Anniversary of 1984 Biphol, India Union Carbide disaster coming up

[Sequoia]

THAT NIGHT,
DECEMBER 3, 1984

Shortly after midnight poison gas leaked from a factory in Bhopal, India, owned by Union Carbide Corporation. There was no warning, none of the plant's safety systems were working. In the city people were sleeping. They woke in darkness to the sound of screams with the gases burning their eyes, noses and mouths. They began retching and coughing up froth streaked with blood. Whole neighbourhoods fled in panic, some were trampled, others convulsed and fell dead. People lost control of their bowels and bladders as they ran. Within hours thousands of dead bodies lay in the streets.

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Union Carbide’s former CEO, Warren Anderson, faces charges of culpable homicide in connection with the disaster, for which India has sought his extradition. He is considered a fugitive from justice for his refusal to return to India to face the charges. Anderson currently is enjoying a comfortable retirement splitting time between Long Island and Florida, playing golf and staying out of the limelight. To date, the U.S. government has done nothing to facilitate Anderson’s extradition. If found guilty, he faces 10 years in prison and a fine. Citing trade secrets, Union Carbide has never disclosed the makeup of the gas that killed thousands.


(Please sign the petition to hold Dow responsible)

http://www.bhopal.net/

Documents recently uncovered in litigation and obtained by EWG demonstrate that Union Carbide cut corners and employed untested technologies when building the Bhopal plant. The company had forged ahead with the unproven design, knowing that it posed a “danger of polluting subsurface water supplies in the Bhopal area” according to a Carbide document marked "Destroy after use." Shaving costs and maximizing profits took precedence over ensuring the safety of plant workers and the surrounding communities

http://www.chemicalindustryarchives.org/dirtysecrets/bhopal/index.asp


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