of safety systems or because the systems are overwhelmed by the amount of the gas released. Tank 610 cannot be cooled and the reaction slowed because the tank's refrigeration system has been taken out of commission as a cost-cutting measure.

The gas is not diverted to a neighbouring tank because a faulty pressure gauge indicates the tank is full when it is really empty.

The gas scrubber connected to the tank is ineffective because it is either faulty or overwhelmed by the volume of gas.

The gas cannot be burnt off through a flare tower because the supply pipe to the tower has been removed and not replaced.

It is now too late and the reaction is too intense to dampen the gas with water.

The gas vents directly to the atmosphere and begins to settle over the surrounding shanty towns and neighbourhoods. The gas will eventually cover an area of about 20 square kilometres.

At 2 a.m. UCIL informs the authorities of the leak. The siren at the plant used to warn the public of an accident is sounded at about the same time. Police are not informed about the type of gas involved until 3 a.m..

Residents have no idea of the best response to the disaster. Instead of remaining indoors they attempt to flee through the toxic fog.

At least 500,000 people will be directly exposed to the gas. About 2,500 will be killed immediately. The gas causes their lungs to ulcerate and swell with fluid. Thousands more will die within the coming days and more than 200,000 will be injured.

In February 1989 the Indian Government will estimate that 3,000 died as a result of the incident; that 30,000 sustained permanent or total disabilities and 20,000 temporary or partial disabilities; and that 2,000 were affected by serious injuries and 50,000 by minor injuries.

In 1990 the Madhya Pradesh State Government will find that 3,828 died as a direct result of the disaster and that several thousand others experienced permanent or partial disabilities.

At 1 December 1999 the Office of the Indian Medical Commissioner will have registered 22,149 fatalities directly attributable to the disaster.

By the end of the year 2000 533,360 compensation payments will have been made for injuries sustained during the disaster. 14,410 compensation payments for deaths due to the disaster will have also been made.

In 2003 the annual report of the Madhya Pradesh Gas Relief and Rehabilitation Department will list 15,248 people as having died as a result of the gas leak. The report will also say that as at October 2003, 554,895 compensation claims for varying degrees of injuries or disability had been medically assessed and approved.

Twenty years after the incident Amnesty International will report that "more than 7,000 people died within days. A further 15,000 died in the following years. Around 100,000 people are suffering chronic and debilitating illnesses for which treatment is largely ineffective."

Among these chronic illness and severe disabilities Amnesty will list eye disease, respiratory disorders, immune system impairment, neuromuscular disorders, neurological disorders, gynaecological disorders, miscarriages, mental health problems, and cancer.

In the immediate aftermath of the leak Bhopal hospitals treat at least 130,000 patients exposed to the gas. Over 44,000 victims are treated elsewhere in the state.

According to a report on the disaster published by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in December 1986, "Within hours all the hospitals of Bhopal were full of poison gas-stricken victims. Doctors, medical students and volunteers worked round the clock but in the absence of any open toxicological information about MIC, only symptomatic treatment could be provided. ... A trail of both short-term and long-term problems ensued. ... No one knew for certain what gases had been released from the Union Carbide facility. ... The Union Carbide management was completely silent on this and did not even say what toxic gases had been released from their facility or what antidotes could help."

The cause: There are two main explanations for how water came to be introduced in tank 610.

One explanation claims that because of an oversight during the unsupervised flushing of pipes in the plant water was unable to drain off safely and instead rose to a relief valve then flowed down through leaking valves into the tank.

However, an investigation by UCC finds that it would have been physically impossible for the water to rise to the height necessary to reach the relief valve. The investigation also finds that there were no abnormal residues of water in the pipes through which the water would have had to flow.

According to the UCC investigation the disaster was the result of a deliberate act of industrial sabotage by a disgruntled employee. The investigation claims that during a shift change beginning at 10:45 p.m. on 2 December the unnamed employee connected a water hose directly to tank 610 through a fitting for the tank's local pressure gauge. The investigation alleges that following the disaster staff at the plant deliberately covered up the sabotage and falsified records.

UCC has never released the name of the alleged saboteur but says it knows who the person is and has passed the information to the Indian Government.

A report by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, and General Workers Unions (ICEF) concludes that "the disaster was caused by insufficient attention to safety in the process design, dangerous operating procedures, lack of proper maintenance, faulty equipment, and deep cuts in manning levels, crew sizes, worker training and skilled supervision."

"The operating and maintenance errors which led to the MIC release were made by management of the Bhopal plant and Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL)," the report says.

"However, responsibility for the disaster also rests with UCIL's parent multinational, the US-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC). UCC insisted on a process design requiring large MIC storage tanks. ... In addition a 1982 corporate inspection report demonstrates that UCC knew the Bhopal plant had major safety problems. But the company did not take sufficient action to correct them. ...

"The Bhopal disaster was caused by a combination of factors, including the long term storage of MIC in the plant, the potentially undersized vent gas scrubber, the shut-down of the MIC refrigeration units, the use of the backup tank to store contaminated MIC, the company's failure to repair the flare tower, leaking valves, broken gauges, and cuts in manning levels, crew sizes, workers training, and skilled supervision. The accident might have been prevented if UCC had done more to follow up its 1982 safety inspection, or if UCIL or the government had heeded the complaints of unions representing Bhopal workers. The effects of the accident were exacerbated by the company's failure to provide adequate information to its subsidiary, authorities and community residents, the siting of the plant close to residential areas, and UCIL's lack of disaster planning."

The aftermath: Immediately following the disaster the plant site is declared a crime scene, sealed and placed under the control of the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB), which will conduct an investigation into the causes of the gas leak.

On 4 December 1984 UCC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Warren M. Anderson travels from the US to India, along with a UCC technical team. On 7 December he is placed under house arrest in Bhopal. He is released on bail of US$2,000 the same day and advised by the Indian Government to leave the country within 24 hours. He flees.

Anderson, eight others and UCC are later charged in India with culpable homicide.

The UCC technical team is prevented from conducting a thorough examination of the site by the CIB. UCC investigators will not be given unrestricted access to the plant records for a year nor will they be allowed to interview staff on duty on the night of the disaster.

Work is allowed to continue in the plant in order to process the remaining MIC on site into pesticides. The processing is completed by the end of December. The plant is closed in April 1985.

1985 - In March the Indian Government passes the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act. The Act gives the government the exclusive right to represent and act on behalf of victims in any civil litigation in India or elsewhere. It also prevents victims from pursuing individual court claims against UCC for damages or personal injury due to the gas leak.

Following the passage of the Act the Indian Government files a civil suit against UCC in the Federal District Court in New York City.

UCC in turn files a motion to have the Bhopal case dismissed from all US courts.

1986 - In March UCC proposes a settlement amount of US$350 million for victims of the disaster.

In May a US District Court Judge rules on UCC's motion to have the Bhopal case dismissed from US courts, finding that all litigation concerning the disaster should be heard by the Indian legal system. The decision is upheld by the US Court of Appeals in January 1987. The court also rules that UCIL is a separate entity from UCC.

On 5 September the Indian Government files a US$3.3 billion compensation claim against UCC on behalf of all the Bhopal victims. The claim is filed in the Bhopal District Court.

Meanwhile, Warren Anderson retires from UCC.

1987 - On 1 December India's Central Bureau of Investigation files homicide charges against Anderson.

On 17 December the Bhopal District Court orders UCC to pay interim compensation of US$270 million.

1988 - In May India formally charges UCC with criminal wrongdoing. An arrest warrant for Anderson is issued by the Bhopal District Court in November.

In November the Supreme Court of India asks the Indian Government and UCC to reach a settlement on the compensation claim.

1989 - In February the Indian Government accepts a Supreme Court-ordered settlement of US$470 million. UCC contributes $420 million to the payment. The balance is paid by UCIL.

Under the terms of the settlement the payment ends all of UCC's civil liabilities for the disaster. However, the settlement does not apply to liabilities arising from ongoing land and water pollution at the plant site.

The Supreme Court also orders that all criminal proceedings related to the gas release be dropped and that the accused be deemed acquitted.

In April shareholders at UCC's annual general meeting reject a plan to increase compensation to victims of the Bhopal disaster.

Although a settlement has been reached the Indian Government is slow to pass on the compensation funds to the victims of the disaster. In the year 2004 the amount still held by the government is estimated at US$327 million.

In July 2004 the Supreme Court of India orders the government to release the remaining funds. On 26 October 2004 the court endorses a plan for the disbursement of compensation to 572,173 victims. Each victim is to receive about US$550 in addition to the interim relief already received.

When the compensation is finally distributed in 2005 most victims receive about US$1,280 each.

1990 - Activist groups petition the Indian Supreme Court to overturn the settlement agreement. On 12 January the India Government announces it will support the petitions. The government repudiates the original settlement as inadequate and announces that it has returned to the original US$3 billion compensation claim and will attempt to pursue criminal charges against UCC executives.

1991 - In October the Supreme Court rejects the petitions to overturn the settlement agreement and closes legal proceedings in relation to civil liabilities. However, the court lifts the immunity on criminal prosecutions related to the disaster, opening the way for criminal charges to be laid.

In December the chief judicial magistrate in Bhopal issues a proclamation ordering Anderson and UCE to appear in court in February 1992 to face charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in connection with the gas leak.

1992 - A criminal case is launched by a court in Bhopal against UCC, Warren Anderson, and eight other UCC officials. All the accused refuse to appear before the Indian courts.

In January proclamations are published in 'The Washington Post' directing Anderson to face trial in the Bhopal court.

On 1 February Anderson and his co-accused are declared "fugitives from justice" by the chief judicial magistrate of Bhopal. In March the chief judicial magistrate issues a non-bailable arrest warrant against Anderson. The court also orders the Indian Government to seek the extradition of Anderson from the US.

Meanwhile, UCC announces its intention to sell its 50.99% stake in UCIL.

1993 - The US Supreme Court confirms that Bhopal victims may not sue for damages in US courts.

1994 - In November UCC's 50.99% interest in UCIL is sold to MacLeod Russell (India) Limited of Calcutta. UCIL is renamed Eveready Industries India Limited.

1996 - Tests by the Madhya Pradesh Public Health Engineering Department's State Research Laboratory of ground water from 10 tubewells near the Bhopal site find that the water "is contaminated with bacteria and there is a heavy presence of chemicals."

"The tubewells in these areas were tested five years back and at that time too the results showed chemical contamination," a confidential report by the laboratory states. "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."

1997 - The Madhya Pradesh Department of Gas Relief and Rehabilitation announces that about 1,400 people have died as a result of gas-related illnesses during the year.

250 wells in the vicinity of the plant are declared "unfit for drinking" by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation.

1998 - According to UCC, studies by the National Engineering Environmental Research Institute (NEERI) indicate there is no contamination of groundwater around the plant.

Meanwhile, UCIL's leasehold over the plant site is returned to the Madhya Pradesh State Government on 7 July. UCC argues that because of the surrender of the lease it now has no responsibility for the clean-up of the site.

1999 - In November the environmental group Greenpeace International releases a technical analysis of the toxic contaminants at the Bhopal site. The analysis finds "substantial and, in some locations, severe contamination of land and drinking water supplies with heavy metals and persistent organic contaminants both within and surrounding the former UCIL pesticide formulation plant."

Among the 12 toxic contaminants identified by the analysis are mercury and various organochlorine compounds.

Greenpeace concludes that "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."

"Though less acute than the exposure which took place as a result of the 1984 MIC release, 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. This open, but largely undocumented, contamination must be urgently and effectively addressed such that the communities of Bhopal are no longer exposed to this legacy of pollution."

Meanwhile, the Dow Chemical Company agrees to buy Union Carbide for US$11.6 billion.

On 15 November a class action against UCC and Warren Anderson is filed in the Federal Southern District Court of New York. The suit charges UCC and Anderson with grave violations of international law and human rights arising from their "unlawful, reckless and depraved indifference to human life" in perpetrating the disaster. The action is dismissed by the court on 28 August 2000.

On appeal claims regarding contamination of ground water and soil in and around the factory and consequent health damages are directed to the Federal Southern District Court for reconsideration.

2000 - In March it is reported that Anderson has gone into hiding to avoid a summons to appear in the Federal Southern District Court for civil proceedings against him and UCC. According to the report Anderson has vacated his last known address in Florida and UCC officials have declined to help track him down.

2001 - UCC becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical on 6 February.

2002 - On 28 August an application to reduce the criminal charges against Anderson is rejected by the Indian courts.

In November the Federal Southern District Court of New York forces UCC to release internal documents relating to the Bhopal disaster.

Documents from 1989, 1990 and 1995 show that UCC knew by 1989 that Indian analyses claiming there was no chemical contamination at the abandoned plant, including those by NEERI, were suspect and that there might be contamination.

In August Anderson is discovered living in New York State.

2003 - In March the Southern District Court of New York dismisses a civil damages lawsuit brought by Bhopal survivors. The survivors appeal.

On 1 July the Indian Government serves the US Government with extradition papers for Anderson.

2004 - On 17 March a US Appeals Court rules that a request for "remediation" to restore the environmental quality of the Bhopal site brought by plaintiffs from Bhopal against UCC could not be barred by the statute of limitations.

The Appeals Court declares that the Southern District Court should be free to revisit its dismissal of the claim for plant site "remediation" if the governments of India or Madhya Pradesh sought such action.

Subsequently, the governments of India and Madhya Pradesh urge the Southern District Court to order UCC to pay for the clean-up of the plant site and pollution damage.

On 3 December, the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal gas release, a man describing himself as a spokesman for Dow Chemical appears on BBC National TV and claims that Dow accepts full responsibility for the disaster and will provide US$12 billion in reparations. However, the incident is a hoax. Dow quickly states that the man was not a company spokesman and continues to deny responsibility.

On 14 November the BBC reports that the site at Bhopal is contaminated with thousands of tonnes of chemicals, including benzene hexachloride and mercury and that pollution levels in some boreholes and wells is 500 times the legal maximum limit.

Meanwhile, the Indian Government takes the first steps towards cleaning up the Bhopal site; Dow Chemicals is summoned for the first time to appear before an Indian criminal court in Bhopal; and the European Parliament adopts a resolution calling for an independent investigation into the effect of UCC's actions on the people of Bhopal.

2006 - In April, following a hunger strike by Bhopal survivors, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agrees to clean up the Bhopal site, provide fresh drinking water for local people and construct a US$23 million memorial to the victims of the disaster.

Present day - More than 20,000 people continue to live in close proximity to the abandoned plant at Bhopal. Hundreds to tonnes of chemical residues and waste materials remain on the site, including Sevin, Sevin tar residue, naphthol tar residue, and hexachlorocyclohexane solids.

UCC continues to refuse to release the name of the saboteur who it alleges caused the disaster.

Criminal prosecutions against UCC, UCE and Warren Anderson are still open and pending in the Indian courts. All the accused remain identified as "absconders" by the Bhopal District Court and the Supreme Court of India.

Comment: According to the Amnesty International report Clouds of Injustice: Bhopal Disaster 20 Years On released to mark the 20th anniversary of the disaster:

"Amnesty International holds companies to account for their actions that affect human rights. In the case of the Bhopal plant, there is a pattern of serious failures by UCC in the years before the accident occurred. UCC decided to bulk store MIC in Bhopal but did not equip the plant with the safety mechanisms to deal with accidents. UCC was aware that some of the technology it transferred was not proven, and entailed operational and safety risks. UCC did not export the same standards of safety in design or operations to Bhopal as it had in place in the USA. In particular, UCC failed to set up any comprehensive emergency plan or system in Bhopal to warn local communities about leaks, even though it had such a plan in place in the USA. As early as 1982, UCC was aware that there were major safety concerns regarding the Bhopal plant. Months before the accident, UCC was warned of the possibility of a reaction similar to the one that caused the eventual leak in Bhopal.

"In its response to the tragedy, UCC withheld information, tried to discredit the victims and attempted to shift responsibility between its various arms. When UCC was taken over by Dow, both companies tried to avoid responsibility."

The 'Report of the ICFTU-ICEF Mission to Study the Causes and Effects of the Methyl Isocyanate Gas Leak at the Union Carbide Pesticide Plant in Bhopal, India' says:

"Fundamentally, however, Union Carbide is no different from other global chemical companies. All have experienced safety and health problems. In fact, a 1981 survey of the eight largest chemical companies in the US ranked Union Carbide first in overall safety and health, based on government inspection statistics. Members of the mission familiar with Union Carbide plants in other countries report them to be generally about as safe as any other chemical plants. Union Carbide Corporation and its Indian subsidiary were certainly responsible for the Bhopal tragedy, but the fault does not lie in any unique characteristic of the company."

Dave on aerial expedition of Narmada from today

For Narmada situation see: http://www.narmada.org/
And http://www.narmada.org/nba-press-releases/march-2006/ninthday.html

Hindustan Times Correspondent

Bhopal, March 26, 2006
STATE BHARATIYA Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Anil Madhav Dave is embarking upon aerial expedition of Narmada on Monday with the objective to study the river course, match his findings vis-à-vis the Survey of India data, the deforestation resulting in a threat to the river and society. He will submit a comprehensive report to the State Government.

Narmada_school.jpg

Wreckage of school destroyed by Narmada dam project

Talking to journalists Anil Dave said he would take a round of the river in a four-seater aircraft from March 27. A co-pilot would accompany him. Dave himself has an amateur pilot licence.

He said such an air journey to study the river course and its catchment was being undertaken for the first time. Other firsts in the voyage include its being undertaken without any foreign or Government assistance and by an amateur pilot.

Dave said he had noticed that Narmada course and catchment were changing and it would have a far-reaching impact on the river and the State.

Out of 19 districts the river flowed through 10 districts had the forest area greatly reduced owing to felling of trees and environmental reasons, he said.

He said his journey had spiritual importance too as he would get a glimpse of Amarkantak, Chaunsath Yogini, Bandrabhan, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar and Bharuch temples.

Besides, it could be termed adventurous too. The terrain from Jabalpur to Amarkantak was such that it had many disturbances from the aviation point of view. He said one of his friends who was an industrialist and was manufacturing bio fertiliser had sponsored the survey.

Giving details about the programme he said he would fly to Jabalpur from Bhopal on March 27 morning. He would fly to Amarkantak from Jabalpur in the afternoon and return to Jabalpur in the evening. The next day he would fly to Bhopal in the morning. He would then fly to Indore from Bhopal in the afternoon.

He would cover the Indore-Baroda stretch on March 29. He would come back to Indore on the March 30 morning from where he would fly

Exposure: the human cost of corporate crimes in Bhopal, portrayed in a photographic exhibition
13 Aug 2002
Exposure: the human cost of corporate crimes in Bhopal

Exposure: the human cost of corporate crimes in Bhopal

Greenpeace has launched a touring exhibition of photographs of Bhopal by world renowned Magnum photographer, Raghu Rai (1).

'Exposure: portrait of a corporate crime' offers a unique insight into the human and environmental tragedy that has engulfed the Indian city since December 1984, when an explosion at Union Carbide s pesticide plant released lethal gases into the city, causing the world's worst industrial disaster.

The American company responded by abandoning the contaminated plant, paying the survivors inadequate compensation and refusing to accept liability for the disaster. Exposure documents both the immediate aftermath of the explosion and the ongoing struggle of survivors determined to secure justice from the chemical giant even though they have lost their families, economic security and health.

This moving collection shows what happens when companies such as Union Carbide - now Dow (2) - are not held accountable for the disasters and pollution they cause. It gives a voice to the people whose lives have been torn apart by a corporate crime, said Ganesh Nochur, Campaigns Director of Greenpeace India, during the exhibition launch.

Raghu Rai arrived in Bhopal hours after the gas leak to find chaos as the dead were being buried and cremated and the hospitals overflowing with thousands of patients. Rai realised he was witnessing a disaster of unprecedented proportions and the start of a long nightmare for the gas-exposed survivors.

What I saw was to change my life. It was an unprecedented scene of chaos. What startled me most was the silence of death. Thousands of people had already died, thousands more than died in the 11 September attack on the World Trade Centre. I vowed then and there to continue my work, to do all I could to show the world what happens to people when corporations are not held liable for their operations, when they re allowed to cut costs and safety standards when they operate abroad, said Raghu Rai.

To date, 20,000 have died from gas exposure and the effects are now extending into the next generation. 150,000 of the survivors are chronically ill and communities are drinking contaminated groundwater because Dow has still not cleaned up the dangerous chemicals Union Carbide left behind. (3)

The exhibition is launched in the middle of a series of protests that began after moves by the Indian government to reduce outstanding charges against Warren Anderson, Union Carbide's Chief Executive Officer at the time of the disaster, from culpable homicide to negligence (4). Anderson is the subject of an Interpol warrant but has been hiding in the United States since the disaster. He has never appeared in court to explain why his company flouted the same safety rules in Bhopal that it enforced at a sister plant in West Virginia, USA. If the Indian government reduces the charges, he will face a small fine or a maximum of two years imprisonment rather than a maximum custodial sentence of ten years. He will also not have to appear in India for trial.

Tara Bai, a Bhopal survivor who went on hunger strike for 19 days in July to protest the move to reduce charges against Anderson said: "I remember the night of the gas leak as though it were yesterday. I lost my child and could not conceive since. To see the culprits of this disaster being let off by a shameless government is too much to bear. They seem to treat the world's worst industrial disaster as though it was a car crash."

As the world prepares for the Earth Summit in South Africa, we fully expect governments to agree on the need for international instruments to ensure unethical companies are held fully accountable for horrendous crimes committed while pursuing profits. There must be no more Bhopals, concluded Ganesh.

Greenpeace and Bhopal survivors organisations are campaigning to ensure Dow Chemical cleans up the factory site at its expense, as would be required in the U.S., provide long-term medical treatment for the survivors of the poison gas leak, ensure medical and economic compensation for the 2nd and emerging 3rd generation victims, provide clean drinking water to communities that are forced to consume contaminated groundwater and punish the guilty.(5)

Notes to editors:
(1) Born in 1942, Raghu Rai has been amazing the photographic world for over thirty years with his unique images. In 1993, he was honoured as the Photographer of the Year in the Unites States. Rai has been an associate of Magnum for over 20 years, an international agency that has been at the forefront of documentary and reportage photography for over 50 years. Exposure: Portrait of a Corporate Crime will be shown at the Mumbai Centre for Photography as an Art Form, National Centre for the Performing Arts, NCPA Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai, India from 14-24 August 2002. Opening event 13 August. Next showing at: Sandton, Johannesburg. Opening event August 27 Art Heritage Gallery, 205 Tansen Marg, New Delhi 16-25 September 2002. Opening event 15 September. The exhibition will continue to tour world-wide.

(2) In 2001, Dow Chemical and Union Carbide merged, becoming the world's biggest chemical company. In buying Union Carbide, Dow not only bought the company's assets but also its liabilities.

(3) In 1999, Greenpeace visited the abandoned factory to assess the environmental condition of the site and its surroundings. The team documented the presence of stockpiles of toxic pesticides as well as hazardous wastes and contaminated material scattered throughout the factory site. The survey found substantial and, in some locations, severe contamination of land and water supplies with heavy metals and chlorinated chemicals. The water is still used for drinking and cooking by thousands of people the live near the site.

(4) Rashida Bee, Tara Bai and Satinath Sarangi's hunger strike inspired other people around the world. 52 year old Diane Wilson has been on hunger strike for 26 days outside the Dow chemical facility in her hometown of Seadrift, Texas, to support the Bhopal survivors nearly 18 year struggle for justice, and in protest over the moves to reduce charges against Anderson. The decision on Anderson is expected at a court hearing at Bhopal District Court on August 26- 27.

(5) Greenpeace is working as part of an international coalition of NGO groups named AaCcTt( Action Against Corporate Crime and Toxic Terror) whose constituents are: the Bhopal Gas Affected Women Stationery Workers Association, Bhopal Gas Affected Pensioners Association, Bhopal Group for Information and Action, National Campaign For Justice in Bhopal, The Other Media and CorpWatch.

The chemical industry is certainly different from various other industries and potentially as dangerous as nuclear plants. The effluents are highly toxic and disastrous to the environment causing irreversible damage to the air, soil, water and pose serious threat to the health of the workers, surrounding communities and end-users. It destroys bio-diversities on earth and dangerously affect the ecology. Without appropriate checks (horrendously expensive), chemical industries can lead to complete catastrophe as witnessed in the city of Cubatao, Brazil. Giant multinational or transnational corporations are difficult to control and have extremely dubious track records. In the absence of stringent environmental protection laws, competent enforcement agencies, appropriate technologies and without any declared chemical use and handling policy like REACH as adopted by the European Union (EU), the setting up of a chemical hub does not qualify to be approved.

The government of West Bengal has decided to set up a chemical hub in the state. Such a hub is a cluster of production units centered around the main plant(s). The chemical industry is certainly different from various other industries and potentially as dangerous as nuclear plants. The effluents are highly toxic and disastrous to the environment causing irreversible damage to air, soil, water and pose serious threat to the health of the workers, surrounding communities and end-users. It destroys bio-diversities on earth and dangerously affect the ecology. Without appropriate checks (horrendously expensive), chemical industries can lead to complete catastrophe as witnessed in the city of Cubatao, Brazil or Bhopal, India.
Cubatao Pollution

A thick layer of fumes hovers over the city of Cubatao in Sao Paulo state, Brazil.

In Cubatao , the chemical capital of Brazil and came to be known as the “Valley of Death”, babies were born without brains, believed to be due to high level of pollution. The valley’s location made it irresistible to the industrial planners. Situated near the port of Santos, it was perfect place for industries like petroleum, fertilizer and chemicals to turn imported raw materials into finished products before shipping them to Sao Paolo via the long climb uphill. The river served as a convenient place to dump wastes.

In the early eighties the city recorded the highest infant mortality rate in Brazil and over one-third of the residents suffered from pneumonia, tuberculosis, emphysema and other respiratory sicknesses. By 1984, the Cubatao River was basically dead from organic pollution. Downstream form Cubatao, tons of heavy metals accumulated in bottom sediments and washed into the sea near Santos. Above the valley, fallout from the air-pollution began killing the Atlantic Forest and denuding the mountainsides.

Finally, in January 1985 the crisis became a catastrophe, as 15 inches of acid rain poured onto the bare hillside in 48 hours. Hundreds of mud-slides cascaded into the valley, and the broke a large ammonia pipeline in Vila Parisi, releasing gas that injured many residents and forced a mass evacuation. Official denial ended as the governor of Sao Paolo State declared an emergency and mandated forceful action by CETSEB, the state's pollution control agency.
birth defect

Foetus with birth defects (Bhopal, 1984) [courtesey : bhopal.org]

On December 3, 1984 thousands of people in Bhopal were gassed to death after a catastrophic chemical leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant. More than 150,000 people were left severely disabled, of whom roughly twenty two thousands have since died of their injury. More than 27 tons of methyl-isocyanate and other deadly gases turned Bhopal into a gas chamber on that night. None of the safety systems of the factory were working and Union Carbide's own documents prove that the company designed the plant with untested technology and cut corners on safety and maintenance to lower down the expenditure.

Today twenty four years after the Bhopal disaster, at least 50000 people are suffering from the incident, they cannot even work for their living and a recent study in the Journal of The American Medical Association confirmed that the children of the gas-affected parents are affected by Carbide's poison. Still the contamination in the water near Carbide's factory is affecting almost twenty thousand people and a study in 2001 revealed the presence of poisons such as 1,3,5,-trichlorobenzene, dichloromethane, lead and mercury in breast milk of nursing mothers living near the factory.
burial of an unknown child

Burial of an unknown child (Bhopal, 1984) [courtesey : greenpeace.org]

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) was formulated in 2001 in response to the urgent need for global action to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that are highly toxic, persistent, bio-accumulative and propagate over long distances in the environment. The Convention seeks the elimination or restriction of production and use of all intentionally produced POPs (i.e., industrial chemicals and pesticides). It also seeks the continuing minimization and, where feasible, ultimate elimination of the releases unintentionally produced POPs such as dioxines and furans. Stockpiles must be managed and disposed of in a safe, efficient and environmentally sound manner. The Convention imposes certain trade restrictions. It also includes a mechanism for expanding its list of POPs to new problem chemicals.

The POPs listed under Stockholm Convention banned are known as Dirty Dozen which include (i) pesticides/insecticides : Aldrin, Chlordane, DDT, Dieldrin, Endrin, Heptachlor, Toxaphene, Mirex (ii) Industrial Chemicals : Hexachlorobenzene, PCBs. (iii) Unintention by-products : Dioxines and Furans. As the POPs can travel long distances without being destroyed (persistent), can enter into the food chain and might be absorbed in human and animal bodies (bio-accumulative) these are responsible for various deadly diseases including cancer, birth defects, nerve diseases, endocrine disruption, asthma etc.

European Union has recently adopted a regulatory system for chemicals, REACH that stands for Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH). This is a significant change which will affect not only the European economy but the world economy as a whole. REACH requires registration of all chemicals marketed at annual volumes above 1 metric ton per manufacturer or importer. For production volume above 100 metric ton per year require evaluation, including reviewing of animal testing data, by member state experts and a new EU chemical agency. Chemicals termed “substances of very high concern” - will require authorization for each contemplated use. The EU white paper estimates that there are about 1,400 of these chemicals. Some of the chemicals may be banned altogether.

In view of stringent regulations taken by European Union and other agencies, the chemical industries are now more inclined to shift their manufacturing units in the third world countries where the pollution control rules are relaxed and virtually non-existent. It might be mentioned that a large number of chemicals are already banned in developed countries but are produced and/or used in the third world nations.

Global experience shows that the chemical industry is controlled by handful of giant corporates like DuPont, Dow, Monsanto, Shell, Mitsubishi etc. These corporations are least concerned about the protection of environment or public health. A lot of chemicals produced by these manufacturers are highly toxic and a good many of those are already banned in Europe or in USA. More substances are likely to be included in near future. Once banned, corporates invent new products and start marketing them which prove to be even more hazardous than the previous ones. In a country like India, keeping surveillance on plants, constant monitoring of effluents and other discharges, evaluation of products, safeguarding environment and public health from being exposed to poisonous chemicals are difficult to materialize due to technical reasons and lack of proper legislations. To conclude, the conditions, as they exist now, both in the state (densely populated) and in the country as a whole, are not permissive to the setting up of chemical hub unless a comprehensive policy along the lines of REACH is formulated. [ pdf, 100 KB]
Chemical Hub - Biswayan Shilpayan Unnayan (Chemical Hub - Globalization, Industrialization and Development)

As part of its so called industrialization agenda, the Government of West Bengal is trying to build a chemical hub in the state. This is part of the globalization program pursued by both by the central and state government. The article discusses various aspects of the proposal with particular focus on the political economy of the petrochemical industry in the era of globalization. Various examples have been cited to assert authors' claim that setting up of a petrochemical hub is not a viable industrial program for India which is highly unstable because of the dependence on the global oil market and other related issues concerning technology and exports etc — writes Abhee Dutt-Mazumadar (published in Dainik Statesman on 02.09.2007). [ pdf, 124 KB]
The Time Table for Catastrophe

The recent conflicts and controversies over the proposed chemical hub in East Midnapur of West Bengal have aroused widespread interest and diverse opinions, misinformation and disinformation are daily making their appearances in the electronic and printed media and it is imperative to endeavor to make out what are going to be there and their likely impacts on the economy and on man & environment albeit there lies the problem of paucity of information and government's secrecy about the details of the whole plan. It appears from a government note of 18th May, 2007 circulated to political parties, which is incomplete and internally inconsistent, that petro-refinery and petrochemical industries would be the key stone of the chemical hub from which besides the usual fuels like gasoline, kerosene, furnace oil, LPG, wax, carbon, asphalt etc., plastics, synthetic polymers, pesticides, drugs, adhesives, synthetic rubbers etc. will be produced. For this, elementary chemical commonsense deduces that some other necessary plants like caustic soda, chlorine, sulfuric acid etc. will also be needed. Without details and the usual Environmental Impact Assessment one can at best try to make some enlightened guess works by the experiences from some other areas of the world from a chemical and environmental background. — writes Manindra Narayan Mazumder (courtsey : Frontier) [ pdf, 84 KB ]
Nandigram Beckons : Resist PCPIRs Everywhere

— Manindra Narayan Majumder [ pdf, 68 KB ]
Chemical Hub : A Boon or Bane?

— Dr. Siddhartha Gupta [ pdf, 84 KB ]
Chemical Hub : A Note

This note explains the stand-point of West Bengal government for setting up of a chemical hub in the state. Distributed among the political parties. [ pdf, 2.4 MB]
WB Govt. Note : A school level essay - says experts

In a press conference organized by the Teachers And Scientists Against Maldevelopment represented by Partha Sarathi Roy, Dept. of Chemical Technology of the Calcutta University, Rabin Majumdar of the Chemical Engineering Department of the Calcutta University and Manindra Narayon Majumdar of Kalyani University, has heavily criticized the document entitled `Chemical Hub' dated 18th May 2007 and described this as a School Level Eassy which fails to qualify as a serious document.

Professor Roy observes that the claim of the employment generation is far from reality as the technology involved in modern chemical plants are highly automated and require only little man power. He contested by noting that in Baraoni Oil refinery the number of jobs available was around two thousands where the total yield was 2.5 mt per anum while on the other hand at Jambani, in the refinery set up by the Reliance with a production capacity of 26 mt per anum, the number of jobs created was about the same, i.e. two thousand or so. It was even argued that government should justify why are they going for petrochemical industry in the hub as such a hub does not necessarily has to be so. Particularly, in a country like India, before setting up of petrochemical hub, the Government has to justify why it does not consider setting up of chemical hub which are agribased. Furthermore, the government should declare its chemical use, management, handling, export and import policy before such a project is undertaken.

TASAM's letter to CM | TASAM's Press Release
Press Coverage → The Statesman Times of India Indian Express Dainik Statesman Ekdin
Corporate Crimes

This report by Greenpeace/Raghu Rai compiles 37 cases from various industrial sectors, including chemical, forest, mining, genetic engineering, nuclear energy and oil industries in different parts of the world. They illustrate the urgent need for governments to force corporations to uphold the law and become more accountable to the public.

These cases illustrate that irresponsible corporate behaviour continues to severely affect both the environment and peoples health, and that the companies who are responsible fail to respond in an adequate manner. They show how companies routinely fail to compensate and/or assist impacted communities, how they evade obligations to clean up or remediate damaged environments, and, by and large, violate human and community rights by failing to monitor, report and provide essential information concerning their products and processes. Such behaviour is no less than criminal, and it is becoming increasingly difficult — sometimes impossible — to seek justice, and to hold these companies accountable and liable for their crimes. [ pdf, 781 KB]