Bhopal 30 Years On: Lessons From a Toxic Tragedy

I was in Bhopal, India 10 years after the 1984 disaster in which a now infamous Union Carbide pesticide plant released 27 tons of a toxic chemical into a crowded sleeping city, killing 8,000 people immediately and over 20,000 to date. It's hard to believe that today is the 30th anniversary of that disaster. In spite of so much technological advancement in the three decades since Bhopal, here in the U.S. we haven't sufficiently heeded the warning that that disaster still clearly signals.
I have visited Bhopal several times since 1984 and listened to local peoples' stories of how that horrific night unfolded. At first some thought the pain in their eyes was due to neighbors burning chilies. Thousands panicked and began running. People were trampled, children lost, huge numbers injured and killed. The world's deadliest industrial accident has become known in India as the Hiroshima of the chemical industry.
Today the abandoned Union Carbide factory still sits there, leaking hazardous chemicals and waste left behind in the aftermath of the disaster, poisoning the next generation of Bhopalis with lead, mercury, chloroform and other toxic chemicals in their soil and drinking water. In 2001 Dow Chemical purchased Union Carbide and has consistently refused to accept any responsibility for Union Carbide's criminal or civil liabilities.
This week, as on every anniversary of the tragedy, its survivors held candle light vigils, marched and renewed their demands for full compensation, health care, clean water and justice. The survivors aren't just asking for environmental justice for their community but for every community. Their slogan -- No More Bhopals -- means no more Bhopals anywhere.
When Bhopal survivors Rashida Bee and Champa Shukla visited the U.S. in 2004 to receive the prestigious Goldman Prize for their activism, they took time out to join members of Congress in calling for new federal rules to require chemical plants to switch to safer available alternatives to prevent disasters. The U.S. also has dangerous chemical plants; some that could inflict as many casualties as in Bhopal.
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