Thanks to BBC News!
Despite that long and relaxing Thanksgiving break, we here at USDemocrazy are always looking to take some time off. Escape to a beautiful locale, see some cool sites, a break from our regular hectic schedule (get up, goof off, eat, and sleep).
So, when we heard about this far off exotic spot, we were intrigued. Particularly because it’s a pretty location…Welcome to Bhopal, in central India.
Bhopal is home of the Bhimbetka rock shelters with cave paintings depicting how humans lived over 9,000 years ago. However, it wasn’t the caves and the paintings that grabbed our attention… It is because Bhopal is untouched…
Bhopal has been untouched for decades by big international corporations.
Why? Because 25 years ago a terrible tragedy visited Bhopal.
Union Carbide Corporation was first welcomed to Bhopal in 1969 as a multinational company that could provide welcome jobs to the area.
However, in 1984, in one of the most horrific industrial accidents in recent history, an extremely deadly gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal killed thousands of local residents… and is still killing people today.
- Official initial deaths (from Dec. 3-6, 1984) – 3,000+
- Unofficial initial death toll – 7,000-8,000
- Total deaths to date – 15,000
- Number of people affected – 600,000
The accident caught the world’s attention. Much of this attention and subsequent outrage was pointed at Union Carbide over the companies apparent negligence with the plant. Union Carbide became the poster boy for corporate irresponsibility.
Union Carbide did not help its cause when It refused to make any out-of-court settlements with individuals, suggesting it would cost too much money.
Eventually, Dow Chemicals bought out Union Carbide, and later paid out $470 million to the victims.
$470 million, not bad right? This meant that the families of the dead received only $2,200 each!
The impact from the disaster are far from over, today people are still being affected.
An additional 15,000 people have since died from the aftereffects, and 10 to 30 people are said to die every month from exposure to the hundreds of tons of toxic waste left over in the former factory.
This past week marked the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster. The Indian Council of Medical Research is going to begin to study the gas, methyl isocyanate (MIC), that caused the poisoning. There are concerns of the chemical’s long term effect on locals with a likelihood of increased rates of cancer and genetic deformities.
The site has not been cleaned up. When the 40 tons of MIC wafted through the streets of India recently, crowds trampled human bodies to flee from impending death.
… We think we’ll find somewhere else to vacation this winter.
