Union Carbide and Bhopal
The Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal, India is the worst industrial disaster ever. In December 1984, as the toxic gas began seeping from the Union Carbide factory in the middle of the night, 8,000 people were killed instantaneously. Since that time, 20,000 people have died as a direct result of the gas leak. The death and sufferring have not stopped with time. To this day the people of Bhopal are forced to deal with the impact of the gas leak. Between twelve and fifteen people continue to die every month as a result of the gas exposure. Furthermore, the community's drinking water has been contaminated and toxins are showing up in mother's milk.
Dow Chemical (headquartered in Midland, MI) merged with Union Carbide in 2001. Dow has accepted all the assets of Union Carbide, but refuses to acknowledge or assume the liabilites therein.
Resources
Corpwatch India Website
©2002 by the AID - Ann Arbor