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Twenty-three years after the worst chemical leak in Indian history, momentum is building — both in the streets and in top government circles — to enforce needed remediation and address tens of thousands of ailing victims. Documents recently uncovered by journalists show that the Indian government would require the U.S.-based corporation, Dow Chemical Company, to rehabilitate the Union Carbide disaster site in Bhopal as a condition for future investment in India. The Parliament appears poised to launch a special commission to take concrete action, however, hundreds of demonstrators have vowed to stay in the streets until the government keeps its word.
DEATH IN THE NIGHT
On the night of Dec. 2, 1984, 27 tons of lethal methyl isocyanate gas leaked from Union Carbide’s pesticide factory in Bhopal, India, immediately killing at least 3,000 people and up to 8,000 two-weeks later. Estimates of those still suffering adverse health effects range from 50,000, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research, to 150,000, according to the International Campaign for Justice (ICJB) in Bhopal. At the time, Union Carbide claimed that a leak of this size must have been committed by an experienced saboteur. However, when Bhopal residents learned that the safety systems were either broken or simply turned off to save money, they looked to the U.S. company for compensation.
Michigan-based Dow bought out Union Carbide in 2001 and has since refused to accept liability for the incident.
“There is no responsibility and no liability for the Bhopal tragedy,” said Scot Wheeler, Director of Communications for the Michigan-based company, in a New York Times article July 7. Bhopal residents cite U.S., Indian and international law to support their own claim that Dow, as the new 100 percent owner of Union Carbide, owns both its assets and liabilities.
…“It is this policy of double standards that caused the death and destruction in Bhopal,” said Shahid Noor, who was orphaned by the toxic gas leak.
While the legal battle continues, 425 tons of hazardous waste continue to saturate the soil, and seep down into the groundwater of the 11-acre contaminated site, poisoning current water supplies that affect thousands of residents.
In a move to put pressure on the government in February, 50 people marched 500 miles from Bhopal to New Delhi — the Indian capital — to start an indefinite protest and hunger strike. More than 800 people have now joined the demonstration.
POISONED WITHOUT JUSTICE: (Top) On the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal industrial disaster in 2004, activists display images to demand justice. PHOTO: greenpeace.org (Above) More than 30 peaceful Bhopali demonstrators are arrested June 9, 2008, after carrying out a “die-in” in front of the Indian prime minister’s office. There have been ongoing protests since March in the hopes of forcing the government to hold Dow Chemical Company accountable for the 1984 massive chemical leak. PHOTO: bhopal.net
PASSING THE BLAME
In a November 2006 letter to India’s ambassador to the United States, Dow CEO Andrew Liveris formally asked the government to waive any responsibility the company has to clean up the site. The letter was sent even as Dow looks to expand its investment and operations in India. Under the Indian Right to Information Act, journalists uncovered a document from the Prime Minister’s Office dated Feb. 7, 2008, that revealed the Indian government should in fact hold Liveris’ company liable. In the document, the
Law Ministry stated that, “Irrespective of the manner in which [Union Carbide] has merged or been acquired by Dow Chemicals, if there is any legal liability, it would have to be borne by Dow Chemicals.” The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has yet to reply to the revealed document. Dow is already in a unfavorable position as they were caught bribing officials to let them sell illegal pesticides in India last year.
As the hunger strike continued, news stories consistently portrayed the Bhopal struggle positively and highlighted the Indian government’s inaction. In response, police attacked the strikers, arresting and beating several individuals June 9.
The strikers are not alone. Amnesty International is organizing solidarity events throughout North America and Europe. On July 14, alumni of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) also took action to force the school to refuse Dow’s corporate sponsorship of several of their campuses’ jubilee conferences. On July 26, a Dow research center in construction in the Indian village of Shinde Vasuli was vandalized and set on fire by the Warkaris, a radical environmental religious sect who defied authorities by videotaping themselves committing the arson. According to activists, Indian police are engaged in an aggressive crackdown in the village, arbitrarily arresting scores of local residents.
As the issue gained visibility in local and international press, the Indian Parliament drafted a bill which will empower a new commission to pursue rehabilitation in Bhopal. The Prime Minister formally announced the commission May 29, declaring that this group would “carry out medical, economic, social and environmental rehabilitation of the Bhopal gas victims,” but has been slow to hire staff. The ICJB is reviewing the draft and will suggest potential members.
AIMING FOR THE COURTROOM
Ultimately, the campaign hopes to force Dow’s Union Carbide Indian division to stand trial in Bhopal for culpable homicide. The Indian government has so far avoided accelerating the extradition of Union Carbide representatives to face trial in Bhopal. Many Indian businessmen and government officials outside of Bhopal are interested in attracting Dow investment even if they have to sacrifice Bhopal residents’ health. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath defended Dow’s position, saying that, “Dow themselves had no status in this, so Dow’s investment is not affected by that.” He continued to explain he was concerned about “sending an appropriate signal to Dow Chemical, which is exploring investing substantially in India.”
Meanwhile, the hunger strike continues in 24-hour rotations as campaign members promise to monitor the establishment of the commission, pursue court action that would force Dow to pay for a Bhopal cleanup and get the clean water project back on schedule.
Dow, meanwhile, continues to regain public support through its lavish “Human Element” campaign. Dow has spared no expense, hiring public relations giants GolinHarris and Draft FCB at a cost of $8 million in 2006 to “re-brand” their corporate image to that of social responsibility. Meanwhile, they are aggressively at work to extinguish remaining legal claims in both India and the United States.
Comments
1. It was a subsidiary of Union Carbide that was responsible for the leak, one that Union Carbide sold years before being acquired by the Dow Chemical Company.
2. There was already a court case and a settlement, in which Union Carbide (or the subsidiary) settled with the Indian Government for a sum of money. In effect, the Indian Government agreed to accept all present damages and potential future damages in exchange for the sum of money paid. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
3. If the Indian government wants to play games I think the company should pull out of India entirely. Next they will claim Dow Chemical has a "duty to stay in the country and provide jobs". Hogwash, not when the country is renagging on deals it made in the past.
4. The hunger striking people, I say let them. It's their health.
I hate to be cold about this, I try to be a reasonable person, but this government and its people have stepped beyond reason in this case.
Although your skepticism is within reason, I would think twice about lumping the government and its people together. The people of Bhopal have not been compensated properly, lack clean drinking water, health care, and were voiceless to their own government. To say that "the government and its people" have stepped beyond reason is a bit inaccurate, wouldn't you say? After all, It took more than 20 years for the people to convince their own government to help them.
Although the movement has achieved a lot these past few years, Union Carbide has yet to fully compensate the victims. The company's attitude towards the disaster exemplifies the complete corporate negligence of a company willing to set up a potentially dangerous chemical enterprise in the developing world. They deserve to pay for destroying peoples' livelihoods, their environment and their health. The water around the site is still contaminated, and yet the people have no choice but to drink it.
To set the record straight:
1) It was not a subsidiary of Union Carbide responsible for the leak. To be precise, the operation was a Sevin plant, a brand of pesticide owned by Union Carbide India Limited, obviously under the control of Union Carbide Limited. Specifically, UCL owned more than 50% of the shares, and was entirely responsible for the (faulty) design and implementation. Choosing to build a factory in India was a great way to prevent a disaster on American soil. Especially when the designers themselves knew of the faulty mechanisms.
2) You are right that there was a court case, and a settlement, but you forget to mention that it was less than a quarter of what the company had first agreed to pay. From a promised settlement of 3 billion, the company only decided to pay only 470 million. From that sum, the government was instructed by the US supreme court to fund government hospitals and insurance funds. Ultimately, the amount of money that the the victims got each day correlates to an extremely unlivable sum of US dollars per day.
3) You are right about the Indian government. They have been indecisive and weak regarding their attitude towards the victims, and that is why it has taken the movement so long to gain momentum. The victims are finally getting the government to pursue legal action, and hopefully they will stand by their word. There is always the possibility of foreign investment from companies like Dow, and that sadly takes the cake when it comes to their moral standards.
4) The recent victory is a result of all the activists' and victims' efforts to have their voices heard,
including their hunger striking. Do not underestimate the power of non violent struggle.
Before anyone else goes ahead and makes misinformed judgments about the whole thing, I would recommend visiting the old Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. It is still there, almost as if the disaster had occurred yesterday. Phillip, you will see Union Carbide's name all over the machinery, right by the safety signs. Shamelessly.
You have some misconceptions about the Bhopal tragedy Phillip. I think you got your information from Dow Chemical and didn't investigate further.
Just as one example, the court case did not exactly settle the issue because it was a backroom deal between corrupt Indian officials and Union Carbide that did not take into account proven facts. This decision was made by the Supreme Court and currently being revisited.
Also, you assumed that the Indian government will force Dow to open a plant in India to give jobs to Indians. If you have proof of this, please write an article in which you present the facts as you have uncovered them. Because unless you do, you are unwarranted to go on and use this as evidence for your next statement. This is called circular reasoning.
In short, when you investigate this you will find a deeper and more complex story than you read on Dow's website.
I agree with anonymous and Phillip II. You have obviously gotten your facts off the Dow website!
Wow. I'm disappointed in how you completely dismiss the victims' plea for justice as being a step "too far." And as anonymous aptly stated, how you lump the government and its people together. I don't think you realize how the Indian government works, but if you were to study it clearly you would see how the victims struggle to get their own government to help them out. At the risk of scaring away potential foreign direct investment, the government did settle for less. That in no way means that the people deserved less. The amount that each family received was less than 500 dollars for their entire lives.
And lastly, what line of reason would ever make you think that the government will next try and make Dow provide jobs for its people? That is an ill informed and naive judgment, based on mere assumptions about the government and its people. I'm gobsmacked by your ignorance.
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