Bhopal: A Legal, Environmental Bhopal: A Legal, Environmental and Human Disasterand Human Disaster

“A Hand in Things to Come”

Union Carbide comes to India : 1972

UCIL factory to produce pesticide (Sevin) in the center of Bhopal. Photo credit : Raghu Rai

Biases in Establishment of the Factory

• Sited in a poor neighborhood

• No community involvement

• No disaster planning or evacuation plan

The UCIL Factory

• A lethal process using MIC

• Inferior technology

• Cost cutting from safety features of factory

Disaster strikes at midnight Dec2-3rd, 1984 while Bhopal is asleep.

Dream turns into a nightmare. Photo credit: Raghu Rai

Death estimates vary from 3000 to 10,000 that night. Photo credit: Raghu Rai

Dysfunctional Safety Features

40 tonnes of MIC held without refrigeration.

Medical Response: At Hamidia Hospital

Badly damaged eyes and lungs. Photo credit: Raghu Rai

Biased Treatment of Survivors

• Composition of MIC for medical support – not revealed till today!

• Chaotic treatment of impoverished survivors.

• Blind hysterectomy suggested in gynecological problems.

• All studies by ICMR stopped in 1992.• No support for Trans-generational

abnormalities

Compensation

• Running between legal systems of India and US

• Original suit: $3.3 billion; Settled for: $470 million – $500 per affected Bhopali family Versus $900

per affected US sea otter (Exxon Valdez oil spill).

• Representation of all victims and survivors by Govt. of India

The soil & water of Bhopal have been

contaminated.

WARNING!Trespassers will NOT

be prosecuted.

Heavy Metals(in ppm)

VOC(in ppm)

Halo-organics(in ppm)

Pesticides(in ppm)

Samples Chromium

Nickel Mercury

Lead Chlorobenzenes

Dichloromethane

Chloroform

HCH isomer

Soil 0.647 1.032 0.568 0.137 0.932 0.103 6.546 1.605

Ground water

0.012 1.099 0.057 0.026 0.006 1.636 0.849 0.011

Vegetables

0.475 0.596 0.837 0.191 0.132 0.028 7.506 0.021

Breast milk

ND 0.097 0.129 0.149 2.854 0.359 1.594 2.392

Results of Study done by Shristi [Surviving Bhopal, 2002]

Chromium

(ug/Liter)

Nickel

(ug/Liter)

Mercury

(ug/Liter)

Lead

(ug/Liter)

Chloroform

(ug/Liter)

50 (BIS)

848 (Bhopal)

30 (ICRCL)

982 (Bhopal)

1 (BIS)

127 (Bhopal)

15 (USEPA)

30 (Bhopal)

100 (USEPA)

848 (Bhopal)

BIS - Bureau of Indian Standards ICRCL – Interdepartmental Comm. for the redevelopment of contaminated land (UK). USEPA – United States Environment Protection Agency

Water contaminants in Bhopal against standards

Women’s daily lives revolve around water.

Rehabilitation: Sambhavna Clinic

We all live in …