I remember studying the Bhopal incident for an essay during my degree. It was shocking.
Did you know, for example, that Union Carbide - at the time of the disaster - hindered appropriate medical treatment for thousands of people by denying it could be anytrhing to do with cyanide poisoning?
Only when the Doctors began treating the victims with thiosulfate (used to mop up cyanide in the body which is then urinated out) was there any noticable improvement in their condition. By then thousands were already dead and many more blinded.
Two men had been left to hose down a tank full of an isocyanate compound that was getting warmer. It was getting warmer due to a reaction that was breaking it down into all sorts of organocyanide compounds. Once the temperature of the tank exceeded a certian level, they panicked and ran. Soon the tank ruptured.
The investigation into the Bhopal disaster found that Union Carbide was totally responsible for the disaster. It did accept moral responsibility and agreed a compensation package with the Indian Government. Alas this amounted to a meagre 300 USD per person affected.
The area is still toxic and has not cleaned up.
10,000 people died as a direct consequence and that a total of 500,000 people have died from secondary effects since (tumours etc).
There has never been a formal apology for this and other than the 300USD compensation per head given after the investigation, nothing has been done for the people there.
-edited by me: trollsome remark rephrased -
Consider this the next time someone justifies the military action in Iraq based on Saddams behaviour, especially the gassing of innocent people. Bhopal may have been an accident, but the behaviour of the company has been one of total disregard for the needless suffering it has caused and has long since washed its hands of all responsibility*, regardless of its' original admission.
If a foregein company had behaved the same way in the US, I wonder how far people would go to see justice done?
*responsibility in the sense that it should lift a finger to help
