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In the early hours of 3 December 1984, the worst industrial accident in history took place at a chemical plant in Bhopal in India. A pesticide plant owned by Union Carbide, a US-based multinational company, released a cloud of deadly gas into the atmosphere. Within minutes, it had drifted over the sleeping town of Bhopal.
Estimates of the number of deaths on that night vary widely. The Indian government's official estimate is that 1,700 people died within 48 hours. Unofficially, it is said that around 6,000 people perished in the days immediately following the gas leak. What is certain is that the victims of Bhopal suffered horribly, most of them drowning
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in their own bodily fluids as the gas attacked their lungs.
And the legacy of Bhopal stretches on. To date, over 20,000 people have died as a result of the accident. An estimated 10-15 people suffer crippling, gas-related deaths each month. More than 50,000 are too sick to work, while around 5,000 families continue to drink poisoned water. As a result, the infant mortality rate is significantly higher in Bhopal than in the rest of the country.
Investigations into what happened at Bhopal placed the blame for the disaster squarely on the shoulders of Union Carbide India. Although the company paid $470 million to the Indian government in 1989 to cover all personal-injury and related claims, the legal battle continues. The firm has subsequently been bought by Dow Chemicals, which has since become the focus of lobbying by Bhopal survivors' groups.
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