Bhopal: A Legal, Environmental and Human Disaster

1
Bhopal A Legal, Environmental and Human Disaster
2
A Hand in Things to Come Union Carbide
comes to India 1972
3
UCIL factory to produce pesticide (Sevin) in the
center of Bhopal. Photo credit Raghu Rai
4
Biases in Establishment of the Factory

• Sited in a poor neighborhood
• No community involvement
• No disaster planning or evacuation plan

5
The UCIL Factory

• A lethal process using MIC
• Inferior technology
• Cost cutting from safety features of factory

6

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

7
Dream turns into a nightmare. Photo credit Raghu
Rai
8
Death estimates vary from 3000 to 10,000 that
night. Photo credit Raghu Rai
9
Dysfunctional Safety Features
10
40 tonnes of MIC held without refrigeration.
11
Medical Response At Hamidia Hospital
12
Badly damaged eyes and lungs. Photo credit Raghu
Rai
13
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

14
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

15

WARNING! Trespassers will NOT be prosecuted.

• The soil water of Bhopal have been contaminated.

16
Results of Study done by Shristi Surviving
Bhopal, 2002
Heavy Metals (in ppm) Heavy Metals (in ppm) Heavy Metals (in ppm) Heavy Metals (in ppm) VOC (in ppm) Halo-organics (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
17
Water contaminants in Bhopal against standards
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
18
Womens daily lives revolve around water.
19
Rehabilitation Sambhavna Clinic
20
We all live in