bhopal gas tragedy
Photogallery
In industries,accidents/disasters mainly occur due to technical failure or irersesponsible handling of hazardous material.
one of the worst industrial disaters of all time occured in bhopal on 3 december 1984 around 00:30 pm.it was a technical
accident in which highly poisonous methyl isocynyte (MIC) gas along with hydrogen cyanide and other reaction products leaked
out of the pesticide factory of union carbide.the official death toll was 3,598 in 1989.thousands who survived still suffer
from one or many ailments like blindness,impaired immune system,gastrointestinal disorders etc.
within 3 days,more than 8,000 people were dead.hundreds of thousands were maimed.most of those exposed to the poison gas came from poor,working-class families,of which nearly 50,000 people are today too sick to work,among those who survived,many developed severe respiratory disorders,eye problems and other disorders.children developed pecuilar abnormalities.
the disater was not an accident.uc had delibrately ignored the essaintial safety measure in order to cut the safety costs. much before the bhopal disater,there had been incidents of gas leak killing a worker and injuring several.
despite the overwhelming evidence pointing to UC as responsible for the disaster,it refused to accep responsiblity.
in the ensuing legal battle, the government represented the victims in a civil case against UC.it filed a $3 billion compensation case in 1985,but accepted a lowly $470 million in 1989.survivors appealed against the settlement but the supreme court ruled that the settlement amount would stand.
UC stopped its operations,but left behind tons of toxic chemicals
.these have seeped into the ground,contaminating the water.dow chemical,the company who now owns the plants,refuses to take responsiblity for clean up
24 years later,people are still fighting for justice:for safe drinking water, for health-care facilities and jobs for the people poisoned by UC.they also demand that anderson,the UC chairman who faces criminal charges,be prosecuted.
bgcolor="yellow"
