Disaster Survivors Confront Dow Chemical

Washington DC: Representatives of survivors from the worst chemical disaster in history--the gas leak from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India in 1984 that killed thousands--have begun a tour in the United States to bring attention to Dow Chemical Corporation's pending liabilities of the gas disaster 17 years ago as well as the ongoing poisoning of the communities in Bhopal from the now abandoned plant. Dow merged with Union Carbide in February 2001.

The Justice in Bhopal tour will hold a public event in DC on Monday, May 6 at 6:30 pm at the Martin Luther King Public Library, Room A 10 (9th and G Streets, NW, Washington DC ). Besides stopping in Washington DC , Chicago , San Francisco , San Jose , Ann Arbor and New York , the tour will also stop at Dow's AGM to be held at Dow's headquarters in Midland , Michigan on May 9.

In December 1984, lethal gases leaked from Union Carbide's pesticide factory in Bhopal , India , killing upwards of 8,000 people within three days, and over 20,000 people have died since. Even today, more than 30 people continue to die every month as a result of the gas exposure.

What has exacerbated the problem even more is the presence of thousands of tons of toxic waste, left behind recklessly by Union Carbide in and around the now abandoned plant. Studies have shown that the toxins have contaminated the ground water and the soil, and high levels of toxins are showing up in mother's milk in the resident who live in the area. US Courts have ruled that Carbide is potentially responsible for the contamination and resulting health damages in Bhopal .

Carbide officials, including the then CEO Warren Anderson, who are charged with manslaughter and other serious offences, have refused to appear in Indian courts to face criminal trial relating to the gas disaster. Following Dow's acquisition of Carbide, Indian authorities have initiated legal action to name Dow as party in the criminal prosecution in Indian courts.

Dow Chemical maintains that there are no more pending liabilities in Bhopal . In sharp contrast to its stand in India , Dow has accepted its liabilities from Carbide's asbestos related litigation in the US . In January 2002, Dow reached a settlement in a lawsuit filed in Texas against Union Carbide, which had mined asbestos and operated a unit that made products containing asbestos. This sent stock prices down by as much as 14 percent. In a twisted move, Dow Chemical is now investing substantially in India , one of the products being Dursban, a pesticide that is on its way out in the US because of EPA action due to safety concerns.

"The whole Union Carbide fiasco, and now Dow Chemical, exemplifies the double standards employed by powerful corporations," said Dr. Trivedi, a Bhopal survivor and a physician.

According to Neil Tangri of Essential Action, one of the sponsors for the DC event, "the tour is designed to mobilize support for justice in Bhopal by making connections to local struggles here in the US and making sure there are no more Bhopals."

The tour and other activities is sponsored by Action against Corporate Crime and Toxic Terror (AcCcTt), an international coalition that includes Bhopal-based organizations Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, Gas Peedit Nirashit Morcha and Bhopal Group for Information and Action and their allies Bhopal Action Resource Center , CorpWatch, Greenpeace, National Campaign for Justice in Bhopal and The Other Media.

For more information on Bhopal , including the tour itinerary, visit www.CorpWatchIndia.org, www.greenpeace.org/~toxics and www.bhopal.org

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