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Earth Summit >
World Tour > India
Sixth stop - Bhopal, India
 May
2002: On the night of 2 December 1984, forty tons of lethal
gases leaked from Union Carbide's pesticide factory in Bhopal, India.
It was the worst chemical disaster in history. By the third day
of the disaster, an estimated 8,000 people were dead from direct
exposure to the gases.
Sadly, these early days of the disaster were only the start of
a tragedy that continues to unfold. Union Carbide has abandoned
the factory and left behind large quantities of dangerous poisons.
The people of Bhopal were left with a contaminated water supply
and a toxic legacy that is still causing injury today.
What was agreed at the Earth Summit in 1992
to help fix this problem?
The Rio Declaration contains clear language on
the way governments should protect their citizens from pollution
and its consequences. Under Principle 13 it is stipulated that "States
shall develop national law regarding liability and compensation
for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage. States
shall also cooperate in an expeditious and more determined manner
to develop further international law regarding liability and compensation
for adverse effects of environmental damage caused by activities
within their jurisdiction or control to areas beyond their jurisdiction."
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This unidentified child died
in December, 1984, one of 8,000 fatalities caused by lethal
gases
which leaked from the Union Carbide factory.
©1984 Raghu Rai/Greenpeace
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What is happening in Bhopal now?
Today, approximately 520,000 exposed people potentially
have poisons circulating in their bloodstreams. A second generation
of children face health impacts from this toxic legacy. Well over
150,000 chronically-ill survivors still need medical attention.
In 1999, Greenpeace and Bhopal community groups documented the
presence of stockpiles of toxic pesticides as well as hazardous
wastes and contaminated material scattered throughout the factory
site. This survey found substantial to severe contamination of land
and water supplies with heavy metals and chlorinated chemicals.
The Greenpeace samples revealed groundwater from
wells around the site to contain high levels of chlorinated chemicals,
including chloroform and carbon tetrachloride, indicative of long-term
contamination. Additionally, mercury, lead, nickel, copper, chromium,
hexachlorocyclohexane, chlorobenzene and the nerve toxin Sevin were
found in soil samples. Many of the people who continue to live in
the vicinity of the factory, including survivors of the deadly gas
leak, are left with no alternative but to use groundwater contaminated
with toxic pollutants.
Greenpeace and Bhopal survivors are calling on
Dow Chemical to:
· clean up the factory site at the company's expense, as
would be required in the US,
· secure long-term medical treatment facilities and medical
rehabilitation for the survivor's of the poison gas leak,
· ensure economic compensation for the gas-affected people
and their families, and
· provide clean drinking water to communities that are forced
to consume contaminated groundwater.
How can the 2002 Earth Summit fix this?
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Disaster victims who live
in Jayaprakash Nagar, opposite the Bhopal disaster site, among
the more than 150,000 chronically-ill survivors who still
need medical attention.
©1984 Raghu Rai/Greenpeace
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Greenpeace and the Bhopal survivors' organizations
are calling for international agreements to be established to hold
corporations criminally and financially liable for industrial disasters
and ongoing pollution. Greenpeace is calling for nations to operationalize
Rio Principle 13; states shall as a matter of priority adopt national
laws, and consider the adoption of a legally-binding international
instrument, to implement Principle 13 of the Rio Declaration.
Take action:
Send
an email and fax to Dow asking CEO Michael Parker to cleam up
the toxic mess in Bhopal.
More information: Visit the Greenpeace
USA site to learn more about Dow's responsibility
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