The Betrayal of Bhopal

I just watched the discussion The Betrayal of Bhopal (Bhopal Gas tragedy) on NDTV hosted by Barkha Dutt. Earlier on the day of judgement, CNN IBN had telecast half an hour program on the plight of the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy. I just couldn’t believe that such a thing could ever happen in a civilized society. We have seen natural disasters happen which are beyond ones control but to see man-made disaster leading to the deaths of 20000 to 30000 spanning over 25 years whose impact continues to haunt future generation is unacceptable by any stretch of imagination. Looking at this worst industrial disaster of the world, a sense of helplessness, despair, disgust, anger targeted at the entire system which includes me had marked its presence.

Many of the younger generation are not fully aware of what transpired on that dreadful night, the aftermath and the present. I will make an attempt to present before you the same in a series of articles.

Rajkumar Keswani, a Bhopal journalist (he was present in the debate with Barkha Dutt), wrote a series of articles about the risks which Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal possessed in 1982. At that time, UCIL was the Indian subsidiary of the U.S. company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), which is now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company. He had also reported about the double standards in setting up similar factory and safety mechanisms in US and Bhopal. That same year, US experts sent by Carbide found 61 potential hazards, 30 of them major. Only the hazards of company's identical plant in the US was fixed. The factory was in total disrepair: by 1984, because of revised safety protocols, the siren warning system had been disconnected, the refrigeration unit and vent gas scrub –which would have cooled and neutralised the gas– had been shut down and Tank 610, containing methyl isocyanate (MIC), was filled above capacity.

On the night of December 2, 1984, water entered Tank 610, setting off an exothermic reaction that blasted 40 tonnes of MIC into the air. People in neighbouring areas were only woken by a burning sensation in their eyes and lungs. Never having been told how to react in the case of a leak, families fatally rushed into the streets to escape the gas. Many fell dead as they ran; others succumbed at hospitals, which were overwhelmed and had only received instructions to administer eye-drops. About 3,800 people were killed on that night; eventually the death toll of that night's exposure would reach 15,000-20,000. The number of the injured would reach 5.5 lakh. The number of children exposed to the gases was at least 200,000. Thousands have died since, many permanently maimed. The genetic and psychological scars threaten to take their toll on generations to come.



Investigations in the affected areas have revealed that 70 per cent of the children born before the disaster continue to suffer from respiratory diseases and 55 per cent from affected eyesight. Children born after the disaster have not been spared. Doctors warn worse effects remain to be seen. Parents are likely to pass on genetic aberrations caused by inhaling the noxious fumes to their children -- through breast milk and genetically. The terrible incident threatens to engender a generation of 'Carbide children', who will carry forward the toxic legacy of their parents in the form of genetic disorders. After the accident, many pregnant women suffered miscarriages, while others delivered still born or malformed babies. More than half the children exposed to the gas in their mothers' wombs died. Many others were born with deformities.



Warren Anderson, CEO of UC arrived in Bhopal a few days later. He was arrested in Bhopal, and then taken to UC guest house. A magistrate was present in the guest house and he was permitted to leave (granted bail)–in the Chief Minister's (Arjun Singh was the Chief Minister ) special plane (Mr. Anderson was treated as VVIP). He left the country and never returned to face trial. The United States government declined to extradite him.



In 1987, the Indian government summoned Anderson, eight other executives and two company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court. Union Carbide resisted, saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction.
Negotiations over compensation dragged on for years. In 1989, having estimated 3,000 deaths, the Supreme Court approved a settlement whereby Carbide would pay $470 million–for every last dead cow to every last dead child. When the government discovered that at least five times the number of people had died, they spread out the same amount with its accumulated interest. The family of each dead person received, on average, Rs 63,000. Most people with permanent injuries received 25,000. Many received their compensation nearly a decade after the disaster, without interest. Many claims were denied.

Compare this compensation with $5 billion (ten times the amount), which Exxon paid after the Valdez oil spill near Alaska in 1989, where no humans died. We all know about the oil spill which happened a month ago along the gulf of Mexico. President Obama visited the site today and has asked BP to compensate for the loss irrespective of what the cap put by the government in case of mishaps. Can you ever imagine an Indian Prime Minister saying this?

I have many things to convey on the issue and will be covering them in my next post.