03 December 2009

Bhopal: 25 years of injustice - and what you can do

Something terrible happened 25 years ago. And justice has yet to be served.

At around midnight on December 3, 1984, there was a catastrophic explosion from a gas leak at a Union Carbine pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. More than 7,000 Bhopalis were killed in the explosion, and 15,000 more died later from their injuries.

The incident left behind a derelict plant site full of toxic chemicals that have never been effectively cleaned up. More than 100,000 people continue to suffer from health problems. And the water there is still toxic.

Union Carbide is now a fully owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical. The company has still not owned up to its responsibility.

According to Amnesty International, "the full facts of the leak and its impact have never been properly investigated. No-one has ever been held to account for what happened at Bhopal and efforts by survivors’ organizations to use the Indian and US court systems to see justice done and gain adequate redress have so far been unsuccessful."

And again, big business gets away with murder.

What you can do:

Call on Dow Chemical to take action and address the legacy of Bhopal.

Call on the Indian Prime Minister to end 25 years of injustice for the people of Bhopal.

(To take these actions, you will need to register first on the Amnesty International website, if you haven't already done so.)

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