Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time -Two Hundred Thirty Nine
Palash Biswas
http://indianholocaustmyfatherslifeandtime.blogspot.com/
25 Years Ago: Bhopal MIC Leak Sparked Changes in Kanawha Valley
Posted Thursday, December 3, 2009 ; 04:15 AM | View Comments | Post Comment
Updated Thursday, December 3, 2009; 11:04 AM
 Union Carbide's Bhopal, India, MIC plant |
CHARLESTON -- It has been 25 years since one of the worst industrial disasters in history.
In 1984, a leak of methyl isocyanate gas, or MIC, from Union Carbide's plant in Bhopal, India, killed nearly 4,000 people.
After the tragedy, Union Carbide, changed its manufacturing processes to eliminate large stockpiles of MIC at its facilities. The Dow Chemical Co. purchased Union Carbide in 2001.
As of May 2009, more than 200,000 pounds of MIC was stored at the Bayer CropScience Plant in Institute. That plant once was owned by Union Carbide.
http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=71330Union Carbide
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Union Carbide Corp. | |||
| Type | wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemical | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1917 | ||
| Headquarters | Houston, TX | ||
| Key people | Patrick E. Gottschalk, CEO & President | ||
| Industry | Manufacturing | ||
| Products | Bulk Chemicals, Ethylene, Ethylene Derivatives | ||
| Revenue | $7.33 billion(2008, 10-K release Feb 20, 2009) | ||
| Website | www.unioncarbide.com |
Union Carbide Corporation (Union Carbide) is one of the oldest chemical and polymers companies in the United States, currently employing more than 3,800 people.[1] It became infamous for the worst ever industrial accident that took place in its Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India plant in 1984[1]. Union Carbide was found liable for the disaster, but has denied responsibility. Union Carbide became a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (TDCC) on February 6, 2001,[2] and sells most of the products it manufactures to TDCC. It is a former component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.[3]
In 1920, its researchers developed an economical way to make ethylene from natural gas liquids such as ethane and propane, giving birth to the modern petrochemical industry. Today, Union Carbide possesses some of the industry's most advanced process and catalyst technologies, and operates some of the most cost-efficient, large-scale production facilities in the world.[neutrality disputed] Before divesting them, the chemical giant also owned consumer products Eveready and Energizer batteries, Glad bags and wraps, Simoniz car wax and Prestone antifreeze.
Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some of these materials are high-volume commodities, while others are specialty products meeting the needs of smaller market niches. The end-uses served include paints and coatings, packaging, wire and cable, household products, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive, textiles, agriculture and oil and gas.
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[edit] Bhopal disaster
The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal gas tragedy was an industrial disaster that took place at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. At midnight on 3 December 1984, the plant accidentally released methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, exposing more than 500,000 people to MIC and other chemicals. The first official immediate death toll was 2,259. The government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release.[4] Others estimate 8,000-10,000 died within 72 hours and 25,000 have since died from gas-related diseases.[5][6] As of 2009 no one has yet been prosecuted for the disaster. Local groundwater still contains over a thousand times the recommended level of carbon tetrachloride.
[edit] References
- ^ Union Carbide Corporation, About Us. Accessed July 9, 2008.
- ^ Union Carbide Corporation, History, Accessed July 9, 2008.
- ^ History of DJIA, globalfinancialdata.com
- ^ http://www.mp.gov.in/bgtrrdmp/relief.htm
- ^ Eckerman (2001).
- ^ Eckerman (2004).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- UnionCarbide.com - Union Carbide Corporation homepage
Groups Worldwide Remember Bhopal Disaster, Urge Dow to Clean Up SiteEHS Today - - 42 minutes ago 3 to pressure Dow Chemical, the current owner of Union Carbide, to clean up the water in Bhopal and face criminal charges in India. ... Bhopal: 25 Years Later BusinessWeek US Stocks Slightly Higher; Helped By Materials CompaniesWall Street Journal - - Dec 2, 2009 Weighing against that move, financials were the Dow's weakest components with American Express, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America all trading in the red. ... US Stocks Turn Lower; Bank, Energy Shares Down Wall Street Journal GLOBAL MARKETS: European Stocks Seen Up, Dubai Fears RecedeWall Street Journal - - Nov 30, 2009 Bank of America was the Dow's weakest component Friday, closing down 48 cents, or 3%, at 15.47, reflecting declines across the financial sector amid ... US markets absorb Dubai technical challenge Middle East North Africa Financial Network Stocks Rebound From Retail, Dubai Worries TheStreet.com Dow Jones Industrial shifts global equity sentiment Director of Finance online Rytlewski leads Dow High Chargers hockey team over Saginaw NouvelMidland Daily News - - 3 hours ago Eli Rytlewski showed Wednesday why he is a leader on the Dow High hockey team. The senior captain had two goals and two assists as the ... Dow expands residential RO membrane productiondesalination.biz - 1 hour ago Dow Water & Process Solutions announced investment on 3 December 2009 in the design, construction and start-up of the next generation production line of ... The Natural Step and Dow Announce Strategic AlignmentCSRwire.com (press release) - 3 hours ago 03 /CSRwire/ - The Natural Step and The Dow Chemical Company recently announced an agreement that will help both organizations advance their sustainability ... Infosys to double US headcountTimes of India - Dec 2, 2009 As part of the alliance, Dow and TCS are planning to build a new service centre at a site near Dow's global headquarters in Midland Michigan, the US. ... Market Recap: Dow Ushers In December with a Triple-Digit GainSchaeffers Research - - Dec 1, 2009 Against this jolly backdrop, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) ushered in December with a triple-digit gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA ... Why Monday's Positive Finish Bodes Well for Dow Schaeffers Research The Resurrection of the Gold StandardGold Seek - - 22 hours ago The Dow Jones Industrials is up more than 60% from its lows in March, while at the same time, copper, gold, silver, and a broad array of commodities are ... Renewed Risk Trade Pushes Dow Toward New 13-Month HighWall Street Journal (blog) - - Nov 23, 2009 Investors are back in the mood to take risks Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average again flirting with 13-month highs and the ... Video: Nov. 24: Consumer Confidence, GDP Tug at Stocks  The Associated Press US Stocks About Flat After Trimming Losses Wall Street Journal Stocks lifted by data on homes and dollar Philadelphia Inquirer Stay up to date on these results: |
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| The 1984 gas leak in Bhopal, India, was a terrible tragedy that understandably continues to evoke strong emotions even 25 years later. In the wake of the release, Union Carbide Corporation worked diligently to provide immediate and continuing aid to the victims and set up a process to resolve their claims – all of which were settled 18 years ago at the explicit direction and with the approval of the Supreme Court of India. This web site provides our statement regarding the tragedy, details our response, and other historical and legal information about the incident. In 1998, the Indian state government of Madhya Pradesh took full responsibility for the site. For more information on the Indian state government's efforts to address victims' needs and site clean up, visit the Madhya Pradesh web site that addresses the Bhopal tragedy. Since the time of the incident, the chemical industry has worked to voluntarily develop and implement strict safety and environmental standards to help ensure that an incident of this type never occurs again. |  | | |
| Copyright 2001-2009, Union Carbide Corporation |
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The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal gas tragedy was an industrial disaster that took place at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. At midnight on 3 December 1984, the plant released an estimated 42 tonnes of toxic ...
bhopal gas tragedy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmtN8NkMcmo<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rmtN8NkMcmo&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rmtN8NkMcmo&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Dow Chemical - The Human Element
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Bhopal Disaster - BBC - The Yes Men
The Yes Men strike again. Impersonating a Dow Chemical spokesman on BBC, "Jude Finisterra" promises a huge compensation for the thousands of victims of the Bhopal disaster in which Dow Chemical's s...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiWlvBro9eI
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Sehwag promises 300; Jaye ho for Vijay & more: Highlights
Virender Sehwag's unbeaten 284 had Sri Lanka in tatters at the end of day two of the third Test in Mumbai's Brabourne stadium. Sehwag's rocket-paced knock combined with Murali Vijay's classy 87 placed India in position from where the home side can call the shots in the Test match. Sehwag's 250 is the fastest ever in international cricket.
Supersonic Sehwag
Virender Sehwag punished the Sri Lankan attack with unsparing weapons. There were ferocious pulls, slog-sweep for sixes and typical stand-and-deliver shots. Sehwag's bat pounded the Lankan attack like a train rattling over the railway line. With his blistering double hundred on day two, Sehwag became the first Indian to slam six double centuries, breaking Dravid's record of five doubles. Sehwag's supersonic knock of 284 runs was laced with 40 boundaries and seven sixes.
Bhopal tragedy scientist stricken - Researcher who helped demystify poison gas battles lung disease | |
| G.S. MUDUR | |
New Delhi, Dec. 2: From the bed of an intensive care unit, Samavedam Sriramachari today recalled his two decades of research that helped demystify the poison gas which caused the worst chemical disaster in human history. The Indian pathologist, who helped the world fathom how the methyl isocyanate gas that leaked from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal 25 years ago killed and harmed thousands of people, is now himself fighting a lung disease probably linked to the tragedy. Sriramachari, 84, who was director of the Institute of Pathology, a government research centre in New Delhi at the time of the Bhopal gas disaster on the night of December 2-3, 1984, entered the city within a week after the leak. He spent several days there performing autopsies, seeking clues in globules of froth around mouths, in cherry red coloured lungs and pink-discoloured bodies. Any clues that might help treat the survivors. Toxic residues of the gas that scientists believe lingered in the city's air for days after the leak entered his own lungs. And bursts of trapped gas released from body tissues during the autopsies worsened his own exposure. "When the Bhopal disaster occurred, no one had a clue about the toxic effects of methyl isocyanate on humans," said Samavedam Sandhyamani, Sriramachari's daughter who is herself a trained pathologist. "It was an emergency, but without toxicity information, doctors weren't sure what was the best way to help the survivors," Sandhyamani told The Telegraph. The government estimates that 3,700 people died of exposure to toxic gases during the early days after the leak. But thousands more have suffered the long-term adverse effects over the years. Sriramachari and his colleagues helped demonstrate that the toxic cloud over Bhopal wasn't just methyl isocyanate. Their research established that the gas, which is heavier than air, breaks down at high temperatures and leads to the production of two other lethal compounds — hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. Bhopal's residents were exposed to multiple toxic threats that night. The first autopsies by local pathologist Heeresh Chandra had indicated acute cyanide poisoning — and severely ill survivors injected with sodium thiosulfate, an antidote to cyanide, showed rapid signs of recovering. But, Sriramachari recalls, the cyanide theory encountered a barrage of criticism from sections of medical community. Some doctors insisted it was only methyl isocyanate that was causing symptoms and not cyanide. "We lost time," said Arun Jain, a senior scientist at the Institute of Pathology. The Institute team conducted a study to show that toxic residues were excreted in the urine of patients to make the sodium thiosulfate therapy become acceptable. In subsequent years, their studies showed that the gases produced from the leak interacted with a certain enzyme in the body to cause long-term effects in the lungs that could last for years. "The lungs of some of the victims from Bhopal who had never smoked show changes that are typically observed in the lungs of long-term smokers," said Jain. The studies also helped unravel the molecular mechanisms of the gas byproducts in the body. Sriramachari himself began to experience symptoms of lung disease about two years after returning from Bhopal. "We suspect it had to do with his exposure while he was there. He had never shown any lung symptoms before that," said Sandhyamani. He's been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute here a few days ago after he had bouts of breathlessness. Many scientists believe Sriramachari's investigations from 1984 through 2004 have spawned the most comprehensive body of toxicity research on methyl isocyanate, a legacy for pathologists of the future. "The techniques he used to solve the puzzle of methyl isocyanate could also help in future disasters involving toxic gases," said Sandhyamani. "There are lessons for the future -- whether it's to study emissions from a burning factory or an oil refinery." |
Indian activists marked the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal gas leak disaster on Thursday with protests and demands that those responsible for thousands of deaths finally be held to account.It is reminiscent of Early Eighties, Operation Blue Star, Sikh Genocide and failure of GREEN Revolution. I had just landed in Meerut from Ranchi where I had to witness the Military Revolt in ramgarh cant and read daily edits written by Prabhash Joshi and rajendra mathur Dictating Indira gandhi that the nation was on Operation table and the Army must act. Now it makes me laugh while I read about all the Rubbish that the Hindu Intelligentsia had been so much so concerned with the Persecution of Sikh Nationality. Bhopal gas Tragedy is essentially linked with the Resurgence of Hindutva and India becoming the Safe heaven of ZIONOISM and FREE Market whic made everything Chemically, Biologically and Nuclear inflicted. Since Neo Liebralism introduced by the BASTARDISED Politicians, Economists and Policy makers with the Decalration of death for Idelogy, History and Genres, LPG Mafia has inflicted the Nation with CARBIDE Pandemic as the Gandhian CARBIDES made the ZIONIST Dynasty tagged with United States as well as Israel and made Indian Ocean Peace Zone a Region of Constant Conflict, War and Civil War, Repression, Ethnic Cleansing, Exodus,Insurgency and Terror!
Quite amusing as Parliamentarians today expressed their solidarity with thousands of victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy on its 25th anniversary and resolved to make the world free of such catastrophes and make it a better place for coming generations.
Making a reference in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Meira Kumar said it was on this day 25 years ago the country witnessed one of the most harrowing "man-made" tragedies in which thousands of people lost their lives and many were blinded or physically disabled.
"The survivors of this gas tragedy are still suffering from the ill-effects of the MIC(methyl iso-cyanate) gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant at Bhopal," the Speaker said.
Hundreds of people marched through Bhopal with torches before dawn Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of the world's worst industrial disaster and demand the cleanup of toxic chemicals they say still contaminate the Indian city's soil and water.
Early on Dec. 3, 1984, a pesticide plant run by Union Carbide spewed about 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate gas into the city's air, quickly killing about 4,000 people. The lingering effects of the poison raised the death toll to about 15,000 over the next few years, according to government estimates.
Me and Sabita were still in Honeymoon mode as I was not quite OFF the way from my Social and Environment Activism. My Father, the Black Untouchable Refugee Leader leading Peasant Uprising and Mobilising Refugees for Civi and Human Rights were still active.I had just returned form the hot pot of Nationality Movement, Jharkhand and landed myself in the Jat Bastion where I witnessed Hindutva Festivals Presided by the SO Called Secular Gandhian carbides including Prabhash Joshi! Later, I witness how Meerut and the Rest of Uttar Pradesh were IGNITED with Communal Mass Suicide. It was the real back ground for Operation Blue Star, finalised in Meerut Cant. and Bhopal Gas Tragedy and Global Hindutva proved to be the best Stimulus for US Corporate Colonisation which followed very soon jsut after the Demise of Mrs ionmdira Gandhi with the Historical super Alliance of RSS, Gandhian Carbides, Socialst Oxides and Marxist Hypocrite with the single Goal, HINDU Corporate nation, the HINDU Swaraj, Ram rajya of Gandhi, the Greatest Zionist outside Israel, Americas and Europe!From which US President Barack OBAMA seeks inspiration very logically.
We had no TV at home. We rented a room in KL Dutta house in Nagala Battu near Meerut cant wherefrom I could see all RSS activities and Corporate Manipulation as I was In charge of a Prominent Hindi Daily Edition and had to deal with the corporates. I witnessed how the handlooms were destroyed! How Cottage Industries all over North India were lit on fire. I tarced well the Geography of Corporatisation annexed with Communalisation supervised the Ruling carbides.
The daughter in law of the land lord, Manju was a daughter of a Military Official from Lucknow. She had a sister in Bhopal where UNION Carbide exposed the Masses to Carbon Monoxide to experiment Chemical warfare which continues till this date with modertae termonology like Disinvestment, Foreign Capital Inflow, GDR, development, Urbanisation, Infrastructure, Industrialisation, retail chain, IT, Public Private venture, NGO, Maoism,Genetic Engineering and even on the name of Environment, Ecology,Life Cycles, Conservation, Global warming and Climate Change. Since I spent my entire student life in the Himalayas deeply indulged in Environment activism, I maty dare to distingush the Hidden Agenda out of PR Literature which I dealt well in Dhanbad, the Caol Fields!
Manju`s Sister and Brother in law withtheir chiled were entarpped in the Gas Envelop and we witnessed a Bhopal at home while the Couple suvived the tragedy and lost the child in a road accident later! The Tragedy NEVER Ended. rather it ESCALATED as CARBIDE Pandemic!
High level of contamination found in Bhopal
 Groundwater in areas around the Bhopal gas tragedy site contain almost 40 times more pesticides than allowed under the Indian standards, the Centre for Science and Environment has claimed.The Pollution Monitoring Lab of the NGO tested water and soil samples from in and around the Union Carbide factory, and found high concentrations of pesticides and heavy metals. All 11 groundwater samples collected from colonies around the UCIL factory were found to be contaminated with chlorinated benzene compounds and organochlorine pesticides, the test results showed. "The reason this is extremely worrying is because we have found the toxins in the groundwater we have checked from almost 3 km below the factory," said Chandra Bhushan, associate director, in-charge of the CSE laboratory. The Bhopal gas tragedy occurred on December 3, 1984 when the plant accidentally released Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) gas, killing around 5000 people and permanently incapacitating many others. All the samples collected from within the factory were found to be highly contaminated. The waste stored within the premises had Carbaryl content of 9,856 parts per million (ppm) and mercury content of 1,065 ppm, Bhushan said. The concentration of pesticides was 1.1 to 38.6 times higher than the Indian standard, the study claimed. "The profile of chemicals found within the UCIL factory and in the waste disposal site of UCIL matches the chemicals found in the groundwater sample in the colonies outside. There is no other source of these chlorinated benzene compounds and pesticides than UCIL," Bhushan said. CSE Director Sunita Narain said, "The factory site in Bhopal is leading to chronic toxicity –- continuous tiny exposure leading to poisoning of our bodies. This is different from acute poisoning and so the claim that the factory is not dangerous because people can touch the waste is misleading." | |
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| The waste left behind at the Union Carbide India Limited(UCIL) factory that was closed 25 years ago after a fatal gas leak continues to poison people around the plant, says the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). | |
| "Latest tests show that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory contains almost 40 times more pesticides than Indian standards," CSE Director Sunita Narain said here on Tuesday, a day before the 25th anniversary of the gas leak that killed 3,500 people at once and maimed thousands more. The pollution monitoring lab of the CSE has tested water and soil samples from in and around the closed factory and found high concentrations of pesticides and heavy metals inside the factory as well as in the groundwater outside. "One water and eight soil samples were collected from various places inside the factory in October this year and 11 more water samples came from locations outside — from colonies next to the factory's boundary to those 3.5 km away and toxins were found in the groundwater checked from almost 3 km from the factory," CSE Associate Director Chandra Bhushan said. "All 11 groundwater samples collected from colonies around the factory were found to be contaminated with chlorinated benzene and organochlorine pesticides. Carbamates were found in four samples. The concentration of pesticides was 1.1 to 38.6 times higher than the Indian standard," he said. "Also, the profile of chemicals found within the factory and in its waste disposal site matched the chemicals found in the groundwater sample in the colonies outside. There is no other source of these chlorinated benzene compounds and pesticides," Narain said. The entire site is highly contaminated, she added. The problem is that chemicals present in the soil of the factory are leaching into the groundwater and leading to slow poisoning of residents. "The entire site of the factory needs to be carefully checked and cleaned up," Narain said. | |
Demonstrators and survivors capped a week of commemorations with a march to the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, where on December 3, 1984 a cloud of methyl isocyanate gas killed up to 10,000 people within three days.
CARBIDE Pandemic Extended in CARBIDE Rule!Worried over 'urban chaos becoming a way of life', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday called for radical reforms for the future of urban India.With food inflation shooting up and the Centre asking states to do something about it, Akali Dal-ruled Punjab today hit back, saying the union government's policies were to blame for the upward spiral in prices.The Reserve Bank today said the domestic banks do not have much exposure to the debt-ridden Dubai World and hence their balance sheets will not be materially affected from the crisis.
Local activists insist the real numbers are almost twice that, and say the company and government have failed to clean up toxic chemicals at the plant, which closed after the accident.
"Down with the government," and "Down with Union Carbide," the protesters chanted Thursday as they marched to the plant in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh state.
"Punish the guilty and remove the toxic waste from the plant that still contaminates the soil and groundwater," said Rashid Bi, a victim who joined the march.
Union Carbide was bought by Dow Chemical Co. in 2001. Dow says the legal case was resolved in 1989 when Union Carbide settled with the Indian government for $470 million, and that all responsibility for the factory now rests with the government of the state of Madhya Pradesh, which now owns the site.
The government says at least 500,000 people were affected by the gas, also known as MIC. Activists say thousands of children born to parents directly exposed to the gas or poisoned by contaminated water are suffering from brain damage, cleft lips, missing palates and twisted limbs.
Skin, vision and breathing disorders also are common, they say.
"The enormity of that tragedy of neglect still gnaws at our collective conscience," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a statement Wednesday.
"I reaffirm our government's commitment to resolving issues of safe drinking water, expeditious cleanup of the site, continuation of medical research, and any other outstanding issues connected with the Bhopal gas tragedy," he said.
However, Babulal Gaur, the state minister for gas relief and rehabilitation, insists there is no current toxic contamination and dismisses assertions that the birth defects are related to the disaster. He says the diseases plaguing children are only a consequence of living in poor slums.
Investigations have found that the accident occurred when water entered a sealed tank containing highly reactive MIC, causing pressure in the tank to rise too high.
Union Carbide Corp., an American chemical company, said the accident was an act of sabotage by a disgruntled employee who was never identified, and not the result of lax safety standards or faulty plant design, as claimed by some activists.
Critics say the plant should not have used MIC, which is cheaper than less-hazardous alternatives, and should not have been located in a highly populated area.
'As infrastructure struggles to keep pace with demand, urban chaos is becoming a way of life. Our cities and towns are not an acceptable face of a rapidly modernising and developing economy. This must clearly change and change for the better,' said Manmohan Singh.He was speaking at a function here to mark the fourth anniversary of the government's flagship Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.The prime minister reiterated the 'government's firm commitment to the development of the urban sector'.
Rising sea level threatens Sunderbans inhabitants!At least 10,000 inhabitants have been turned into environmental refugees and another 70,000 are in the danger of meeting the same fate over the next thirty years, environmental experts say.After a 10-year study in and around the Bay of Bengal, oceanographers say the sea is rising at 3.14 millimetres a year in the Sunderbans against a global average of 2 mm, threatening low-lying areas of India and Bangladesh.
Why humans outlive apes?Chimpanzees and great apes have lifespans that barely exceed 50 years, in spite of their genetic similarity to humans. The difference is that humans evolved genes that enabled them to better adjust to levels of infection, inflammation and to the high cholesterol levels of their meat-rich diets, says a researcher.Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinay Katiyar Thursday said he will make certain 'startling revelations' about the razing of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya Dec 6, 1992, on the 17th anniversary of the incident Sunday.The debate on the Liberhan Commission report in the Lok Sabha has been rescheduled to Dec 7 and 8, while in the Rajya Sabha it will be held Dec 9 and 10, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said here Thursday.The Samajwadi Party Thursday said it will join hands with non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposition parties to hold a rally Dec 18 protesting rise in prices of essential commodities and issues concerning farmers.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)is likely to revise upwards growth forecasts for 2009/10 when it reviews policy in January and monetary action may be needed if inflation accelerates, senior officials said on Thursday.
Following in China's footsteps, India has also decided to slow down the growth of greenhouse gas emissions.Last week, China had claimed that it would cut carbon emissions up to 45 percent by 2020. India has decided to cut its carbon intensity by 24 percent by 2020.AsGold created history in the Mumbai bullion market, with the yellow metal crossing the Rs 18,000 level per 10 grams for the first time in the history.Menawhile,The two LeT militants, handed over to India by Bangladesh, have confessed to their involvement in the serial blasts that rocked Bangalore in 2008.
Hmar tribes of Manipur celebrated their community's colourful harvest festival, Hmar Sikpui Ruoi recently with much fanfare.On this occasion, various troupes presented cultural dances and songs during the festival.Though there is no particular date for holding this festival, it is celebrated on any convenient days during the winter in December (Mimtuk thla) and January (Tuolbuol thla).Sikpui Ruoi, in olden days, was celebrated for several days and sometimes, the celebration lasted a month. But usually, the celebration lasts for a week.
The all-embracing mood of the festival where everyone, rich and poor, young and old can participate without any social inhibition is a distinctive feature of the Sikpui Ruoi.
On this auspicious occasion, everybody be it young or old, rich or poor, dances in blissful harmony on a common platform.
Rising sea levels has forced thousands of families to leave their ancestral houses and lands in the Sunderbans area of West Bengal, and many more are living in the constant fear of losing theirs.
Sugato Hazra, an oceanographer at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, who led the team that conducted the study, said an increase in the sea temperature was compounding the problems for the islanders.
Studies released earlier this week showed the shanty towns surrounding the site were still laced with lethal chemicals that polluted groundwater and soil, causing birth defects and a range of chronic illnesses.
"The survivors of the tragedy, through these protests, are venting their ire against the state government for its inaction in clearing the toxic waste," said Satinath Sarangi of the Bhopal Group of Information and Action.
Research by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) showed 25,000 people have died from the consequences of exposure since 1984.
After those studies concluded, government statistics said 100,000 people were chronically sick, with more than 30,000 people living in water-contaminated areas around the factory.
The state government of Madhya Pradesh, of which Bhopal is capital, assumed responsibility for the site in 1998, and has only partially cleared the hundreds of tonnes of toxic materials scattered around the plant.
Thousands more tonnes lie just yards away from the plant in man-made "solar evaporation ponds" where Union Carbide was dumping waste for years before the accident.
State authorities say the material is not harmful and, to prove this, last month said they planned to open the site to visitors. Officials later reversed the decision.
In a statement released to coincide with the anniversary, Dow Chemical -- which purchased Union Carbide in 1999 -- said a 470 million dollar settlement reached in 1989 with the Indian government "resolved all existing and future claims" against the company.
Union Carbide "did all it could to help the victims and their families" until the settlement and said the Indian government should be responsible for providing clean drinking water and health services to residents.
It said at the time and continues to insist that sabotage was behind the leak.
Most of the settlement money was used to pay compensation of 1,000-2,000 dollars to victims who were left unable to work or with long-term ailments, but many received nothing at all.
"People came and told us we could apply for compensation," Laxmi Narayan, whose wife suffers severe eye complaints apparently caused by the industrial accident, told AFP. "They took our name down, but we never saw a penny."
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh issued a statement describing Bhopal as a tragedy that "still gnaws at our collective conscience" and he vowed continued efforts to tackle the issues of drinking water and site decontamination.
Criminal cases against former Union Carbide executives are pending in various Indian and US courts which hold them and Dow liable for the catastrophe.
Amnesty International called on Dow to "cooperate fully in the ongoing legal proceedings in order to ensure that those responsible are held accountable."
What can states do? Everything is in the hand of the Central government," Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal said within days of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee blaming states for the rising prices. Food inflation rose to 17.47 per cent as of the third week of November, driven by high prices of onions and other edibles.
Badal was talking to reporters, who asked him about the rising prices of essential items, after a meeting with Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Asked what the state is doing to check the hoarding of essential commodities, Badal said the Centre has to see that.
Last week, Mukherjee and Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had put the onus on states, maintaining that reining in prices was not just a Central issue. Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha that when vegetable prices increase, blame cannot be squarely put on the Union Finance Minister or the Union Agriculture Minister.
"Surely, it is bad management (by some states)." Similarly, Pawar had told Parliament: "I have written to the Chief Ministers that if the state government machinery is not alert, it will be difficult to provide relief to people.
"In Sunderbans the impact (of global warming) is very high because not only the coastline is retreating and we are losing islands and losing land at the rate of say, in 30 years we have lost 90 square kilometre area including two islands. A lot of people have become environmental migrants but also high intensity cyclones are increasing in Bay of Bengal because of the rise in the sea surface temperature," said Hazra, director of the School of Oceanography at the Jadavpur University.
According to a United Nations climate panel report, human activity was causing global warming and it predicted more droughts, heat-waves and rising seas.
But for the Sunderbans, made up of hundreds of islands, criss-crossed by narrow water channels and home to many of India's dwindling tiger populations, the threat is more immediate.
At least 15 islands have been affected but erosion is widespread in other islands as well, Hazra said.
A combination of drought and then heavy rainfall this year plus increasing soil salinity have made it impossible to grow enough food to survive on traditional agriculture alone.
At least four million people live in the islands spread across 9,630 sq. km (3,700 sq. miles) of mangrove swamps.
Bhopal gas tragedy victims to 'expose' central, state governments
Associations of the victims of the December 1984 Bhopal gas leak Thursday launched a campaign to "expose" those in the government working for the benefit of Dow Chemicals, the current owner of Union Carbide from whose plant the deadly gas had leaked out, killing and maiming thousands.Leaders of the three organisations -- Satinath Sarangi and Rachna Dhingra of Bhopal Group for Information and Action, Rashida Bi and Champa Devi Shukla of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh and Syed M. Irfan of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha -- accused both the Madhya Pradesh and central governments of working to provide relief to the American multinational.
Addressing a press conference here, they said that while the Indian government officially holds Dow Chemicals liable for Union Carbide's environmental crimes in Bhopal and has sought $22 million as advance for clean up, it has taken no steps against the Indian subsidiaries of Dow Chemicals.
Dow Chemicals has been fined $350,000 by the US Securities & Exchange Commission for having paid $200,000 in bribes to Indian officials eight years ago, yet the Indian government is yet to take any action on this issue, they said.
The three organisation declared the launch of the "Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate" (Crow bites Liars) campaign to nail the state government's "lies". As part of this, a "Benign Buffet" will be organised Saturday at which members of the state cabinet and the bureaucracy would be invited to eat such "delicacies" as "semi-processed pesticide on watercress" and "Lime Sludge Mousse".
Gwalior-based Defence Research Development Establishment's director R Vijayraghavan and the head of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute at Nagpur, who had certified Union Carbide's chemical wastes to be "orally ingestible" are also invited, they added.
The leaders alleged Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath and other central government ministers were acting as "lackeys" of Dow Chemicals. They also condemned the Indian government's negligence towards extraditing Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson against whom a fresh non-bailable arrest warrant was issued in July 2009.
They also charged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with failing to honour his 14-month-old promise of setting up the Empowered Commission on Bhopal for medical care and rehabilitation of Bhopal's poisoned people and their future generations.
Incredible India campaign to hit domestic market soon
The Incredible India campaign, which showcases major holiday destinations and has won international awards, will now be promoted in the domestic market too."The Incredible India commercial, which has won several prestigious international awards should be used in domestic markets too as the film has the quality to stir the imagination of not just the foreign travellers but also domestic tourists who sustain our tourism industry," union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja said here Thursday.
She was speaking while felicitating the entire team that was involved in producing the television commercial that has appeared during the Oscar, Grammy and BAFTA award functions.
The Incredible India campaign, which has won international awards at Berlin, Poland, Romania, France, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Croatia, has been jointly made by an NGO that works in the area of tourism -- Experience India Society and Nirvana Films.
So far, the campaign has been promoted abroad and now the ministry plans to aggressively promote it in the country.
In November, the campaign picked up the prestigious Grand Prix Award in Vienna, Austria.
Gunbattle between Maoists, security forces in West Midnapore
In continuing violence in West Midnapore district, Maoist guerrillas Thursday planted a landmine, torched houses and engaged security forces in gunbattles. Four rebels were also arrested by the securitymen. Meanwhile, normal life continued to be hit in the forest lands of the three districts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia on the third day of the five-day shutdown called by the Maoist-backed tribal body People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) demanding a 15-day halt to the anti-Maoist operation in view of the harvesting season.
Security was stepped up in view of the Dec 2-8 'foundation week' being observed by the People's Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist).
The rebels attacked and set fire to the house of a Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Bhagwan Pal in Jhargram early Thursday, and then torched two other houses in the vicinity before fleeing, police said.
The Maoists planted a landmine at Malibandhi village in the district, but the villagers discovered the landmine and informed the police in time.
When the bomb disposal squad was trying to defuse the landmine they came under heavy fire from the Maoists. The security forces returned the fire, and the gunbattle continued for a couple of hours before the militants fled, said district police superintendent Manoj Verma.
The shutdown in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia called by the PCAPA saw deserted streets and thin attendance in offices, while markets and shops remained shut.
The state government began a massive security operation against the leftwing extremists in and around Lalgarh - about 200 km West of Kolkata - June 18.
The Maoists are active in areas under 30 police stations in three western districts - West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia - of the state.
--IANS
Obama rejoining economic debate with jobs summit
Under pressure from Republicans and an impatient public to fix the sputtering economic recovery, President Barack Obama is refocusing on this politically potent issue by talking job creation with business and labor leaders at the White House.
The White House has lacked a unified economic message in recent weeks, with its attention focused instead on health care and Obama's three-month review of the Afghanistan war. With unemployment in double digits for the first time in decades, Democratic lawmakers are suggesting a second economic stimulus aimed directly at job creation may be needed.
Administration officials are hoping Thursday's jobs forum, an Obama trip to Pennsylvania on Friday and a major economic speech on Tuesday will help counter Republican critics who contend the administration's economic recovery efforts have failed and its oversight of the $787 billion stimulus package has been inadequate.
At the jobs forum, Obama planned to defend his administration's handling of the economy and argue that it would be in far worse shape had Congress not passed the huge stimulus bill earlier this year. Under intense GOP attacks, public support for the stimulus effort has faded.
"I certainly hope it's more than a photo op," said the No. 2 House Republican, Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia. "All of us want to do anything we can to get Americans back to work. Past history has been, with this White House, that there's been a lot of pomp and ceremony with very little follow-through in terms of delivering results."
Administration officials said they don't expect major policy announcements from the president, Vice President Joe Biden or members of the Cabinet who were scheduled to be on hand.
"Increasing employment is everyone's responsibility, from government to businesses to households," Obama economic adviser Larry Summers said in advance of the forum. "The White House jobs forum will take stock of where we are on the implementation of the Recovery Act and explore new job creation measures, including infrastructure investment, incentives for small businesses, developing our green economy and promoting U.S. exports."
The nation's unemployment rate is 10.2 percent, the highest since 1983. Some 15.7 million Americans are out of work. The average jobless worker has been unemployed for more than six months. These sobering statistics spell potentially serious trouble for Democrats in next year's midterm elections.
The recession technically may be over, but analysts say many of the jobs lost in the downturn probably will not return and high unemployment is likely to persist.
Indians more worried than Chinese, Americans on climate change!
Just before world leaders assemble in Copenhagen to discuss climate change, a new global survey shows sharp differences among people in different countries about global warming.
Throwing up an interesting contrast in the world's two fastest growing nations, China and India, the Global Attitudes survey by the respected Pew Research Center shows 67 percent Indians are worried about global warming as against just 30 percent Chinese.
The survey, conducted from May 18 to June 16, shows that there is a lot less concern about climate change in the three major polluters US, Russia and China than in other leading nations.
Compared to 90 percent in Brazil, 68 percent in France, 67 percent in India, 65 percent in Japan, 61 percent in Spain and 60 percent in Germany, only 44 percent in the US and Russia say they are concerned about climate change. At 30 percent, the Chinese are least concerned about climate change, says the survey.
In fact, in India, China and Brazil which have enjoyed strong economic growth in recent years, eight in 10 people favour giving priority to the environment over rapid economic expansion. According to the survey, people in these countries are willing to make sacrifices such as having to pay higher prices to protect the environment.
Anxiety about global warming is also less pervasive among Israelis (48 percent), Kenyans (48 percent), Canadians (47 percent) and Indonesians (44 percent).
However, large majorities in every country believe that global warming is a serious problem, with majorities in 15 of the 25 countries say it is 'very serious.' Also, majorities in 23 of 25 countries agree that protecting the environment should be given priority, even at the cost of slower economic growth and job losses.
India is at present under immense pressure to pronounce the details of how it would cut its carbon intensity. New Delhi's position will strengthen at the Copenhagen summit if it is successful in its aim.
Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh said, "We now have taken on performance targets in energy, building, forestry and various sectors of the economy. We are not going to be taking any legally binding emission cuts. That is simply out of the question, but we can look at various alternatives. Incidentally, our carbon intensity is very low.
"The Chinese have just announced a carbon intensity decline by 2020 and according to that, they will be in the year 2020 where India was in 2005 as far as carbon intensity is concerned."
With this stand, India is under immense pressure to set emissions targets ahead of the Copenhagen summit. The western countries are imposing their pressure on India to quantify the cuts.
To add to that, the developed countries want India to draw out and state a plan that India will follow to cut its emissions.
Caleb Finch, gerontology professor at the University of Southern California (USC) has revealed that these evolutionary genetic advantages, caused by slight differences in DNA sequencing and improvements in diet, make humans uniquely susceptible to diseases of aging such as cancer, heart disease and dementia when compared to other primates.
Finch said that a major contributor to longevity is human genes that adapt to higher exposure to inflammation.
"Over time, ingestion of red meat, particularly raw meat infected with parasites in the era before cooking, stimulates chronic inflammation that leads to some of the common diseases of aging," Finch said.
In addition to differences in diets between species of primates, humans evolved unique variants in a cholesterol transporting gene, apolipoprotein E, which also regulates inflammation and many aspects of aging in the brain and arteries.
ApoE3 is unique to humans and may be what Finch calls "a meat-adaptive gene" that has increased the human lifespan.
However, the minor allele, apoE4, when expressed in humans, can impair neuronal development, as well as shorten human lifespan by about four years and increase the risk of heart disease and Alzheimer disease by several-fold.
ApoE4 carriers have higher totals of blood cholesterol, more oxidized blood lipids and early onset of coronary heart disease and Alzheimer's disease.
"The chimpanzee apoE functions more like the "good" apoE3, which contributes to low levels of heart disease and Alzheimer's," Finch said. Correspondingly, chimpanzees in captivity have unusually low levels of heart disease and Alzheimer-like changes during aging.
Finch hypothesizes that the expression of ApoE4 could be the result of the antagonistic pleiotropy theory of aging, in which genes selected to fight diseases in early life have adverse affects in later life.
"ApoeE may be a prototype for other genes that enabled the huge changes in human lifespan, as well as brain size, despite our very unape-like meat-rich diets. Drugs being developed to alter activities of apoE4 may also enhance lifespan of apoE4 carriers," Finch said.
The findings have been published in the December issue of PNAS Early Edition. (ANI)
Don't compromise in Copenhagen, MPs urge government
Ahead of the global climate talks in Copenhagen, Indian MPs Thursday urged the government not to compromise on development issues and commit to only what is practicable.
The Lok Sabha held a special discussion on the issue. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is likely to spell out various steps that the government is taking to tackle climate change.
Indian officials have calculated that the country will reduce its carbon intensity by 24 percent by 2020, compared to 2005, if the effects of its National Action Plan on Climate Change are quantified. India is the world's fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
India is under pressure from the US and China to do so after the two countries quantified their targets on carbon emissions. China has announced to cut its carbon intensity in the range of 40 to 45 percent, while the US has pledged to reduce emissions by 17 percent.
Speaking during the debate in the Lok Sabha, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Murli Manohar Joshi said India should lead poor nations for a development model.
He said the Western model of development and lifestyle needed to be changed to save mother earth.
'Earth is our mother. Ask the Western developed world to change their lifestyle,' Joshi told Jairam Ramesh in the house.
He said he would be happy if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attends the Dec 7-18 Copenhagen meet and 'sends out a message to the world that India will lead the poor developing nations in saving the earth. We should not compromise'.
Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit, while expressing concern at the hazards India is suffering due to climate change, said the government should only commit what can be done and achieved.
'Commit to what is possible. Be balanced. Don't commit what cannot be done,' Dikshit said.
Mangi Lal Mandal of the Janata Dal-United said India's problem is its poverty, but 'we are being told to accept what is suitable to the developed Europe and America'.
'It is learnt that India will commit to huge GHG emission cut and ask for new and renewable energy technology. Are they (Western countries) trying to make us a market of their technology in the name of climate change hazards,' Mandal said.
Indo Asian News Service
India''s drug industry is over Rs one lakh crore
The Indian Pharmaceutical industry has become the third largest in the world in terms of volume, valued at over Rs one lakh crore, Parliament was informed today. "The Indian pharmaceutical industry, now over one lakh crore (US $ 20 billion) industry, has shown tremendous progress in terms of infrastructure development,technology base creation and a wide range of products," Minister of State in the Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry Srikant Kumar Jena said in the Lok Sabha in reply to a written query.
The country now ranks third worldwide by volume and 14th by value thereby accounting for around 10 per cent of the world''s production by volume and 1.5 per cent by value, he added. "Globally, it ranks fourth in terms of generic production and 17th in terms of export value of bulk actives and dosage forms," Jena said.
The industry has established its presence and determination to flourish in the changing environment, the minister said. Indian exports pharmaceuticals to more than 200 countries around the globe, including highly regulated markets of USA, West Europe, Japan and Australia.
Three port projects cleared
Three port projects worth Rs.7,661 crore have been approved by a committee chaired by Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla, the government said Thursday.
The Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee has approved a Rs.600-crore standalone container handling facility and a Rs.6,600-crore container terminal at Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai, the finance ministry said in a statement.
Additionally, it also sanctioned Rs.462 crore for coal handling facilities and upgrading of the general cargo berth at outer harbour of Visakhapatnam.
Since its constitution in January 2006, the committee has granted approval to 137 projects, with an estimated project cost of Rs.144,687 crore, the ministry said.
These include 121 National Highway projects, 11 ports projects, two airports and one each for tourism infrastructure and the railways.
Indo Asian News Service
Question hour facing crisis: Speaker
Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar Thursday expressed anguish over the frequent disruptions of question hour.
'The question hour is facing a crisis. We are unable to conduct it properly,' Meira Kumar said when Samajwadi Party MPs advanced towards the speaker's podium during question hour demanding a statement by the government on the divestment of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
The agitating MPs returned to their seat after the speaker assured them that their leader Mulayam Singh Yadav would be allowed to raise the matter during zero hour.
On Tuesday, Congress president Sonia Gandhi sought an explanation from party MPs on their absence from the Lok Sabha Monday when the question hour virtually collapsed because of missing members.
Indo Asian News Service
Music and human speech are biologically linked!
Duke University neuroscientists have shown new evidence that a deep biological link exists between human music and speech.
In two new studies, researchers found that the musical scales most commonly used over the centuries are those that come closest to mimicking the physics of the human voice.
They also said that we understand emotions expressed through music because the music mimics the way emotions are expressed in speech.
Composers have long exploited the perception of minor chord music as sad and major chord music as happy, and it is now that the researchers led by Dale Purves, a professor of neurobiology, found that sad or happy speech can be categorized in major and minor intervals, just as music can.
In the second study, Kamraan Gill, another member of the team, found the most commonly used musical scales are also based on the physics of the vocal tones humans produce.
"There is a strong biological basis to the aesthetics of sound. Humans prefer tone combinations that are similar to those found in speech," said Purves.
And the evidence suggests that the main biological reason we appreciate music is because it mimics speech, which has been critical to our evolutionary success, said Purves.
To study the emotional content of music, the researchers collected a database of major and minor melodies from about 1,000 classical music compositions and more than 6,000 folk songs and then analysed their tonal qualities.
They also had 10 people speak a series of single words with 10 different vowel sounds in either excited or subdued voices, as well as short monologues.
The team then compared the tones that distinguished the major and minor melodies with the tones of speech uttered in the different emotional states.
They found that the sound spectra of the speech tones could be sorted the same way as the music, with excited speech exhibiting more major musical intervals and subdued speech more minor ones.
The tones in speech are a series of harmonic frequencies, whose relative power distinguishes the different vowels. Vowels are produced by the physics of air moving through the vocal cords; consonants are produced by other parts of the vocal tract.
In the second paper, researchers argued that the harmonic structure of vowel tones forms the basis of the musical scales we find most appealing.
They showed that the popularity of musical scales could be predicted based on how well they match up with the series of harmonics characteristic of vowels in speech.
The first study has been published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA), while the second appears in the online journal PLOS One. (ANI)
India could be a new pole of global growth: World Bank president
Change is the great constant of the world economy. India was still a colony when the allied powers shaped the international architecture at the end of World War Two. Today, India is a rising economic power that is contributing to world growth in new and powerful ways.
Economic reforms in India and China, and the export-driven growth strategies of East Asia all contributed in the last 20 years to a world market economy that surged from about 1 billion to 4 or 5 billion people. This shift offers enormous opportunities. But it has also shaken an international economic system forged in the middle of the 20th Century.
The international architecture needs to accommodate India and other powers whose growth rates far exceed those of developed countries. We must recognise this reality and anticipate the future - shape it or be shaped by it.
India is already an indispensable part of the global conversation. Its voice at the G-20 table is an important force for designing a future global architecture, not least because it has well-managed the impact of the economic crisis and is helping support the world's recovery.
Shifting influence is also reflected in the numbers. As India's $1.2 trillion economy returns to growth rates of eight to nine per cent, we can expect it to grow not only as a market but as a supplier of a range of services and increasingly knowledge-intensive goods.
With India's strong human capital and cutting-edge innovation, it is clear the knowledge and technology content - the real competitive smart-edge of India's exports - is going to rise. India's increasing globalisation will be driven by the country becoming a source for some of these specialised products. As it further integrates with global production chains, it will do so not by making more of the same, but by making products of new value. Of course, India still faces enormous challenges as a developing country yet if it can remove bottlenecks that slow its economy, then India is well positioned to become one of the new poles of global growth. India will need innovative financing to move on its massive infrastructure agenda. I hope the World Bank Group can help to attract global partnerships for knowledge and funding. Access to finance is another area where changes will mean a difference to the lives of millions of citizens, that difference being a share in the opportunity of India's growth. There are also huge technology advances that India can put to work to make government more efficient, to make service delivery easier to monitor and track, and public financial flows more visible. Half a billion Indians now have cell phones. This translates into a powerful information flow to - and critically from - some of the remotest and poorest areas.
A sustainable globalisation means an India that shares some of its remarkable achievements more widely. Call it South-South cooperation or good global citizenship, India has much to offer the world: lessons from its model of economic development; cooperation between private and public sectors to generate microeconomic efficiency and macroeconomic stability; working on global financial regulation as part of the G-20 task forces; and considering ways forward on migration and cross-border labour mobility. Everyone cites India's Green Revolution. But I'm even more intrigued by what is known as SRI, or system of rice intensification, and I know this is also an area of interest for PM Manmohan Singh. Using smart water management and planting practices, farmers in Tamil Nadu have increased rice yields between 30 and 80 per cent, reduced water use by 30 per cent, and now require significantly less fertilizer. This emerging technology not only addresses food security but also the water scarcity challenge that climate change is making all the more dangerous. These are all lessons for our world. India's status as a rising economic power is closely connected with how it can create opportunity and inclusion. It's not an option to exclude hundreds of millions of Indians from the country's growing prosperity. One in three of the world's poor are in India and the country has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world, with 44 per cent of children born underweight. Actions to address poverty widely - and education, health, rural roads and livelihoods more specifically -have a renewed urgency.
Robert Zoellick
Anlaysis blasts Obama for trickery on US troop deployment in Afghanistan
Former US President George W. Bush can no longer be held responsible for the bloody war in Afghanistan, for his successor-President Obama has decided to take that burden into his shoulders, an analysis appearing in CBS says.
According to the analysis, Obama might just have committed what could be the biggest political blunder of his years in office, and it adds that he has done so "knowingly, deliberately, and without blinders on."
It further goes on to criticise Obama for leaving sceptical Americans no choice: by setting a firm timetable to begin withdrawing troops.
It says that by twinning his troop increase (30,000) with a timetable to withdraw from Afghanistan by the middle of 2011, Obama has pulled off a bit of a trick.
"He's given Americans and Congress a meter reading, that, once triggered, will close down the conflict," it says.
Obama has allowed himself and his commanders room to keep a heavy presence in Afghanistan beyond his firm term, but he has created a strategy and structure that renders that option prohibitively expensive.
His timetable all but guarantees that his request for more troops now will be funded by a reluctant Democratic Congress.
In an hour-long interview today with a small number of political analysts and columnists, Obama said he was prepared for the political onslaught, particularly from within his own party.
"This has been an entirely transparent process," Mr. Obama said today, adding: "There's no Gulf of Tonkin here. We are having a wholesome debate about the best strategy forward and I am being held fully accountable to members of Congress, all of whom I think are going to be interested in holding me accountable and making sure that this strategy works. And if it doesn't, I think there is going to be enormous interest on the part of the American people and on the part of Congress in keeping me to my word that this is not a constant escalation." (ANI)
Cabinet papers can be disclosed under RTI Act: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court has rejected the government''s plea that cabinet papers containing the deliberations of the ministers cannot be disclosed under the RTI Act even after a decision has been taken by it on an issue. Justice Sanjiv Khanna rejected the plea by the Centre which contended that the decision by the cabinet can be disclosed but not the cabinet papers which record the deliberations of the council of ministers, secretaries and other officers.
The Court, while elaborating the provisions of the Right to Information Act, pointed out that the exemption to make public such documents is only till the final decision is taken by the Centre. "A limited prohibition for a specified time is granted (under the Act).
Prohibition is not for an unlimited duration or infinite period but lasts till a decision is taken by the Council of Ministers and the matter is complete or over," the court said. "The prohibition in respect of the decision of the Council of Ministers, the reasons thereof and the material on the basis of which decisions were taken shall be made public after the decision is taken and the matter is complete or over," it said.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by the Centre challenging a CIC order directing the government to disclose cabinet papers.
UK banks have $5 bln exposure to Dubai World - FT
Four British banks have a $5 billion combined exposure to Dubai World, making them the biggest foreign creditor group at the Dubai state-owned conglomerate, the Financial Times said on Thursday.
The report, citing bankers and advisers, said Royal Bank of Scotland was the most exposed with between $1 billion and $2 billion. HSBC, Standard Chartered and Lloyds Banking Group had exposure of about $1 billion each, according to the report.
The estimates were broadly accurate, several bank industry sources told Reuters.
All of the banks declined to comment.
Emirates NBD was the biggest creditor with outstanding loans of $3 billion, the FT said. The bank declined to comment.
The report confirms that British banks have far greater exposure to potential problem debts in Dubai than their global rivals, as shown by several sets of loan data.
UK banks have loans totalling $50 billion into the United Arab Emirates, out of total loans of $123 billion by international banks, according to statistics from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS).
But there remains a lack of clarity on where exposures to Dubai World lie and how wide the issue will spread.
The FT said much of the UK banks' lending is to the still functioning parts of Dubai World, including ports operator DP World and the Jebel Ali Free Zone.
Dubai World unveiled a $26 billion debt restructuring plan on Monday, after worries about debt problems have shaken investor and creditor confidence in the past week.
As a result of the restructuring plan RBS's exposure would be about $700 million and Standard Chartered's exposure would be about $350 million, the FT said.
The four UK banks are among six creditors who are leading a committee of Dubai World's creditors, which will meet the company next week, according to an Abu Dhabi bank executive.
(Reporting by Steve Slater and William James in London and John Irish in Dubai; Editing by Mike Nesbit)
Three ministers among 11 killed in Somalia blast
A bomb blast ripped through a hotel in the lawless Somali capital Mogadishu Thursday, killing three government ministers and at least eight others.
The apparent suicide attack took place at the Shamo Hotel during a graduation ceremony for dozens of university students, a DPA correspondent at the scene said.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the blast, but Islamist insurgent group al-Shabaab - which the US says is linked to Al Qaeda - has increasingly turned to suicide bombings as it battles to oust the weak Western-backed government.
Government officials confirmed that Health Minister Qamar Aden Ali, Higher Education Minister Ibrahim Hassan Addow and Education Minister Ahmed Abdulahi Waayeel were among the dead. The Minister for Youth and Sports, Saleeban Olaad Roble, was seriously injured.
Hassan Subeyr Haji Hassan, a cameraman for Arabic TV channel al-Arabiya, and Mohamed Amiin Aden Abdulle, a journalist with Somalia's Radio Shabelle, were also killed, the Somali Journalists' Rights Agency said.
A doctor died on the spot, while medics said another five victims succumbed to their injuries after arriving at hospital. Over 40 people are being treated for injuries of varying severity.
Witnesses told DPA they saw a man enter the hotel and detonate a device strapped to his body. Other unconfirmed reports say the male bomber was disguised as a woman.
Dozens of guests, many of them bleeding, staggered from the partially destroyed building, while shocked onlookers gathered to cry and condemn the bomber in the wake of the attack.
Hundreds of students and their family members, lecturers and government officials were attending the ceremony for graduates from the local Banadir University.
The bombing raises further questions about the government and AU's ability to police the few areas they control in Somalia.
Seventeen peacekeepers died in a suicide blast at their main base in September, while Somalia's Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden was among dozens killed in a suicide car bomb attack on a hotel in the central town of Baladweyne in June.
Diplomats and AU officials say foreign fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan are increasingly flocking to the lawless Horn of Africa nation to fight alongside al-Shabaab - which controls much of the country - and attend terrorist training camps.
DPA
India most vulnerable to climate change: Environment Minister
India is the country most vulnerable to climate change, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said here Thursday.Replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, on India's position at the Dec 7-18 climate summit in Copenhagen, Ramesh said India was most vulnerable to climate change due to four reasons.
First, two-thirds of India's population was still dependent on the monsoon, which was impacted by climate change.
Two, climate change impacted the Himalayan glaciers, which were receding, endangering the water flow in the rivers of northern India.
Third, ecologically sensitive areas such as the Western Ghats, the North East, Andamans, Lakshadweep were being impacted by climate change.
Fourth, climate change would exacerbate the effect of mining in forest areas of Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh.
Ramesh said the problem was that India had hardly any information of its own on climate change effects, which he called "a pathetic state of affairs". He said most of the information was derived from Western sources and talked of the urgent need to start research and have "our own scientific capacity" to study all aspects of climate change in India.
Source: IANS
Delhi 65th most expensive retail market: Report
New Delhi: The national Capital is the 65th most expensive retail destinations in the world with an average monthly rental of $123 (Rs 5721) per sq ft, moving up four notches during the past six months, says a study by real estate consultancy CB Richard Ellis.
According to the Global Market View on the retail sector by CB Richard Ellis, retail rentals in prime locations across the globe has begun to stabilise during the third quarter of 2009.
While New York has retained its position as the most expensive retail location in the world, New Delhi has moved up four positions from the 69th slot it had during the first quarter of the year. "It has now moved to the 65th position with rentals at $123 per sq ft per month," the report said, without giving the average rental figure during the first quarter.
It also said that the reporting period has seen domestic retails also stabilising. Globally, the retail rentals slipped by only about one per cent during the quarter under reporting due to economic stability and return of consumer confidence.
"Our retail market fundamentals have been more resilient this quarter with consumer confidence slowly returning to the market. We witnessed a stabilisation in rentals after the correction a few months back with rentals having corrected on an average of 20-25 per cent," CB Richard Ellis Chairman and Managing Director Anshuman Magazine said here today while releasing the report.
The report, however, cautions against supply-side risks in some cities in the country.
Source: PTI
N-plant goes to cops |
| OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT |
| Bangalore, Dec. 2: The Kaiga nuclear power station finally lodged a police complaint last night, a week after an alleged "mischief maker" contaminated a water cooler in the plant with radioactive Tritium. Senior manager (human resource) Umamaheshwaran filed the complaint that said the Karnataka plant suspected "mischief by somebody". "The complaint was based on our preliminary inquiry," the official told The Telegraph. The FIR came amid voices of concern from state officials and elected representatives who accused the plant authorities of not co-operating with them and delay in informing them about the alleged sabotage. Atomic energy authorities had reported the "mischief" on Sunday, five days after the heavy water was added to the cooler that led to higher radiation levels in employees of the plant, 450km from Bangalore. "Up to now, they were not taking local people into confidence," said Anand Asno-tikar, Karnataka minister for science and technology and MLA of Karwar, the constituency in which Kaiga falls. Asnotikar, who visited the plant on Monday, also voiced concerns about the antecedents of contract workers who are mostly from other places. "They get a certificate from their local police which is not verified," he alleged. S. Rajagopal, former secretary of the Atomic Energy Commission, said he didn't "read anything foul" in the delay. "They must have been trying to investigate on their own… must have looked into various possibilities…. It's a complex system," he added. Rajagopal said Tritium was not highly radioactive, but the cause for concern was the lack of control over nuclear and strategic material. "It shows there is some gap somewhere. That's what is worrying." |
 |
Demand to scrap Vedanta MoU | ||
| OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT | ||
Bhubaneswar, Dec. 2: Citing rich mineral reserves along the Puri coast, the Opposition today demanded scrapping of the MoU signed with UK-based Anil Agarwal Foundation for establishment of the Vedanta University near the beach town and cancellation of land allotment. Raising the issue during the zero hour in the Assembly, Congress member S.S. Saluja said the Union minister of state for science and technology, Prithviraj Chauhan had told the Rajya Sabha yesterday that deposits of around 1.82 million tonnes of thorium-mixed monozite were found along the Puri coast, where the proposed Vedanta University is coming up. Such rare minerals are used in the generation of atomic energy. If such precious land is handed over to the Anil Agarwal Foundation and it exports the rare minerals, there will be a huge revenue loss to the state. Besides, the sea level would rise if these minerals are mined, leading to submergence of Puri town and the 12th century Jagannath temple, he apprehended, while demanding scrapping of the MoU signed between the state government and Anil Agarwal Foundation. The MoU was signed between the Orissa government and Anil Agarwal Foundation in July 2006 for establishment of a private world-class university near Puri with an investment of Rs 15,000 crore. The government had committed to allot 6,000 acres along the Puri-Konark marine drive for the proposed university and a major chunk of it has already been handed over to the Anil Agarwal Foundation. Sharing the concern, Opposition whip Prasad Harichandan said Chauhan had quoted the information provided by the Atomic Minerals Directorate of the Union government. A nuclear scientist from Orissa had also earlier stated in his technical paper that there are deposits of thorium and other rare earth minerals along the Orissa coast from Gopalpur to Jagatsinghpur. NCP leader Amar Satpathy wanted to know whether any survey had been conducted. Stating that Orissa was facing energy crisis due to fall in hydro power generation, Satpathy said there was a need for alternative source of energy. |
Bhopal disaster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Union Carbide (now Dow Chemical) disaster - also known as the Bhopal disaster or the Bhopal gas tragedy - was an industrial catastrophe that took place at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on December 3, 1984. Around 12 AM, the plant released methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins, resulting in the exposure of over 500,000 people. Estimates vary on the death toll - the official immediate death toll was 2,259, which rose greatly over time. The government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release.[1] Another source says that a few days later the death toll had doubled. Over the next few years, the lingering effects of the poison nearly doubled the toll again, to about 15,000, according to government estimates.[2] Local activists say the real numbers are almost twice that.Others estimate 8,000-10,000 died within 72 hours and 25,000 have since died from gas-related diseases.[3][4]
Some 25 years after the gas leak, 390 tonnes of toxic chemicals abandoned at the Union Carbide plant continue to leak and pollute the ground water in the region and affect thousands of Bhopal residents who depend on it [5][6][7][8][9][10], though there is some dispute as to whether the chemicals still stored at the site pose any continuing health hazard.[2] There are currently civil and criminal cases related to the disaster ongoing in the United States District Court, Manhattan and the District Court of Bhopal, India against Union Carbide, now owned by Dow Chemical Company, with arrest warrants pending against Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster[11][12]. No one has yet been prosecuted.
[edit] Summary of background and causes
The Union Carbide India, Limited (UCIL) factory was established in 1969 near Bhopal. 50.9 % was owned by Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and 49.1 % by various Indian investors, including public sector financial institutions.[3][4] It produced the pesticide carbaryl (trademark Sevin). In 1979 a methyl isocyanate (MIC) production plant was added to the site. MIC, an intermediate in carbaryl manufacture, was used instead of less hazardous but more expensive materials. UCC understood the properties of MIC and how to handle it.[13][14][15]
During the night of December 2–3, 1984, large amounts of water entered tank 610, containing 42 tonnes of methyl isocyanate. The resulting reaction increased the temperature inside the tank to reach over 200 °C (392 °F), raising the pressure to a level the tank was not designed to withstand. This forced the emergency venting of pressure from the MIC holding tank, releasing a large volume of toxic gases. The reaction sped up because of the presence of iron in corroding non-stainless steel pipelines. A mixture of poisonous gases flooded the city of Bhopal, causing great panic as people woke up with a burning sensation in their lungs. Thousands died immediately from the effects of the gas and many were trampled in the panic.
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ. At the time, workers were cleaning out pipes with water, and some claim that owing to bad maintenance and leaking valves, it was possible for the water to leak into tank 610.[16] In December 1985 the New York Times reported that according to UCIL plant managers the hypothesis of this route of entry of water was tested in the presence of the Central Bureau Investigators and was found to be negative.[17] UCC also maintains that this route was not possible, and that it was an act of sabotage by a "disgruntled worker" who introduced water directly into the tank.[18] However, the company's investigation team found no evidence of the necessary connection.[19]
The 1985 reports[19][20][21] give a picture of what led to the disaster and how it developed, although they differ in details.
Factors leading to this huge gas leak include:
- The use of hazardous chemicals (MIC) instead of less dangerous ones
- Storing these chemicals in large tanks instead of over 200 steel drums.
- Possible corroding material in pipelines
- Poor maintenance after the plant ceased production in the early 1980s
- Failure of several safety systems (due to poor maintenance and regulations).
- Safety systems shut down to save money - including the MIC tank refrigeration system which alone would have prevented the disaster.
Plant design modified by Indian engineers to abide by government regulations and economic pressures to reduce expenses contributed most to the actual leak[citation needed]. The problem was then made worse by the plant's location near a densely populated area, non-existent catastrophe plans and shortcomings in health care and socio-economic rehabilitation. Analysis shows that the parties responsible for the magnitude of the disaster are the two owners, Union Carbide Corporation and the Government of India, and to some extent, the Government of Madhya Pradesh.[3][4][22]
[edit] Public information
Much speculation arose in the aftermath. The closing of the plant to outsiders (including UCC) by the Indian government, and the failure to make data public contributed to the confusion. The CSIR report[21] was formally released 15 years after the disaster. The authors of the ICMR studies[23] on health effects were forbidden to publish their data until after 1994. UCC has still not released their research about the disaster or the effects of the gas on human health. Soon after the disaster UCC was not allowed to take part in the investigation by the government. The initial investigation was conducted entirely by the government agencies - Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) under the directorship of Dr. Varadajan and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Gud marani.
UCC and the Government of India maintained until 1994, when the International Medical Commission on Bhopal met, that MIC had no longterm health effects.[3][4]
[edit] Contributing factors
- The deficiencies in the Bhopal plant design can be summarised as: choosing a dangerous method of manufacturing pesticides; large-scale storage of MIC before processing; location close to a densely populated area; under-dimensioning of the safety features; dependence on manual operations.[3][4]
- Deficiencies in the management of UCIL can be summarised: lack of skilled operators due to the staffing policy; reduction of safety management due to reducing the staff; insufficient maintenance of the plant; lack of emergency response plans.[3][4][24]
[edit] Plant production process
Union Carbide produced the pesticide, Sevin (a trademarked brand name for carbaryl), using MIC as an intermediate. Until 1979, MIC was imported from the USA.[4] Other manufacturers, such as Bayer, made carbaryl without MIC, though at greater manufacturing costs.[25]
The chemical process, or "route", used in the Bhopal plant reacted methylamine with phosgene to form MIC(methyl isocyanate), which was then reacted with 1-naphthol to form the final product, carbaryl. This route differed from MIC-free routes used elsewhere, in which the same raw materials are combined in a different manufacturing order, with phosgene first reacted with the naphthol to form a chloroformate ester, which is then reacted with methyl amine. In the early 1980s, the demand for pesticides had fallen though production continued, leading to buildup of stores of unused MIC.[4][25]
[edit] Work conditions
Attempts to reduce expenses affected the factory's employees and their conditions.
- Kurzman argues that "cuts ... meant less stringent quality control and thus looser safety rules. A pipe leaked? Don't replace it, employees said they were told ... MIC workers needed more training? They could do with less. Promotions were halted, seriously affecting employee morale and driving some of the most skilled ... elsewhere".[26]
- Workers were forced to use English manuals, even though only a few had a grasp of the language.[16][27]
- By 1984, only six of the original twelve operators were still working with MIC and the number of supervisory personnel was also cut in half. No maintenance supervisor was placed on the night shift and instrument readings were taken every two hours, rather than the previous and required one-hour readings.[16][26]
- Workers made complaints about the cuts through their union but were ignored. One employee was fired after going on a 15-day hunger strike. 70% of the plant's employees were fined before the disaster for refusing to deviate from the proper safety regulations under pressure from management.[16][26]
- In addition, some observers, such as those writing in the Trade Environmental Database (TED) Case Studies as part of the Mandala Project from American University, have pointed to "serious communication problems and management gaps between Union Carbide and its Indian operation", characterised by "the parent companies [sic] hands-off approach to its overseas operation" and "cross-cultural barriers".[28]
- The personnel management policy led to an exodus of skilled personnel to better and safer jobs.[16][24]
[edit] Equipment and safety regulations
- It emerged in 1998, during civil action suits in India, that, unlike Union Carbide plants in the USA, its Indian subsidiary plants were not prepared for problems. No action plans had been established to cope with incidents of this magnitude. This included not informing local authorities of the quantities or dangers of chemicals used and manufactured at Bhopal.[3][4][16][25]
- The MIC tank alarms had not worked for 4 years.[3][4][16][29]
- There was only one manual back-up system, not the four-stage system used in the USA.[3][4][16][29]
- The flare tower and the vent gas scrubber had been out of service for 5 months before the disaster. The gas scrubber therefore did not treat escaping gases with sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), which might have brought the concentration down to a safe level.[29] Even if the scrubber had been working, according to Weir, investigations in the aftermath of the disaster discovered that the maximum pressure it could handle was only one-quarter of that which was present in the accident. Furthermore, the flare tower itself was improperly designed and could only hold one-quarter of the volume of gas that was leaked in 1984.[3][4][16][30]
- To reduce energy costs, the refrigeration system, designed to inhibit the volatilization of MIC, had been left idle — the MIC was kept at 20 degrees Celsius (room temperature), not the 4.5 degrees advised by the manual, and some of the coolant was being used elsewhere.[3][4][16][29]
- The steam boiler, intended to clean the pipes, was out of action for unknown reasons.[3][4][16][29]
- Slip-blind plates that would have prevented water from pipes being cleaned from leaking into the MIC tanks through faulty valves were not installed. Their installation had been omitted from the cleaning checklist.[3][4][16]
- Water sprays designed to "knock down" gas leaks were poorly designed — set to 13 metres and below, they could not spray high enough to reduce the concentration of escaping gas.[3][4][16][29]
- The MIC tank had been malfunctioning for roughly a week. Other tanks had been used for that week, rather than repairing the broken one, which was left to "stew". The build-up in temperature and pressure is believed to have affected the magnitude of the gas release.[3][4][16][29]
- Carbon steel valves were used at the factory, even though they corrode when exposed to acid.[25] On the night of the disaster, a leaking carbon steel valve was found, allowing water to enter the MIC tanks. The pipe was not repaired because it was believed it would take too much time and be too expensive.[3][4][16][29]
- UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the safety systems were not functioning on the night of December 3, 1984.[20]
- Themistocles D'Silva contends that the design of the MIC plant, following government guidelines, was "Indianized" by UCIL engineers to maximize the use of indigenous materials and products. It also dispensed with the use of sophisticated instrumentation as not appropriate for the Indian plant. Because of the unavailability of electronic parts in India, the Indian engineers preferred pneumatic instrumentation.[31]
[edit] Previous warnings and accidents
A series of prior warnings and MIC-related accidents had occurred:
- In 1976, the two trade unions reacted because of pollution within the plant.[3][4][24]
- In 1981, a worker was splashed with phosgene. In panic he ripped off his mask, thus inhaling a large amount of phosgene gas; he died 72 hours later.[3][4][24]
- In January 1982, there was a phosgene leak, when 24 workers were exposed and had to be admitted to hospital. None of the workers had been ordered to wear protective masks.
- In February 1982, an MIC leak affected 18 workers.[3][4][24]
- In August 1982, a chemical engineer came into contact with liquid MIC, resulting in burns over 30 percent of his body.[3][4][24]
- In October 1982, there was a leak of MIC, methylcarbaryl chloride, chloroform and hydrochloric acid. In attempting to stop the leak, the MIC supervisor suffered intensive chemical burns and two other workers were severely exposed to the gases.[3][4][24]
- During 1983 and 1984, leaks of the following substances regularly took place in the MIC plant: MIC, chlorine, monomethylamine, phosgene, and carbon tetrachloride, sometimes in combination.[3][4][24]
- Reports issued months before the incident by scientists within the Union Carbide corporation warned of the possibility of an accident almost identical to that which occurred in Bhopal. The reports were ignored and never reached senior staff.[4][25]
- Union Carbide was warned by American experts who visited the plant after 1981 of the potential of a "runaway reaction" in the MIC storage tank; local Indian authorities warned the company of problems on several occasions from 1979 onwards. Again, these warnings were not heeded.[4][25]
[edit] The leakage
- In November 1984, most of the safety systems were not functioning. Many valves and lines were in poor condition. Tank 610 contained 42 tonnes MIC, much more than allowed according to safety rules.[3][4]
- During the nights of 2–3 December, a large amount of water entered tank 610. A runaway reaction started, which was accelerated by contaminants, high temperatures and other factors. The reaction generated a major increase in the temperature inside the tank to over 200°C (400°F). This forced the emergency venting of pressure from the MIC holding tank, releasing a large volume of toxic gases. The reaction was sped up by the presence of iron from corroding non-stainless steel pipelines.[3][4]
- It is known that workers cleaned pipelines with water. They were not told by the supervisor to add a slip-blind water isolation plate. Because of this, and of the bad maintenance, the workers consider it possible for water to have accidentally entered the MIC tank.[3][4][16]
- UCC maintains that a "disgruntled worker" deliberately connected a hose to a pressure gauge.[3][4][18]
- UCC's investigation team found no evidence of the suggested connection.[19]
[edit] Timeline, summary
- 21.00 Water cleaning of pipes starts.
- 22.00 Water enters tank 610, reaction starts.
- 22.30 Gases are emitted from the vent gas scrubber tower.
- 00.30 The large siren sounds and is turned off.
- 00.50 The siren is heard within the plant area. The workers escape.
- 22.30 First sensations due to the gases are felt — suffocation, cough, burning eyes and vomiting.
- 1.00 Police are alerted. Residents of the area evacuate. Union Carbide director denies any leak.
- 2.00 The first people reached Hamidia hospital. Symptoms include visual impairment and blindness, respiratory difficulties, frothing at the mouth, and vomiting.
- 2.10 The alarm is heard outside the plant.
- 4.00 The gases are brought under control.
- 6.00 A police loudspeaker broadcasts: "Everything is normal".
[edit] Health effects
[edit] Short term health effects
- Apart from MIC, the gas cloud may have contained phosgene, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride, oxides of nitrogen, monomethyl amine (MMA) and carbon dioxide, either produced in the storage tank or in the atmosphere.[3][4]
- The gas cloud composed mainly of materials denser than the surrounding air, stayed close to the ground and spread outwards through the surrounding community. The initial effects of exposure were coughing, vomiting, severe eye irritation and a feeling of suffocation. People awakened by these symptoms fled away from the plant. Those who ran inhaled more than those who had a vehicle to ride. Owing to their height, children and other people of shorter stature inhaled higher concentrations. Many people were trampled trying to escape.[3][4]
- Thousands of people had succumbed by the morning hours. There were mass funerals and mass cremations as well as disposal of bodies in the Narmada river. 170,000 people were treated at hospitals and temporary dispensaries. 2,000 buffalo, goats, and other animals were collected and buried. Within a few days, leaves on trees yellowed and fell off. Supplies, including food, became scarce owing to suppliers' safety fears. Fishing was prohibited as well, which caused further supply shortages.[3][4]
- A total of 36 wards were marked by the authorities as being "gas affected", affecting a population of 520,000. Of these, 200,000 were below 15 years of age, and 3,000 were pregnant women. In 1991, 3,928 deaths had been certified. Independent organizations recorded 8,000 dead in the first days. Other estimations vary between 10,000 and 30,000. Another 100,000 to 200,000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries of different degrees.[3][4]
- The acute symptoms were burning in the respiratory tract and eyes, blepharospasm, breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. The causes of deaths were choking, reflexogenic circulatory collapse and pulmonary oedema. Findings during autopsies revealed changes not only in the lungs but also cerebral oedema, tubular necrosis of the kidneys, fatty degeneration of the liver and necrotising enteritis.[32] The stillbirth rate increased by up to 300% and neonatal mortality rate by 200 %.[3][4]
[edit] Hydrogen cyanide or not?
- Whether hydrogen cyanide was present in the gas mixture is still a controversy.[32][33]
- Exposed at higher temperatures, MIC breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN). According to Kulling & Lorin, at +200°C, 3 % of the gas is HCN.[34] However, according to another scientific publication,[35] MIC when heated in the gas-phase starts breaks down to hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and other products above 400°C. Concentrations of 300 ppm can lead to immediate collapse.
- Laboratory replication studies by CSIR and UCC scientists failed to detect any HCN or HCN- derived side products. Chemically, HCN is known to be very reactive with MIC.[36] HCN is also known to react with hydrochoric acid, ammonia, and methylamine (also produced in tank 610 during the vigorous reaction with water and choloroform) and also with itself under acidic conditions to form trimers of HCN called triazenes. None of the HCN-derived side products were detected in the tank residue.[37]
- The non-toxic antidote sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in intravenous injections increases the rate of conversion from cyanide to non-toxic thiocyanate. Treatment was suggested early, but because of confusion within the medical establishments, it was not used on larger scale until June 1985.[3][4]
[edit] Long term health effects
- It is estimated that 20,000 have died since the accident from gas-related diseases. Another 100,000 to 200,000 people are estimated to have permanent injuries.[3][4]
- The quality of the epidemiological and clinical research varies. Reported and studied symptoms are eye problems, respiratory difficulties, immune and neurological disorders, cardiac failure secondary to lung injury, female reproductive difficulties, and birth defects among children born to affected women. Other symptoms and diseases are often ascribed to the gas exposure, but there is no good research supporting this.[3][4]
- There is a clinic established by a group of survivors and activists known as Sambhavna. Sambhavna is the only clinic that will treat anybody affected by the gas, or the subsequent water poisoning, and treats the condition with a combination of Western and traditional Indian medicines, and has performed extensive research.[38]
- Union Carbide as well as the Indian Government long denied permanent injuries by MIC and the other gases. In January, 1994, the International Medical Commission on Bhopal (IMCB) visited Bhopal to investigate the health status among the survivors as well as the health care system and the socio-economic rehabilitation.
- The reports from Indian Council of Medical Research[23] were not completely released until around 2003.
- For a review of the research on the health effects of the Bhopal disaster, see Dhara & Dhara (2002).[39]
[edit] Aftermath of the leakage
- Medical staff were unprepared for the thousands of casualties.[3][4]
- Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC gas inhalation. They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to their patients.[3][4]
- The gases immediately caused visible damage to the trees. Within a few days, all the leaves fell off.[3][4]
- 2,000 bloated animal carcasses had to be disposed.[3][4]
- "Operation Faith": On December 16, the tanks 611 and 619 were emptied of the remaining MIC. This led to a second mass evacuation from Bhopal.[3][4]
- Complaints of a lack of information or misinformation were widespread. The Bhopal plant medical doctor did not have proper information about the properties of the gases. An Indian Government spokesman said that "Carbide is more interested in getting information from us than in helping our relief work."[3][4]
- As of 2008, UCC had not released information about the possible composition of the cloud.[3][4]
- Formal statements were issued that air, water, vegetation and foodstuffs were safe within the city. At the same time, people were informed that poultry was unaffected, but were warned not to consume fish.[3][4]
[edit] Compensation from Union Carbide
- The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the government rights to represent all victims in or outside India.[3][4]
- UCC offered US$ 350 million, the insurance sum.[3][4] The Government of India claimed US$ 3.3 billion from UCC.[3][4] In 1989, a settlement was reached under which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million (the insurance sum, plus interest) in a full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability.[3][4]
- When UCC wanted to sell its shares in UCIL, it was directed by the Supreme Court to finance a 500-bed hospital for the medical care of the survivors. Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) was inaugurated in 1998. It was obliged to give free care for survivors for eight years.[3][4]
[edit] Economic rehabilitation
- After the accident, no one under the age of 18 was registered. The number of children exposed to the gases was at least 200,000.[3][4]
- Immediate relief was decided two days after the tragedy.[3][4]
- Relief measures commenced in 1985 when food was distributed for a short period and ration cards were distributed.[3][4]
- Widow pension of the rate of Rs 200/per month (later Rs 750) was provided.[3][4]
- One-time ex-gratia payment of Rs 1,500 to families with monthly income Rs 500 or less was decided.[3][4]
- Each claimant was to be categorised by a doctor. In court, the claimants were expected to prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that death or injury in each case was attributable to exposure. In 1992, 44 percent of the claimants still had to be medically examined.[3][4]
- From 1990 interim relief of Rs 200 was paid to everyone in the family who was born before the disaster.[3][4]
- The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the majority Rs 25,000 (US$ 830). For death claim, the average sum paid out was Rs 62,000.[3][4]
- Effects of interim relief were more children sent to school, more money spent on treatment, more money spent on food, improvement of housing conditions.[3][4]
- The management of registration and distribution of relief showed many shortcomings.[40]
- In 2007, 1,029,517 cases were registered and decided. Number of awarded cases were 574,304 and number of rejected cases 455,213. Total compensation awarded was Rs.1,546.47 crores.[41]
- Because of the smallness of the sums paid and the denial of interest to the claimants, a sum as large as Rs 10 billion is expected to be left over after all claims have been settled.[3][4]
[edit] Occupational rehabilitation
- 33 of the 50 planned worksheds for gas victims started. All except one was closed down by 1992.[3][4]
- 1986, the MP government invested in the Special Industrial Area Bhopal. 152 of the planned 200 worksheds were built. In 2000, 16 were partially functioning.[3][4]
- It is estimated that 50,000 persons need alternative jobs, and that less than 100 gas victims have found regular employment under the government's scheme.[3][4]
[edit] Habitation rehabilitation
- 2,486 flats in two- and four-story buildings were constructed in the "Widows colony" outside Bhopal. The water did not reach the upper floors. It was not possible to keep cattle. Infrastructure like buses, schools, etc. were missing for at least a decade.[3][4]
[edit] Health care
- In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the health care system became tremendously overloaded. Within weeks, the State Government established a number of hospitals, clinics and mobile units in the gas-affected area.[3][4]
- Radical health groups set up JSK (the People's Health Centre) that was working a few years from 1985.[3][4]
- Since the leak, a very large number of private practitioners have opened in Bhopal. In the severely affected areas, nearly 70 percent do not appear to be professionally qualified.[3][4]
- The Government of India has focused primarily on increasing the hospital-based services for gas victims. Several hospitals have been built after the disaster. In 1994, there were approximately 1.25 beds per 1,000, compared to the recommendation from the World bank of 1.0 beds per 1,000 in developing countries.[3][4]
- The Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) is a 350-bedded super speciality hospital. Heart surgery and hemodialysis are done. Major specialities missing are gynaecology, obstetrics and paediatrics. Eight mini-units (outreach health centres) were started. Free health care for gas victims should be offered until 2006.[3][4] The management has faced problems with strikes, and the quality of the health care is disputed.[42][43][44]
- Sambhavna Trust is a charitable trust that registered in 1995. The clinic gives modern and Ayurvedic treatments to gas victims, free of charge.[3][4][45]
[edit] Environmental rehabilitation
- When the factory was closed in 1985–1986, pipes, drums and tanks were cleaned and sold. The MIC and the Sevin plants are still there, as are storages of different residues. Isolation material is falling down and spreading.[4]
- The area around the plant was used as a dumping area for hazardous chemicals. In 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned.[4] UCC's laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near the factory and inside the plant were toxic to fish.[46] Several other studies has shown polluted soil and groundwater in the area.[4].
- Reported polluting compounds are, among others, naphthol, naphthalene, Sevin, tarry residue, mercury, toxic organochlorines, volatile organochlorine compounds, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, hexachloroethane, hexachlorobutadiene, pesticide HCH and halo-organics[clarification needed]. It is plausible that these chemicals have some negative health effects on those exposed, but there is no scientific evidence.[4]
- In order to provide safe drinking water to the population around the UCC factory, there is a scheme for improvement of water supply.[41]
- In December 2008, the Madhya Pradesh High Court decided that the toxic waste should be incinerated at Ankleshwar in Gujarat.[47]
[edit] Union Carbide's defense
Now owned by Dow Chemical Company, Union Carbide denies allegations against it on its website dedicated to the tragedy. The corporation believes that the accident was the result of sabotage, stating that safety systems were in place and operative. It also stresses that it did all it could to alleviate human suffering following the disaster.[48]
[edit] Investigation into possible sabotage
Theories of how the water entered the tank differ. At the time, workers were cleaning out pipes with water. The workers maintain that entry of water through the plant's piping system during the washing of lines was possible because a slip-bind was not used, the downstream bleeder lines were partially clogged, many valves were leaking, and the tank was not pressurised. The water, which was not draining properly through the bleeder valves, may have built up in the pipe, rising high enough to pour back down through another series of lines in the MIC storage tank. Once water had accumulated to a height of 6 meters (20 feet), it could drain by gravity flow back into the system. Alternatively, the water may have been routed through another standby "jumper line" that had only recently been connected to the system. Indian scientists suggested that additional water might have been introduced as a "back-flow" from the defectively designed vent-gas scrubber.[4][16] However, none of these possible routes of entry could be duplicated when tested.[by whom?]
The company cites an investigation conducted by the engineering consulting firm Arthur D. Little, which concluded that a single employee secretly and deliberately introduced a large amount of water into the MIC tank by removing a meter and connecting a water hose directly to the tank through the metering port.[18] Carbide claims such a large amount of water could not have found its way into the tank by accident, and safety systems were not designed to deal with intentional sabotage. Documents cited in the Arthur D. Little Report as well as in the recent book The Black Box of Bhopal state that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) along with UCIL engineers tried to simulate the water-washing hypothesis as a route of the entry of water into the tank. This all-important test failed to support this as a route of water entry. UCC claims the plant staff falsified numerous records to distance themselves from the incident, and that the Indian Government impeded its investigation and declined to prosecute the employee responsible, presumably because that would weaken its allegations of negligence by Union Carbide.[citation needed]
[edit] Safety and equipment issues
The corporation denies the claim that the valves on the tank were malfunctioning, claiming that "documented evidence gathered after the incident showed that the valve close to the plant's water-washing operation was closed and leak-tight. Furthermore, process safety systems — in place and operational — would have prevented water from entering the tank by accident". Carbide states that the safety concerns identified in 1982 were all allayed before 1984 and "none of them had anything to do with the incident".[49]
The company admits that "the safety systems in place could not have prevented a chemical reaction of this magnitude from causing a leak". According to Carbide, "in designing the plant's safety systems, a chemical reaction of this magnitude was not factored in" because "the tank's gas storage system was designed to automatically prevent such a large amount of water from being inadvertently introduced into the system" and "process safety systems — in place and operational — would have prevented water from entering the tank by accident". Instead, they claim that "employee sabotage — not faulty design or operation — was the cause of the tragedy".[49]
[edit] Response
The company stresses the "immediate action" taken after the disaster and their continued commitment to helping the victims. On December 4, the day following the leak, Union Carbide sent material aid and several international medical experts to assist the medical facilities in Bhopal.[49]
Carbide put $2 million into the Indian Prime Minister's immediate disaster relief fund on 11 December 1984.[49] The corporation established the Employees' Bhopal Relief Fund in February 1985, which raised more than $5 million for immediate relief.[50]
In August 1987, Carbide made an additional $4.6 million in humanitarian interim relief available.[50]
Union Carbide also undertook several steps to provide continuing aid to the victims of the Bhopal disaster after the court ruling, including:
- The sale of its 50.9 percent interest in UCIL in April 1992 and establishment of a charitable trust to contribute to the building of a local hospital. The sale was finalized in November 1994. The hospital was begun in October 1995 and was opened in 2001. The company provided a fund with around $90 million from sale of its UCIL stock. In 1991, the trust had amounted approximately $100 million. The hospital caters for the treatment of heart, lung and eye problems.[48]
- Providing "a $2.2 million grant to Arizona State University to establish a vocational-technical center in Bhopal, which was constructed and opened, but was later closed and leveled by the government".[51]
- Donating $5 million to the Indian Red Cross.[51]
- Developing the Responsible Care system with other members of the chemical industry as a response to the Bhopal crisis, which is designed "to help prevent such an event in the future by improving community awareness, emergency preparedness and process safety standards".[50]
[edit] Long-term fallout
Legal action against Union Carbide has dominated the aftermath of the disaster. However, other issues have also continued to develop. These include the problems of ongoing contamination, criticisms of the clean-up operation undertaken by Union Carbide, and a 2004 hoax.
Time-line 1984–2004: See "Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Fact Sheet", Hindustan Times, Dec 3, 2004[52]
[edit] Legal action against Union Carbide
Legal issues began affecting Union Carbide, the US and Indian governments, the local authorities in Bhopal and the victims of the disaster immediately after the catastrophe.
[edit] Legal proceedings leading to the settlement
On 14 December 1984, the Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson, addressed the US Congress, stressing the company's "commitment to safety" and promising to ensure that a similar accident "cannot happen again". However, the Indian Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985, allowing the Government of India to act as the legal representative for victims of the disaster,[50] leading to the beginning of legal wrangling.
March 1986 saw Union Carbide propose a settlement figure, endorsed by plaintiffs' US attorneys, of $350 million that would, according to the company, "generate a fund for Bhopal victims of between $500–600 million over 20 years". In May, litigation was transferred from the US to Indian courts by US District Court Judge. Following an appeal of this decision, the US Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer, judging, in January 1987, that UCIL was a "separate entity, owned, managed and operated exclusively by Indian citizens in India".[50] The judge in the US granted Carbide's forum request, thus moving the case to India. This meant that, under US federal law, the company had to submit to Indian jurisdiction.
Litigation continued in India during 1988. The Government of India claimed US$ 350 billion from UCC.[3][4] The Indian Supreme Court told both sides to come to an agreement and "start with a clean slate" in November 1988.[50] Eventually, in an out-of-court settlement reached in 1989, Union Carbide agreed to pay US$ 470 million for damages caused in the Bhopal disaster, 15% of the original $3 billion claimed in the lawsuit.[4] By the end of October 2003, according to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, compensation had been awarded to 554,895 people for injuries received and 15,310 survivors of those killed. The average amount to families of the dead was $2,200.[53]
Throughout 1990, the Indian Supreme Court heard appeals against the settlement from "activist petitions". Nonetheless, in October 1991, the Supreme Court upheld the original $470 million, dismissing any other outstanding petitions that challenged the original decision. The decision set aside a "portion of settlement that quashed criminal prosecutions that were pending at the time of settlement". The Court ordered the Indian government "to purchase, out of settlement fund, a group medical insurance policy to cover 100,000 persons who may later develop symptoms" and cover any shortfall in the settlement fund. It also "requests" that Carbide and its subsidiary "voluntarily" fund a hospital in Bhopal, at an estimated $17 million, to specifically treat victims of the Bhopal disaster. The company agreed to this.[50] However, the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal notes that the Court also reinstated criminal charges.
[edit] Charges against Warren Anderson and others
The Chairman and CEO of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson, had been arrested and released on bail by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Bhopal on December 7, 1984. This caused controversy as his trip to Bhopal was conditional on an initial promise by Indian authorities not to arrest him. Anderson has since refused to return to India.
In 1987, the Indian government summoned Warren Anderson, eight other executives and two company affiliates with homicide charges to appear in Indian court.[54] Union Carbide balked, saying the company is not under Indian jurisdiction.[54]
Beginning in 1991, the local authorities from Bhopal charged Warren Anderson, who had retired in 1986, with manslaughter, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Anderson has so far avoided an international arrest warrant and a US court summons. He was declared a fugitive from justice by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal on February 1, 1992 for failing to appear at the court hearings in a culpable homicide case in which he was named the chief defendant. Orders were passed to the Government of India to press for an extradition from the United States, with whom India had an extradition treaty in place. The Bhopal Medical Appeal believe that "neither the American nor the Indian government seem interested in disturbing him with an extradition". A seemingly apathetic attitude from the US government, which has failed to pursue the case, has also led to strong protests in the past, most notably by Greenpeace. A plea by India's Central Bureau of Investigation to dilute the charges from culpable homicide to criminal negligence has since been dismissed by the Indian courts.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision of the lower federal courts in October 1993, meaning that victims of the Bhopal disaster could not seek damages in a US court.[50]
Meanwhile, very little of the money from the settlement reached with Union Carbide went to the survivors, and people in the area feel betrayed not only by Union Carbide (and chairman Warren Anderson), but also by their own politicians.[3][4] On the anniversary of the tragedy, effigies of Anderson and politicians are burnt.
In July 2004, the Indian Supreme Court ordered the Indian government to release any remaining settlement funds to victims. The deadline for this release was extended by the Indian Supreme Court In April 2005, giving the Indian government until 30 April 2006 after a request from the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims. The fund is believed to amount to $500 million after earning interest "from money remaining after all claims had been paid".[50]
August 2006 saw the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City uphold the dismissal of remaining claims in the case of Bano v. Union Carbide Corporation. This move blocked plaintiffs' motions for class certification and claims for property damages and remediation. In the view of Carbide, "the ruling reaffirms UCC's long-held positions and finally puts to rest — both procedurally and substantively — the issues raised in the class action complaint first filed against Union Carbide in 1999 by Haseena Bi and several organizations representing the residents of Bhopal". In September 2006, the Welfare Commission for Bhopal Gas Victims announced that all original compensation claims and revised petitions had been "cleared".[50]
Criminal charges are proceeding against former Union Carbide India Limited employees including: Former UCIL Chairman Shri Keshub Mahindra; presently Chairman-cum-managing Director Vijay Gokhale; former Vice-President Functioning In charge, Kishor Kamdar; former works manager J. Mukund; and former Production manager A.P. Division, S.P. Choudhury.
Federal class action litigation, Sahu v. Union Carbide et al. is presently pending on appeal before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.[55] The litigation seeks damages for personal injury, medical monitoring[56] and injunctive relief in the form of cleanup[57] of the drinking water supplies[58] for residential areas near the Bhopal plant[59] A related complaint seeking similar relief for property damage claimants is stayed pending the outcome of the Sahu appeal before the federal district court in the Southern District of New York.
[edit] Changes in corporate identity
[edit] Sale of Union Carbide India Limited
Union Carbide sold its Indian subsidiary, which had operated the Bhopal plant, to Eveready Industries India Limited, in 1994.
[edit] Acquisition of Union Carbide by Dow Chemical Company
The Dow Chemical Company purchased Union Carbide in 2001 for $10.3 billion in stock and debt. Dow has publicly stated several times that the Union Carbide settlement payments have already fulfilled Dow's financial responsibility for the disaster. Dow did not purchase, however, the Indian Union Carbide. That was split up, renamed, and bought by the Indian government after the tragedy took place.
Some Dow stockholders filed suits to stop the acquisition, noting the outstanding liabilities for the Bhopal disaster.[60] The acquisition has gained criticism from the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, as it is apparently "contrary to established merger law" in that "Dow denies any responsibility for Carbide's Bhopal liabilities". According to the Bhopal Medical Appeal, Carbide "remains liable for the environmental devastation" as environmental damage was not included in the 1989 settlement, despite ongoing contamination issues.[60]
[edit] Ongoing contamination
The contamination in the site itself and the surrounding areas did not arise directly from the Bhopal disaster, but rather from the materials processed at the plant and the conditions under which those materials were processed. The area around the plant was used as a dumping ground area for hazardous chemicals. Between 1969 and 1977, all effluents were dumped in an open pit. From then on, neutralisation with hydrochloric acid was undertaken. The effluents went to two evaporation ponds. In the rainy seasons, the effluents used to overflow. It is also said that lots of chemicals are buried in the ground.[4]
By 1982 tubewells in the vicinity of the UCC factory had to be abandoned. In 1991 the municipal authorities declared water from over 100 tubewells to be unfit for drinking.[4]
Carbide's laboratory tests in 1989 revealed that soil and water samples collected from near the factory were toxic to fish. Twenty-one areas inside the plant were reported to be highly polluted. In 1994 it was reported that 21% of the factory premises were seriously contaminated with chemicals.[46][61][62]
Studies made by Greenpeace and others from soil, groundwater, wellwater and vegetables from the residential areas around UCIL and from the UCIL factory area show contamination with a range of toxic heavy metals and chemical compounds.[61][62][63][64][65]
Substances found, according to the reports, are naphthol, naphthalene, Sevin, tarry residues, alpha napthol, mercury, organochlorines, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, hexachlorethane, hexachlorobuta-diene, pesticide HCH (BHC), volatile organic compounds and halo-organics. Many of these contaminants were also found in breast milk.
In 2002, an inquiry found a number of toxins, including mercury, lead, 1,3,5 trichlorobenzene, dichloromethane and chloroform, in nursing women's breast milk. Well water and groundwater tests conducted in the surrounding areas in 1999 showed mercury levels to be at "20,000 and 6 million times" higher than expected levels; heavy metals and organochlorines were present in the soil. Chemicals that have been linked to various forms of cancer were also discovered, as well as trichloroethene, known to impair fetal development, at 50 times above safety limits specified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).[60]
In an investigation broadcast on BBC Radio 5 on November 14, 2004,[66] it was reported that the site is still contaminated with 'thousands' of metric tons of toxic chemicals, including benzene hexachloride and mercury, held in open containers or loose on the ground. A sample of drinking water from a well near the site had levels of contamination 500 times higher than the maximum limits recommended by the World Health Organization.[67]
In 2009, a day before the 25th anniversary of the disaster, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi based pollution monitoring lab, released latest tests from a study showing that groundwater in areas even three km from the factory upto 38.6 times more pesticides than Indian standards. [68]
The BBC took a water sample from a frequently used hand pump, located just north of the plant. The sample, tested in UK, was found to contain 1000 times the World Health Organization's recommended maximum amount of carbon tetrachloride, a carcinogenic toxin.[69] This shows that the ground water has been contaminated due to toxins leaking from the factory site.
[edit] Criticisms of clean-up operations
Lack of political willpower has led to a stalemate on the issue of cleaning up the plant and its environs of hundreds of tonnes of toxic waste, which has been left untouched. Environmentalists have warned that the waste is a potential minefield in the heart of the city, and the resulting contamination may lead to decades of slow poisoning, and diseases affecting the nervous system, liver and kidneys in humans. According to activists, there are studies showing that the rates of cancer and other ailments are high in the region.[70] Activists have demanded that Dow clean up this toxic waste, and have pressed the government of India to demand more money from Dow.
Carbide states that "after the incident, UCIL began clean-up work at the site under the direction of Indian central and state government authorities", which was continued after 1994 by the successor to UCIL, Eveready Industries, until 1998, when it was placed under the authority of the Madhya Pradesh Government.[50] Critics of the clean-up undertaken by Carbide, such as the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, claim that "several internal studies" by the corporation, which evidenced "severe contamination", were not made public; the Indian authorities were also refused access. They believe that Union Carbide "continued directing operations" in Bhopal until "at least 1995" through Hayaran, the U.S.-trained site manager, even after the sale of its UCIL stock. The successor, Eveready Industries, abruptly relinquished the site lease to one department of the State Government while being supervised by another department on an extensive clean up programme. The Madhya Pradesh authorities have announced that they will "pursue both Dow and Eveready" to conduct the clean-up as joint tortfeasors.[citation needed]
The International Campaign view Carbide's sale of UCIL in 1994 as a strategy "to escape the Indian courts, who threatened Carbide's assets due to their non-appearance in the criminal case". The successor, Eveready Industries India, Limited (EIIL), ended its 99-year lease in 1998 and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya Pradesh.[48] Currently, the Madhya Pradesh Government is trying to legally force Dow and EIIL to finance clean-up operations.
As on 7 March 2009, Indian scientists of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)have decided to investigate the longterm health effects of the disaster. Also studies will be conducted to see if the toxic gases caused genetic disorders, low birth weight, growth and development disorders, congenital malformation and biological markers of MIC/toxic gas exposure.[71]
[edit] Settlement fund hoax
On December 3, 2004, the twentieth anniversary of the disaster, a man claiming to be a Dow representative named Jude Finisterra was interviewed on the BBC. He claimed that the company had agreed to clean up the site and compensate those harmed in the incident.[72] Immediately afterward, Dow's share price fell 4.2% in 23 minutes, for a loss of $2 billion in market value. Dow quickly issued a statement saying that they had no employee by that name — that he was an impostor, not affiliated with Dow, and that his claims were a hoax. The BBC broadcast a correction and an apology. The statement was widely carried.[73]
"Jude Finisterra" was actually Andy Bichlbaum, a member of the activist prankster group The Yes Men. In 2002, The Yes Men issued a phony press release explaining why Dow refused to take responsibility for the disaster and started up a website, DowEthics.com [1], designed to look like the Dow website but give what they felt was a more accurate cast on the events. In 2004, a producer for BBC News emailed them through the website requesting an interview, which they gladly obliged.[74]
Taking credit for the prank in an interview on Democracy Now!, Bichlbaum explains how his fake name was derived: "Jude is the patron saint of impossible causes and Finisterra means the end of the Earth". He explained that he settled on this approach (taking responsibility) because it would show people precisely how Dow could help the situation as well as likely garnering major media attention in the US, which had largely ignored the disaster's anniversaries, when Dow attempted to correct the statement.[75]
After the original interview was revealed as a hoax, Bichlbaum appeared in a follow-up interview on the United Kingdom's Channel 4 news.[76] During the interview he was repeatedly asked if he had considered the emotions and reaction of the people of Bhopal when producing the hoax. According to the interviewer, "there were many people in tears" upon having learned of the hoax. Each time, Bichlbaum said that, in comparison, what distress he had caused the people was minimal to that for which Dow was responsible. In the 2009 film The Yes Men Fix the World, the Yes Men travel to Bhopal to assess public opinion on their prank, and are surprised to find that the residents laud their efforts to bring some sort of responsibility to the corporate world.
[edit] See also
Books, films, photos etc are found after the reference list.
[edit] Endnotes
- ^ http://www.mp.gov.in/bgtrrdmp/relief.htm
- ^ a b "Industrial Disaster Still Haunts India - South and Central Asia - msnbc.com". http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34247132/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/page/2/. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs Eckerman (2001).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce Eckerman (2004).
- ^ "No takers for Bhopal toxic waste". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7569891.stm.
- ^ Broughton, Edward (2005). "The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: a review". Environmental Health 4 (6). doi:. http://www.ehjournal.net/content/4/1/6.
- ^ Chander, J. (2001). "Water contamination: a legacy of the union carbide disaster in Bhopal, India". Int J Occup Environ Health 7 (1): 72-3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11210017.
- ^ "Bhopal gas disaster's legacy lives on 25 years later". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/5978266/Bhopal-gas-disasters-legacy-lives-on-25-years-later.html.
- ^ "Second tragedy at Bhopal: Lapierre". Rediff. http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/02bhopal.htm.
- ^ "Bhopal gas tragedy lives on, 20 years later". Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0504/p07s01-wosc.html.
- ^ "Company Defends Chief in Bhopal Disaster". New York Times. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/company-defends-chief-in-bhopal-disaster/.
- ^ "U.S. Exec Arrest Sought in Bhopal Disaster". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/07/31/world/main5201155.shtml.
- ^ UCC manual (1976).
- ^ UCC manual (1978).
- ^ UCC manual (1979).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Chouhan et al. (2004).
- ^ Steven R. Weisman. "Bhopal a Year Later: An Eerie Silence". The New York Times. p. 5.
- ^ a b c Kalelkar (1988).
- ^ a b c Trade Union Report (1985).
- ^ a b UCC Investigation Report (1985).
- ^ a b Varadarajan (1985).
- ^ Eckerman (2005).
- ^ a b Bhopal Gas Disaster Research Centre (2003?).
- ^ a b c d e f g h Eckerman (2006).
- ^ a b c d e f Kovel (2002).
- ^ a b c Kurzman (1987).
- ^ Cassels (1983).
- ^ TED case 233 (1997).
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lepowski (1994).
- ^ Weir (1987).
- ^ D'Silva (2006).
- ^ a b Sriramachari (2004).
- ^ Gassert TH, Dhara VR, (2005).
- ^ Kulling & Lorin (1987).
- ^ P.G. Blake and S. Ijadi-Maghsoodi, Kinetics and Mechanism of Thermal Decomposition of Methyl Isocyanate, International Journal of Chemical Kinetics, vol.14, (1982), pp. 945–952.
- ^ K.H. Slotta, R. Tschesche, Berichte, vol.60, 1927, p.1031.
- ^ Christoph Grundmann, Alfred Kreutzberger, J. Am. Chem. Soc., vol. 76, 1954, pp. 5646-5650.
- ^ Bhopal.org
- ^ Dhara & Dhara (2002).
- ^ Singh (2008).
- ^ a b "Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department". 2008-12-05. http://www.mp.gov.in/bgtrrdmp/.
- ^ Bhopal Memorial Hospital closed indefinitely The Hindu 4.7.2005.
- ^ Bhopal Memorial Hospital Trust(2001).
- ^ Sick Berth Down to Earth (26.10.2008).
- ^ "The Bhopal Medical appeal". Sambhavna Trust. http://www.bhopal.org.htm.
- ^ a b UCC (1989).
- ^ "Carbide waste to go: HC". 16 December 2008. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Carbide_waste_to_go_HC/articleshow/3847412.cms. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
- ^ a b c "Statement of Union Carbide Corporation Regarding the Bhopal Tragedy". Bhopal Information Center, UCC. http://www.bhopal.com/ucs.htm.
- ^ a b c d "Frequently Asked Questions". Bhopal Information Center, UCC. http://www.bhopal.com/faq.htm.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Chronology". Bhopal Information Center, UCC. November 2006. http://www.bhopal.com/chrono.htm.
- ^ a b "Incident Response and Settlement". Bhopal Information Center,UCC. http://www.bhopal.com/irs.htm.
- ^ "Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Fact Sheet". Hindustan Times. Dec 3, 2004.
- ^ Broughton (2005).
- ^ a b "India Acts in Carbide Case". The New York Times. May 17, 1988. p. D15. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0D71F3CF934A25756C0A96E948260.
- ^ http://www.bhopal.net/pdfs/Sahu%20Opinion%2011.3.08.pdf
- ^ The Truth About Dow : Govt handling of Bhopal: Blot on Indian Democracy, 224 Indian groups tell PM.
- ^ The Truth About Dow : 25 years on, Govt wakes up to Bhopal waste but can't find any one to clean it up.
- ^ The Truth About Dow : Decades Later, Toxic Sludge Torments Bhopal.
- ^ Oops! You have reached Bhopal.con.
- ^ a b c "What Happened in Bhopal?". The Bhopal Medical Appeal. http://www.bhopal.org/whathappened.html.
- ^ a b Labunska et al. (2003).
- ^ a b Down to Earth (2003).
- ^ Stringer et al. (2002).
- ^ Srishti (2002).
- ^ Peoples' Science Institute (2001).
- ^ "Bhopal faces risk of 'poisoning'". BBC Radio 5. 2004-11-14. http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?scope=all&tab=av&recipe=all&q=bhopal+faces+risk+of+%27poisoning%27&x=0&y=0.
- ^ "Bhopal 'faces risk of poisoning'". BBC Radio 5 website. 2004-11-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4010511.stm.
- ^ "Bhopal gas leak survivors still being poisoned: Study". Bhopal. 1 December 2009. http://www.cseindia.org/AboutUs/press_releases/press-20091201.htm.
- ^ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8392206.stm.
- ^ India's betrayal of Bhopal - PAMELA TIMMS AND PRABAL KR DAS, The Scotsman, November 22, 2007.
- ^ 25 years on, study on Bhopal gas leak effects.
- ^ video.
- ^ Z-net
- ^ The Yes Men
- ^ Democracy Now!
- ^ video
[edit] References
[edit] Books, reports
- "Preview of several more books at Google books". http://books.google.com/books?q=bhopal&btnG=Search+Books.
- Browning, Jackson (1993). Jack A. Gottschalk. ed (PDF). Union Carbide: Disaster at Bhopal. Crisis Response: Inside Stories on Managing Image Under Siege. Detroit. http://www.bhopal.com/pdfs/browning.pdf. "Union Carbide's former vice-president of health, safety and environmental programs tells how he dealt with the catastrophe from a PR point of view."
- Cassels, J. (1993). The Uncertain Promise Of Law: Lessons From Bhopal. University Of Toronto Press.
- ChouhanTR and others (1994, 2004). Bhopal: the Inside Story — Carbide Workers Speak Out on the World's Worst Industrial Disaster. USA: The Apex Press. ISBN 1-891843-30-3. India: Other India Press ISBN 81-85569-65-7 Main author Chouhan was an operator at the plant. Contains many technical details.
- Doyle, Jack (2004). Trespass Against Us. Dow Chemical & The Toxic Century. USA: Common Courage Press. ISBN 1-56751-268-2. http://www.trespassagainstus.com/index.php. A story of how one company's chemical prducts and byproducts have damaged public health and the environment. 466 pages.
- D'Silva, Themistocles (2006). The Black Box of Bhopal: A Closer Look at the World's Deadliest Industrial Disaster. Victoria, B.C.: Trafford. ISBN 1-4120-8412-1. Review Written by a retired former employee of UCC. Includes several original documents including correspondence between UCIL and the Ministries of the Government of India.
- Eckerman, Ingrid (2001) (PDF). Chemical Industry and Public Health — Bhopal as an example. http://www.dnsy.se/_upload/lfm/2006/bhopal%20gas%20disaster.pdf. Essay for MPH. A short overview, 57 pages, 82 references.
- Eckerman, Ingrid (2004). The Bhopal Saga — Causes and Consequences of the World's Largest Industrial Disaster. India: Universities Press. ISBN 81-7371-515-7. http://www.eckerman.nu/default.cfm?page=The%20Bhopal%20Saga. Preview Google books All known facts 1960s – 2003, systematized and analysed. 283 pages, over 200 references.
- Fortun, Kim (2001). Advocacy after Bhopal. Environmentalism, Disaster, New Global Orders. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-25720-7. Preview Google books
- de Grazia, Alfred (1985). A Cloud over Bhopal — Causes, Consequences and Constructive Solutions. ISBN 0-940268-09-9. http://www.grazian-archive.com/governing/bhopal/Publishers%20Note.html. "The first book on the Bhopal disaster, written on-site a few weeks after the accident."
- Hanna B, Morehouse W, Sarangi S (2005). The Bhopal Reader. Remembering Twenty Years of the World's Worst Industrial Disaster. USA: The Apex Press. ISBN 1-891843-32-X USA, 81-85569-70-3 India. Reprinting and annotating landmark writing from across the years.
- Jasanoff, Sheila ed. (1994). Learning from Disaster. Risk Management After Bhopal. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 081221532X, 9780812215328. 291 pages. Preview Google books
- Johnson S, Sahu R, Jadon N, Duca C (2009). Contamination of soil and water inside and outside the Union Carbide India Limited, Bhopal. New Delhi: Centre for Science and Environment. In Down to Earth
- Kalelkar AS, Little AD. (1998) (PDF). Investigation of Large-magnitude incidents: Bhopal as a Case Study.. http://bhopal.bard.edu/resources/documents/1988ArthurD.Littlereport.pdf. London: The Institution of Chemical Engineers Conference on Preventing Major Chemical Accidents
- Kulling P, Lorin H (1987). The Toxic Gas Disaster in Bhopal December 2–3, 1984. Stockholm: National Defence Research Institute. [In Swedish]
- Kurzman, D. (1987). A Killing Wind: Inside Union Carbide and the Bhopal Catastrophe. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Kovel, J (2002). The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World?. London: Zed Books.
- Labunska I, Stephenson A, Brigden K, Stringer R, Santillo D, Johnston P.A. (1999) (PDF). The Bhopal Legacy. Toxic contaminants at the former Union Carbide factory site,Bhopal, India: 15 years after the Bhopal accident. http://webdrive.service.emory.edu/users/vdhara/www.BhopalPublications/Environmental%20Health/Greenpeace%20Bhopal%20Report.pdf. Greenpeace Research Laboratories, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter UK
- Lapierre, Dominique; Moro, Javier (2001). Five Minutes Past Midnight in Bhopal. New York, NY: Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-53088-3. A novel, based on facts, that describes the development from the 1960s to the disaster itself. Very thrilling.
- Mitchel, James (1996). The long road to recovery: Community responses to industrial disaster. Tokyo and New York: United Nations University Press. ISBN 92-808-0926-1. http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu21le/uu21le00.htm#Contents.
- Singh, Moti (2008). Unfolding the Betrayal of Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Delhi, India: B.R. Publishing Corporation. ISBN 8176466220. The chief coordinator of rescue operations at the district level writes rather critically on how the administration and bureaucracy functioned after the disaster.
- Shrishti (2002). Toxic present — toxic future. A report on Human and Environmental Chemical Contamination around the Bhopal disaster site. Delhi: The Other Media.
- Stringer R, Labunska I, Brigden K, Santillo D. (2002) (PDF). Chemical Stockpiles at Union Carbide India Limited in Bhopal: An investigation. Greenpeace Research Laboratories. http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/chemical-stockpiles-at-union-c.pdf.
- The Trade Union Report on Bhopal. Geneva, Switzerland: ICFTU-ICEF. 1985. http://www.bhopal.net/oldsite/documentlibrary/unionreport1985.html.
- Varadarajan S et al. (1985). Report on Scientific Studies on the Factors Related to Bhopal Toxic Gas Leakage. New Delhi: Indian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
- Weir D (1987). The Bhopal Syndrome: Pesticides, Environment and Health. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.
[edit] Articles and papers
- Broughton E (2005). "The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: A review". pp. 6 pages. doi:. http://www.ehjournal.net/content/4/1/6. 10 May 2005
- Dhara, V. Ramana; Dhara, Rosaline (Sept/October 2002). "The Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal: A review of health effects" (reprint). Archives of Environmental Health. pp. 391–404. http://webdrive.service.emory.edu/users/vdhara/www.BhopalPublications/Health%20Effects%20&%20Epidemiology/Health%20Effects%20Review%20articles/Health%20Effects%20Review%20AEH.pdf.
- D'Silva TDJ, Lopes A, Jones RL, Singhawangcha S, Chan JK (1986). "Studies of methyl isocyanate chemistry in the Bhopal incident". J. Org. Chem. 51 (20): 3781–3788. doi:.
- Eckerman, Ingrid (2005). "The Bhopal gas leak: Analyses of causes and consequences by three different models.". Journal of Loss Prevention in the process industry. pp. 2005:18;213–217. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6TGH-4GWC0T0-7&_coverDate=11%2F30%2F2005&_alid=467124665&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_qd=1&_cdi=5255&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=617dd29a0310b5fc9d6deb0bf4b28153.
- Eckerman, Ingrid (2006). "The Bhopal Disaster 1984 - working conditions and the role of the trade unions." (PDF). Asian Pacific Newsletter on occupational health and safety. http://www.ttl.fi/NR/rdonlyres/AF130282-A0AB-4439-8E3C-AFF55CDEF59F/0/AsianPacific_Nwesletter22006.pdf. Vol 13, No 2;48–49
- Gassert TH, Dhara VR, (Sep 2005.). "Debate on cyanide poisoning in Bhopal victims." (PDF). Current Science. http://webdrive.service.emory.edu/users/vdhara/www.BhopalPublications/Toxicology/Current%20Science%20article%20&%20critique/Current%20Science%20critique%20Gassert%20Dhara%20&%20Sriramachari%20response.pdf. (Response) Vol 89, nr 6
- Jasanoff, Sheila (2007). "Bhopal's Trials of Knowledge and Ignorance". Isis 98: 344–350. doi:. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/518194.
- Khurrum MA, S Hafeez Ahmad S (1987). "Long term follow up of ocular lesion of methyl-isocyanate gas disaster in Bhopal". Indian Journal of Ophthalmology 35 (3): 136–137. http://www.ijo.in/article.asp?issn=0301-4738;year=1987;volume=35;issue=3;spage=136;epage=137;aulast=Khurrum.
- Lakhani N. Bhopal: The victims are still being born. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/bhopal-the-victims-are-still-being-born-1830516.html. The Independent, 29 November 2009
- Lepowski, W. "Ten Years Later: Bhopal". Chemical and Engineering News, 19 December 1994.
- McTaggart U. "Dioxin, Bhopal and Dow Chemical". http://www.solidarity-us.org/node/555. Solidarity ATC 106, September-October 2003
- Mishra PK, Dabadghao S, Modi1 GK, Desikan P, Jain A, Mittra I, Gupta D, Chauhan C, Jain SK, Maudar KK (2009). "In utero exposure to methyl isocyanate in the Bhopal gas disaster: evidence of persisting hyperactivation of immune system two decades later". Occupational and Environmental Medicine 66: 279. http://oem.bmj.com/content/66/4/279.extract.
- Naik SR, Acharya VN, Bhalerao RA, Kowli SS, Nazareth HH, Mahashur AA, Shah SS, Potnis AV, Mehta AC (1986). "Medical survey of methyl isocyanate gas affected population of Bhopal. Part I. General medical observations 15 weeks following exposure". Journal of Post-Graduate Medicine 32 (4): 175–84. http://www.jpgmonline.com/article.asp?issn=0022-3859;year=1986;volume=32;issue=4;spage=175;epage=84;aulast=Naik.
- Naik SR, Acharya VN, Bhalerao RA, Kowli SS, Nazareth HH, Mahashur AA, Shah SS, Potnis AV, Mehta AC (1986). "Medical survey of methyl isocyanate gas affected population of Bhopal. Part II. Pulmonary effects in Bhopal victims as seen 15 weeks after M.I.C. exposure.". Journal of Post-Graduate Medicine 32 (4): 185–91. http://www.jpgmonline.com/article.asp?issn=0022-3859;year=1986;volume=32;issue=4;spage=185;epage=91;aulast=Naik.
- Peterson M.J. "Case study: Bhopal Plant Disaster". http://www.umass.edu/sts/ethics/bhopal.html. Science, Technology & Society Initiative, University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Ranjan N, Sarangi S, Padmanabhan VT, Holleran S, Ramakrishnan R, Varma DR (2003). "Methyl Isocyanate Exposure and Growth Patterns of Adolescents in Bhopal Methyl Isocyanate Exposure and Growth Patterns of Adolescents in Bhopal Methyl Isocyanate Exposure and Growth Patterns of Adolescents in Bhopal". JAMA (14). http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/290/14/1856 Methyl Isocyanate Exposure and Growth Patterns of Adolescents in Bhopal.
- Rice, Annie; ILO (2006). "Bhopal Revisited — the tragedy of lessons ignored" (PDF). Asian Pacific Newsletter on occupational health and safety. http://www.ttl.fi/NR/rdonlyres/AF130282-A0AB-4439-8E3C-AFF55CDEF59F/0/AsianPacific_Nwesletter22006.pdf. Vol 13, No 2;46–47
- Sriramachari S (2004). "The Bhopal gas tragedy: An environmental disaster" (PDF). Current Science 86: 905–920. http://webdrive.service.emory.edu/users/vdhara/www.BhopalPublications/Toxicology/Current%20Science%20article%20&%20critique/Curr%20Science%20Bhopal%20article%20Sriramachari.pdf.
[edit] Reports, no author's name
[edit] Union Carbide Corporation
- Methyl Isocyanate. Union Carbide F-41443A - 7/76. Union Carbide Corporation, New York (1976)
- Carbon monoxide, Phosgene and Methyl isocyanate. Unit Safety Procedures Manual. Union Carbide India Limited, Agricultural Products Division: Bhopal (1978)
- Operating Manual Part II. Methyl Isocyanate Unit. Union Carbide India Limited, Agricultural Products Division (1979).
- Bhopal Methyl Isocyanate Incident. Investigation Team Report. Union Carbide Corporation, Danbury, CT (1985).
- Presence of Toxic Ingredients in Soil/Water Samples Inside Plant Premises. Union Carbide Corporation, USA (1989)
[edit] Health research
- Health Effects of the Toxic Gas Leak from the Union Carbide Methyl Isocyanate Plant in Bhopal. Technical report on Population Based Long Term, Epidemiological Studies (1985–1994). Bhopal Gas Disaster Research Centre, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal (2003?) Contains the studies performed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
- "Health and Epidemiology Papers About the Bhopal Disaster". http://webdrive.service.emory.edu/users/vdhara/www.BhopalPublications.
[edit] Contamination of site
- A Report on Mercury Contamination of Groundwater near the Union Carbide Factory at Bhopal. Peoples' Science Institute, Dehra Doon (2001)
- Foul Debris. The UCIL plant is still a health hazard. Down to Earth, Dec 15 (2003).
[edit] Dow Chemicals
- Stockholder Proposal on Bhopal 2006. http://www.dow.com/financial/2006prox/161-00639.pdf. In Notice of the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on Thursday, May 11, 2006 (Agenda item 3, pp 11-13)
- Stockholder Proposal on Bhopal 2007. http://www.dow.com/financial/2007prox/161-00662.pdf. In Notice of the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on Thursday, May 10, 2007 (Agenda item 4, pp 39-41)
- Annual Meeting Final Voting Results. http://www.dow.com/corpgov/pdf/20070510_voting.pdf. May 10, 2007
[edit] Mixed
- "Bhopal Disaster". Trade Environmental Database. TED case studies no. 233, American University, Washington (1 Nov 1997). http://www.american.edu/ted/bhopal.htm.
- "Bhopal Papers. Conference Announcement and Call for Papers". http://webdrive.service.emory.edu/users/vdhara/papers.htm. A collection of different articles and papers concerning the Bhopal disaster.
- "Bibliography on Bhopal disaster". http://www.alyssaalappen.org/2002/12/04/bibliography-on-bhopal-disaster/. A condensed list of books, reports, and articles on the Bhopal disaster and related issues.
- "Chemical Terrorism Fact Sheet: Methyl Isocyanate." (PDF). http://bioterrorism.slu.edu/pulmonary/quick/methyliso.pdf. CSB&EI, Saint Louis University School of Public Health, USA
- "Unproven technology". Bhopal.net (14 Nov 2002). http://www.bhopal.net/oldsite/unproventechnology.html.
- "Clouds of injustice. Bhopal disaster 20 years". http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA20/015/2004/en. Amnesty International, London (2004) Report (pdf).
- "Summary of "Clouds of injustice - Bhopal disaster 20 years on"". http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA20/104/2004/en. Amnesty International 29 Nov 2004.
- "No more Bhopals". http://old.studentsforbhopal.org/Resources.htm. Contains original documents. This page does helpfully categorize information resources by subject. Some material seem to have disappeared.
- Sharma H. Rajan. "Catastrophe and the Dilemma of law" (PDF). http://www.icjb.org/legal/catastrope-dilemma.pdf. (2004) A chapter from The Bhopal Reader by Hanna B et al.
- The Bhopal Memory Project Material from UCC, the trade union and other original material has been scanned and can be found here. Some seem to have disappeared.
- "Subterranean Leak". http://www.downtoearth.org.in/webexclusives/story1.htm. Down to Earth Dec 1, 2009.
[edit] Presentations
- Eckerman, Ingrid. "The Bhopal Saga — Causes and Consequences of the World's Largest Industrial Disaster." (PDF). http://www.dnsy.se/_upload/lfm/presentationer/bhopal%20gas%20tragedy%20march%202008.pdf. Power point presentation in easy English (2008)
- Eckerman, Ingrid. "The Bhopal Gas Leak — too late for good epidemiology." (PDF). http://www.dnsy.se/_upload/lfm/presentationer/epidemiology%20läkarstämman%202007%20engelska.pdf. Poster presentation (2007)
[edit] External links
[edit] Websites
- The Bhopal Europe Bus Tour October-November 2009
- Bhopal - end 25 years of injustice Amnesty International 16 october 2009
- The Bhopal Library The Apex Press, New York
- International Campaign For Justice in Bhopal
- Bhopal Medical Appeal and Sambhavna Trust Clinic
- Students for Bhopal
- Bhopal Information Center (UCC:s Bhopal Web Site)
- Statement of The Dow Chemical Company Regarding the Bhopal Tragedy 2005
- Toxic Hotspots Greenpeace 2003
- Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief & Rehabilitation Department,The official website of the Government of Madhya Pradesh
- Dow Ethics "Dow Ethics" website (fake)
- The Encyclopedia of Earth "Bhopal, India"
- 25 years on, Bhopal gas victims still suffering DNA India newspaper
- 25 years after Bhopal gas tragedy, plant to be open to public Indian-Express newspaper
[edit] Reportage, films, music
- Twenty Years Without Justice: The Bhopal Chemical Disaster International Campaign for Justice for Bhopal video
- Bhopal.fm Arts website with broadcasting, photos, music and videos
- "One Night in Bhopal". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/bhopal/default.stm.
- It happened in Bhopal part 1 Reportage 27 Aug 2007 (Youtube)
- It happened in Bhopal part 2 Reportage 27 Aug 2007 (Youtube)
- Sambhavna Trust Clinic Webreportage 2007
- BBC News 2004 A film and a reportage
- Bhopal's health effects probed BBC News 26 March 2009. Reportage and links.
- Film: Shrouds of Silence, August 2008 (youtube)
- Bhopal: Prayer for Rain, upcoming film based on the Bhopal disaster.
- The Yes Men Fix the World, documentary film being released on October 23, 2009 which includes discussion of the disaster and shows
- The Yes Men's 2004 Dow settlement hoax.
- Bhopal on Youtube
[edit] Photos
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bhopal disaster |
- Raghu Rai Photos taken in 1984
- Pablo Bartholomew Photos taken in 1984
- The Ghosts of Bhopal slideshow from the Common Language Project
- World Press Photo of the Year | 1984 Child killed by the poisonous gas leak in the Union Carbide chemical plant disaster.
- Poison in Bhopal Photo report from ReMedAct | 2008
- BHOPAL XXV 3 photographers associate around 25 years of Bhopal disaster | Facts | Project | Actions | 2009
- Bhopal Gas Tragedy - 25 Years On | 26 Photos Reuters(India)
[edit] Texts
- Animal's People A fictionalized story of a Bhopal survivors that recreates present day Bhopal for the reader
- Bhopal Gas Tragedy A railway officer describes how he received victims coming by train. (2002)
[edit] Popular Culture
The Bhopal disaster is referenced in the song R.S.V.P. by B Dolan in which he decries Warren Anderson's involvement and even gives out his multiple home adresses.
[edit] See also
- Lake Nyos, a natural disaster involving carbon dioxide.
- List of industrial disasters
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Coordinates: 23°16′51″N 77°24′38″E / 23.28083°N 77.41056°E / 23.28083; 77.41056
BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY
Eighteen years have gone by since the Bhopal Gas tragedy. The victims of the biggest industrial accident are yet to receive succour. "The Bhopal Gas Tragedy " has been lost in the collective consciousness of the nation. Yes, life has to go on - we must light candles and offer prayers for the victims of September, 11 2001 - but do spare a thought for those who lost their lives in their devotion to duty.
I am talking of the "unhonoured," "unwept" and "unsung" railwaymen who stood like "boys on the burning deck" and kept the wheels of Indian Railways turning.
Third of December 1984 dawned like any other day at Bhusaval Junction the heart of Central Railway operations. It was a pleasant bracing winter morning and it was "…business as usual…." The 00-00 hours to 08-00 hours shift in the Control Office was busy tying up the loose ends of the previous day's operations and gathering information to plan the day's work. The telephone lines were buzzing from different directions and all the 'control boards' were busy like the proverbial beehives. North bound trains towards Itarsi Junction, South bound trains towards Mumbai, West bound trains towards Surat and East bound trains towards Nagpur marked their progress on the control charts.
But wait! the Itarsi line was fading. Those were the days when railway communication was mainly through the overhead telegraph wires. Optic Fibre Cable was still in its infancy. It was the pre Sam-Pitroda days and telephone instruments were a luxury. There were no STD facilities and what was called a "lighting call" took a couple of hours to materialise!
At first the Bhusaval Control Office shrugged off the lack of communication with Itarsi as routine, but when the silence continued it was disquieting. The railways still had their more than 100 years old MORSE instruments functioning and there was a class of railwaymen which is extinct now called 'Signallers' who used the DOT-DASH-DOT method to raise Bhopal. Finally the headquarters control office at Mumbai confirmed that there was something seriously amiss at Bhopal which in those days was an area controlled from the Jhansi Railway Divisional Office. Communication to Bhopal was via Itarsi.
By about 6-00 a.m it was evident that a disaster had struck Bhopal. No trains were leaving Bhopal and those which entered just seemed to have disappeared into a 'black hole' till the yard was full and no more trains could be admitted.
The initial reports were almost flippant – "…. some evil fairy has struck and sleeping sickness has overtaken Bhopal…." Wild rumours started spreading. In the aftermath of the 1984 riots the militant Sikh organisations were blamed for everything.
Black 3rd December brought the news that people had been dropping dead like flies in Bhopal and those who could manage were scrambling into trains which were running away from Bhopal. There was a mass exodus with the Government functionaries abandoning Bhopal and commandeering whatever vehicles were available.
As the next shift railway workers streamed in at Bhopal they saw the horrifying sight of their colleagues slumped over at the workspot. Signalmen and Stationmasters in the busy NISHATPURA yard which was the epicentre of the gas leak had collapsed with the signal levers still in their hands. Since the signals did not turn green the engine drivers, died in their cabs dutifully waiting for the signals. Clerks at the booking windows had keeled over with the ticket boxes and the cash safe wide open. The only redeeming feature was that the deadly gas had struck without fear or favour and even thieves dare not enter Bhopal!
Back at the Bhusaval Control Office the full impact of the happenings at Bhopal was still sinking in. Plans were made to send medical aid and manpower to Bhopal to restart the operations.
In the glorious tradition of Indian Railways not one employee questioned the decision to send people to Bhopal. Whenever there is a disaster, man made or natural, it is ingrained in railwaymen to rush to the scene of the disaster and none will quit his post till the job is done. The last civilian to leave Tezpur when the Chinese invaded India in 1962 was the Station Master!
Meanwhile, rumours had spread that a second wave of poisonous gas, even deadlier than the first one, had broken loose and the steady exodus further swelled due to the rush of the panic stricken residents.
While these streams of humanity were going out of Bhopal, there was one band of railwaymen going towards Bhopal. In retrospect one may say "Fools rushed where angels feared to tread," but at that point of time the Railwaymen and women of Itarsi, 90 kms. from Bhopal banded themselves together and set off in a caravan of road vehicles to the illfated city of Bhopal. Unmindful of the people exhorting them to go back, the unsung heroes armed with food and medicine, wended their way to Bhopal.
Nobody knew exactly what had happened except that some gas had engulfed Bhopal and as the sun rose the gas diffused and finally dispersed leaving in its wake thousands of humans choking, coughing and blinded. The "council of war" at the Bhusaval control office decided that a relief train should start immediately. On the presumption that only a nerve gas could disable people so rapidly, all the stocks of ATROPINE were commandeered along with hundreds of vials of eye drops.
The Special Train carrying a multidisciplinary team of railway employees including doctors and para-medics, covered the distance of 302 kms. from Bhusaval to Itarsi in 3 hours flat. When we reached Bhopal we were informed that the Government Administration had finally got their act together - probably shamed into action by the railwaymen who had proceeded from Itarsi.
We were told to organise relief operations in the Itarsi civil hospital. We found that the ATROPINE vials and "Visine" eye drops were useless. I still do not know whether there is an antidote to METHYL ISOCYANATE - the poisonous substance which had annihilated everyone near the Union Carbide Factory in Bhopal.
The sight at Itarsi was something straight out of Dante's 'Inferno.' Dozens of men, women and children were writhing in agony and we watched them in horrified helplessness. Death was a welcome relief to the victims, their eyeballs swollen red and bursting, every breath bringing agony to their burning lungs. The screams of the tortured bodies were in different languages. As train after train went past Itarsi discharging the bodies of the victims of the monstrous gas, the famous cliché that "from Kashmir to Kanniyakumari Indian Railways is one" was poignantly apparent as we tried our best to soothe the victims in whatever language we could speak. Faced with their end these poor souls uncomplainingly requested that their next of kin should be informed and their belongings taken care of. I still cannot forget the poor blinded Malayalee boy holding my hands imploring me to convey some important news to his mother in Kerala.
The dying wish of a TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner ) was that his settlement dues should be expedited and his family cared for. In his delirious death he kept apologising for abandoning his train and pressed the reservation chart into the hands of another railwayman. His sightless eyes failed to reveal that it was a doctor.
There was no way for postmortem to be performed and all the death certificates were signed with the words "Cardiac arrest due to unknown causes".
The railways raced back to normality within 24 hours of the accident. Hundreds of railwaymen still bear the physical and mental scars of that black day.
When I joined the Railways I was asked to make a daily prayer that there should be no fatal railway accidents in my career and I do not have to remove mangled bodies from a train wreck. I never expected that I would live to see so many dead and dying humans around.
While we continue to pray for their souls, let us salute the railwaymen who tenaciously clung to their workspots and rushed to the scene of disaster.
V. Anand,
Ex-ADRM/BSL/CR,
Now GM/SRhttp://www.irastimes.org/bhopal_gas_tragedy.htm
BMA Sambhavna Bhopal Water Report
Bhopal 25th Anniversary
Wednesday 3 December is the 25th Anniversary of The Bhopal Gas leak disaster which has killed 25,000 people to date.
On Tuesday 01 December the Bhopal Medical Appeal will publish, on behalf of the Sambhavna Trust Clinic, a comprehensive new 66pp report revealing how tens thousands of people living near to the site of the abandoned Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, scene of the World's worst industrial disaster, are still being poisoned by chemicals left there.
This timely report proves that, 25 years after the worst industrial accident ever, the people of Bhopal are being poisoned by a contaminated water supply.
Media Centre
Welcome to the Bhopal Medical Appeal media centre. Here you can find the latest Bhopal Medical Appeal press releases and supporting materials.
Press Releases:
Bhopal Water Report: Report proves poisoning of thousands of people by chemicals not cleared from disaster site- despite Indian Govt. claiming site is safe.
For breaking stories please see our blog on The Bhopal Medical Appeal homepage.
Water Report:
Download PDF's of the Bhopal Water Report and Executive Summary
Photos
Click here for a series of photos from the report, as well as of the local community and the abandoned Union Carbide site.
Videos
You can view a series of short videos on our Youtube Channel
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Join us on Facebook
Click picture to read Adil's story The children of Dow's chemicals
BLIND, LAME, LIMBS TWISTED or missing, deafmute, brain-damaged, with hare-lips, cleft palates, webbed fingers, cerebral palsy, tumours where should be eyes, these are Bhopal's children. The living children. The still-born often can not be recognised as human. If you want to break your heart, look at their pictures. They were damaged in the womb by chemicals leaking from the same Union Carbide factory that killed thousands in 1984. Carbide left the plant without cleaning it. The "Polluter Pays Principle" applies in India as in the US, but Carbide and its parent Dow Chemical flatly refuse to clean the factory or pay a cent towards a clean-up. More here
A history of the "horrific births" in Bhopal | Amir's story | Adil's story | Raju's story | Please help by contacting your Euro MP
DOW CHEMICALS: BHOPAL TRAGEDY The Acid Wash Effect A government/industry nexus is giving leeway to Dow in the Union Carbide wrangle. Why? SHUCHI SRIVASTAVA Magazine | May 28, 2007 BHOPAL TRAGEDY Rancid Requiem A grandiose memorial idea irks Bhopal gas victims K.S. SHAINI Magazine | Dec 19, 2005 http://www.outlookindia.com/dossiersind.asp?id=485 BHOPAL Clouds Of Injustice On the night of 2 December 1984, over 35 tons of toxic gases leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal... In the next 2-3 days more than 7,000 people died and many more were seriously affected. Over the last 20 years at least 15,000 more people have died from illnesses related to gas exposure. Today more than 100,000 people continue to suffer chronic and debilitating illnesses for which treatment is largely ineffective. Updates AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Web | Dec 02, 2004 BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY Parasites Of Disaster The other tragedy is what's being done in the name of Bhopal More Coverage K.S. SHAINI Magazine | Dec 16, 2002  Remembering Bhopal 18 years after the tragedy, despair and suffering continue as the culprits remain at large. Web | Sep 02, 2002  OPINIONRAHUL MAHAJAN Corporate Crimes And Their Bodycount Justice For Bhopal -- time to remember a crime that cost thousands their lives, as executives and politicians try to cut a deal to escape what little accountability remains. Web | Jul 15, 2002 EMAIL APPEAL INDRA SINHA Bhopal Hunger Strike It is now seventeen and a half years since the night of gas, or "that night" as it is called in Bhopal but the government seems inclined to dilute the criminal charges that those responsible still face in the Bhopal High Court. Updates Web | Jul 10, 2002 BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY It's Dow Or Die Did Union Carbide's liability end with a $470 million settlement? A.K. SEN Magazine | May 27, 2002 ENVIRONMENT The Slow Poison Factory After the gas, it's toxic waste. Bhopal can't get over Union Carbide's bitter legacy NEERAJ MISHRA Magazine | Aug 02, 1999 |
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The Chemicals Policy and Science Initiative (CPSI) is a project of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Agricultural Chemicals and Production Technology ... Economic and Policy Implications of Wind-Borne Entry of ...
About the Project. The objectives of the Chemicals Policy and Science Initiative are to: Significantly advance policy dialogue on reforming chemicals policy in the United States.
University Policy Centers; International Organizations; U.S. Legislation; Reports ... the nerve agents, however, requires significantly more sophisticated chemical processing. Some production ...
OAR Policy and Guidance > OAR Policy and Guidance Metarecord - Clarification of Methodology for Calculating PTE for Batch Chemical Production Operations
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Clean Production Action and Greenpeace for documents obtained ... "Posts are requested to raise the EU chemicals policy with relevant government officials (e.g ...
Website inquiries: Chemicals_Policy@uml.edu. Mailing Address . Lowell Center for Sustainable Production University of Massachusetts Lowell One University Avenue
Recent Chemicals Policy News. Univeristy of Massachusetts. Lowell Center for Sustainable Production. U.S. Federal Chemicals Policy ... Chemicals Policy. The Issue. U. S. chemicals ...
Canadian Public Policy: CPP: Chemical Processing Plant: CPP: Captive Power Plant ... Chemical Production Process CHEMICS CHEMID CHEMLINE CHEMLITE CHEMLL chemMIST CHEMNET
Privacy Policy - Chemical Engineering @ChemengFiles.Com, the most comprehensive ... hysys simulation jobs, oil refinery projects books, handbook of chemicals production ...
The Chemicals Policy and Science Initiative (CPSI) is a project of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Agricultural Chemicals and Production Technology ... Economic and Policy Implications of Wind-Borne Entry of ...
About the Project. The objectives of the Chemicals Policy and Science Initiative are to: Significantly advance policy dialogue on reforming chemicals policy in the United States.
University Policy Centers; International Organizations; U.S. Legislation; Reports ... the nerve agents, however, requires significantly more sophisticated chemical processing. Some production ...
OAR Policy and Guidance > OAR Policy and Guidance Metarecord - Clarification of Methodology for Calculating PTE for Batch Chemical Production Operations
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Clean Production Action and Greenpeace for documents obtained ... "Posts are requested to raise the EU chemicals policy with relevant government officials (e.g ...
Website inquiries: Chemicals_Policy@uml.edu. Mailing Address . Lowell Center for Sustainable Production University of Massachusetts Lowell One University Avenue
Recent Chemicals Policy News. Univeristy of Massachusetts. Lowell Center for Sustainable Production. U.S. Federal Chemicals Policy ... Chemicals Policy. The Issue. U. S. chemicals ...
Canadian Public Policy: CPP: Chemical Processing Plant: CPP: Captive Power Plant ... Chemical Production Process CHEMICS CHEMID CHEMLINE CHEMLITE CHEMLL chemMIST CHEMNET
Privacy Policy - Chemical Engineering @ChemengFiles.Com, the most comprehensive ... hysys simulation jobs, oil refinery projects books, handbook of chemicals production ...
Bhopal gas victims hold candle light vigil on 25th anniversary of tragedyDaily News & Analysis - 4 hours ago Bhopal: Kin of the victims and survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy staged a candlelight vigil here on Wednesday to mark the 25th anniversary of the world's ... No end to tragedy for Bhopal gas victims IBNLive.com Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Endless nightmare Times of India Bhopal gas Tragedy : No end to the disasterMerinews - 6 hours ago APSA Director S Srinivasa Reddy led the participating people to pay tributes to the Bhopal gas leak victims by lighting candles. ... Safety norms flouted as Centre weakened trade unionismPress Trust of India - 30 minutes ago Bhopal, Dec 3 (PTI) The Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) today said even 25 years after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, safety measures were still not in place ... Bhopal tragedy survivors lie in coffins to protestThaindian.com - 4 hours ago "The Bhopal gas tragedy is the world's worst industrial disaster where several thousand people were killed and generations maimed for life. ... Bhopal gas tragedy victims to 'treat' govt officials in protest>Business Standard - - Nov 26, 2009 Enraged over the statement of various officials, including Vijayaraghavan and Chakravarty, the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy have planned to serve them ... A tragic tale of Bhopal caught on camera Daily News & Analysis 25 years on, still waiting for Bhopal gas researchIndian Express - 21 hours ago This January, 25 years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) invited research to study the effects of methyl ... ICMR to study contamination of soil, water in Bhopal Press Trust of India Rajya Sabha mourns Bhopal gas tragedy victimsGaea Times - Dec 1, 2009 By IANS NEW DELHI - The Rajya Sabha Wednesday mourned the victims of the Bhopal gas disaster of 1984, expressing the members' heartfelt sympathies for the ... Rajya Sabha mourns Bhopal gas tragedy victims Calcutta Tube (blog) IBN7 revisits the horrors of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy after 25 yearsIndiantelevision.com - Dec 2, 2009 MUMBAI: The Bhopal gas tragedy is recognized globally as the world's worst industrial disaster. IBN7, India's leading Hindi news channel, will commemorate ... Lapierre calls for Empowered Commission on Bhopal tragedyThaindian.com - Dec 1, 2009 Addressing a press conference on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal gas Tragedy, Lapierre said: "I hope that Manmohan Singh would facilitate ... Bhopal Gas Tragedy | A tragic businessLivemint - - Nov 23, 2009 Bhopal: Jahar Lal doesn't remember the night of the Bhopal gas tragedy, but he can't forget it either. He was born on the side of a road, as his mother fled ... Bhopal gas tragedy victims seek more compensation Press Trust of India | |
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भोपाल गैस कांड के लिए समाचार परिणाम
खास खबरभोपाल गैस कांड की 25वीं बरसी - 15 घंटे पहले इतिहास की सबसे बुरी औद्योगिक त्रासदी कहे जाने वाले भोपाल गैस कांड में हज़ारों लोगों की जानें गईं. 25 साल बाद भी पीड़ित इसके प्रभावों से नहीं उबर पाए हैं. यही नहीं, उनकी अगली ...डी-डब्लू वर्ल्ड - 59 संबंधित आलेख »
भोपाल गैस कांड: आरोपी पकड़ से अब भी ... - That's Hindi - 2 संबंधित आलेख »भोपाल त्रासदी : भागो, गैस निकल रही है... - वेबदुनिया हिंदीभोपाल गैस कांड - विकिपीडिया
भारत के मध्य प्रदेश राज्य के भोपाल शहर मे 3 दिसम्बर सन् 1984 को एक भयानक औद्योगिक दुर्घटना हुई। इसे भोपाल गैस कांड, या भोपाल गैस त्रासदी के नाम से जाना जाता है। ...
hi.wikipedia.org/.../भोपाल_गैस_कांड - संचित प्रति - समान -भोपाल गैस कांड | भोपाल गैस कांड में ...
भोपाल गैस कांड में त्रासदी News India Nava Bharat Bhopal जिसका अंत.
search.webdunia.com/.../भोपाल-गैस-कांड.html - संचित प्रति -भोपाल गैस कांड | कांड गैस News पीड़ितों ...
कांड गैस News पीड़ितों फर्जी पासपोर्ट में तीन गवाहों बयान दर्ज भोपाल.
search.webdunia.com/.../भोपाल-गैस-कांड.html - संचित प्रति -डोंगरे की डायरी: भोपाल गैस कांड
22 मई 2008 ... भोपाल गैस कांड (बाबा धरणीधर की मशहूर कविता से चुनिदा लाइनें .... ) हर जिस्म जहर हो गया एक दिन मुर्दों का शहर हो गया भोपाल एक दिन ........................... सर्दी की रात थी वो क़यामत ...
dongretrishna.blogspot.com/.../blog-post_22.html - संचित प्रति - समान -भोपाल गैस कांड: एक त्रासदी जिसका अंत ...
भोपाल गैस कांड: एक त्रासदी जिसका अंत नहीं. शशिकांत त्रिवेदी / भोपाल April 10, 2008 ... भोपाल गैस राहत और पुनर्वास विभाग और बीएसी एक दूसरे के ऊपर इस बात की जिम्मेदारी थोप रहे हैं। ...
hindi.business-standard.com/.../storypage.php?... - संचित प्रति - समान -भोपाल गैस कांड: 25 साल - 25 तथ्य - Tarakash ...
2 दिसं 2009 ... Tarakash.com | Most exciting Hindi News site, 3 दिसम्बर की सुबह भोपाल स्थित यूनियन कार्बाइड के कारखाने के पास की झुग्गी झोपंडियों के पास के पुलिस की गाड़ी निकली. गाड़ी पर लगे माइक से ...
www.tarakash.com/.../bhopal-gas-tragedy-25-years-later.html - 20 घंटे पहले - संचित प्रति -शरद कोकास: भोपाल गैस कांड की याद में ...
2 दिसं 2009 ... भोपाल गैस कांड में जो प्रभावित लोग ज़िन्दा बच गये थे वे भी आज खुश कहाँ हैं ? पिछले 25 बरसों में जाने कितने लोग धीरे धीरे मर चुके हैं गैस के प्रभाव की वज़ह से । ...
kavikokas.blogspot.com/2009/12/blog-post.html -Bhopal victims fight for justice 25 years on | भोपाल गैस ...
1 दिसं 2009 ... भोपाल में दुनिया की सबसे त्रासद औद्योगिक दुर्घटना के 25 वर्षो बाद भी भारत इसके लिए जिम्मेदार ... भोपाल गैस कांड: आरोपी पकड़ से अब भी बाहर. मंगलवार, दिसंबर 1, 2009,1:37[IST] ...
thatshindi.oneindia.in/news/.../1259611623.html - संचित प्रति -Bhopal gas tragedy case is still unsolved | उलझी हुई है ...
30 नवं 2009 ... भोपाल गैस कांड की पच्चीसवीं बरसी के सिलसिले में जब फ़ैसल मोहम्मद अली भोपाल गए. वापस आए तो था यादों का पिटारा. पेश है इस पिटारे से निकली दूसरी कड़ी.
thatshindi.oneindia.in/news/.../faisaldiary2pp.html - संचित प्रति -हाशिया: भोपाल गैस कांड : देश की सरकार ...
भोपाल गैस कांड : देश की सरकार हत्यारों के साथ खड़ी है. Written by Reyaz-ul-haque on 12/02/2009 07:00:00 PM. जब देश की सरकार देशी-विदेशी निगमों के हित में जनता के खिलाफ सेना और वायुसेना उतार रही है, ...
hashiya.blogspot.com/2009/12/blog-post_7890.html -
इसके लिए अनुवादित अंग्रेज़ी परिणाम देखें:
भोपाल गैस कांड (Bhopal gas case)
और मुआवजे की जिंदा हैं उम्मीदें!दैनिक भास्कर - 6 घंटे पहले भोपाल गैस कांड के पीड़ितों के राहत-पुनर्वास की लड़ाई 25 साल के लंबे सफर के बाद अब भी जारी है। यूनियन कार्बाइड से अमेरिकी डॉलर में मिला मुआवजा भारतीय मुद्रा में बदलकर तीन हजार करोड़ रुपए हो गया। गैस पीड़ितों को अभी भी और मुआवजे की आस है। क्या उनकी यह आस पूरी हो सकती है? गैस पीड़ितों के बीच काम करने वाले स्वयंसेवी संगठनों का दावा है कि गैस प्रभावितों के यहां जन्म लेने वाले बच्चों में जन्मजात विकृतियों की दर ज्यादा है। ... भोपाल के असली गुनहगारों को पहचानो और सजा दो!IBNKhabar - 28 मिनट पहले भोपाल। भोपाल गैस कांड महज हादसा नहीं था। ये चंद लोगों की लापरवाही का नतीजा नहीं था। ये मासूम जनता से जानबूझ कर किया गया धोखा था। इस धोखे की जिम्मेदार सिर्फ यूनियन कार्बाइड नहीं थी। इस धोखे का विलेन सिर्फ वारेन एंडरसन नहीं था। इस धोखे की उतनी ही जिम्मेदार सरकार थी। एक पूरी नस्ल को मौत के मुहाने पर खड़ा करने के गुनहगार आज भी आजाद हैं। सरकार उन्हें सलाखों के पीछे पहुंचाने की बजाए बचने का मौका देती रही। यूनियन कार्बाइड में ... संघर्ष कर पाएंगे न्यायदैनिक भास्कर - 18 घंटे पहले मध्यप्रदेश व छत्तीसगढ़ के जन संगठनों के संगठन 'जन संघर्ष मोर्चा' द्वारा भोपाल गैसकांड की 25वीं वर्षगांठ पर बुधवार को आयोजित राष्ट्रीय संगोष्ठी में इस तरह के विचार व्यक्त किए गए। 'विनाशकारी औद्योगीकरण एवं विकृत विकास' विषय पर आयोजित संगोष्ठी में वैज्ञानिक एवं शिक्षाविद डॉ. अनिल सद्गोपाल ने कहा कि भोपाल गैसकांड वैश्विक पूंजीवाद पर भोपाल एवं भारत के लोगों का विशाल कर्ज है, जिसे आज तक नहीं चुकाया गया है। उन्होंने फरवरी 1989 ... भोपाल त्रासदी : भागो, गैस निकल रही है...वेबदुनिया हिंदी - ०२-१२-२००९ इसे सुनकर वह घबराती हुई निर्वस्त्र ही घर से यह कहती हुई भागी कि गैस निकल रही है। काफी मशक्कत के बाद उन्हें पक़ड़कर वापस घर लाया गया। अब तक कम नहीं हुए जख्म : विश्व की सबसे बड़ी औद्योगिक त्रासदी भोपाल गैसकांड को हुए 25 बरस हो गए हैं। आधी रात हुए इस हादसे में 15 हजार लोगों की मौत हो गई जबकि 5 लाख से ज्यादा लोगों का जीवन दूभर कर दिया है। हालात यह हैं कि अब तक गैस के दुष्प्रभाव का सटीक आकलन तक नहीं किया जा सका है। 20 पीड़ित बस्तियाँ ... भोपाल गैस कांड: आरोपी पकड़ से अब भी बाहरThat's Hindi - ०१-१२-२००९ भोपाल में यूनियन कार्बाइड कारखाने से दो दिसम्बर 1984 की रात जहरीली मिथाइल आइसोनेट गैस के रिसाव की दुर्घटना के समय एंडरसन यूनियन कार्बाइड कार्पोरेशन (यूसीसी) का मुख्य कार्यकारी अधिकारी था। इस दुर्घटना में तत्काल 3500 लोगों की मौत हुई थी। दुर्घटना के प्रभाव से हजारों लोग बीमार और विकलांग हुए। स्वयंसेवी संगठनों के अनुसार दुर्घटना के 72 घंटों के भीतर 10000 लोगों की मौत हुई और अब तक 25000 लोगों की मौत हो चुकी है। ... भोपाल: 25 साल बादvisfot.news - ०१-१२-२००९ आज जब विश्व की इस सबसे बड़ी औद्योगिक दुर्घटना को पज्चीस बरस बीत चुके हैं तो भोपाल गैस कांड के पीड़ित लोगों का न्याय देश में कोई मुद्दा नहीं है। लोग इस कदर संवेदनहीन हो गए हैं कि और तो छोड़िए भोपाल में रहने वाले लोग यह मानते हैं कि अब इस घटना को पज्चीस वर्ष बीत चुके हैं और इस पर क्या कहना-सुनना बचा है। शायद यह अब अधिकतर लोगों के लिए मुद्दा नहीं है लेकिन इस बात को सोचने को मजबूर करता है कि हमारे देश में पीड़ितों, शोषितों, ... ब्लॉग वार्ता : पच्चीस साल बाद भोपाल हिन्दुस्तान दैनिक कब मिलेगा इंसाफयाहू! जागरण - ०२-१२-२००९ भोपाल गैस कांड की त्रासद कहानी 25 वर्ष पुरानी है मगर उस हादसे के शिकार बने लोगों पर उसकी निशानी आज भी जैसे एकदम ताजी है। आज भी उस कातिल रात की कहानी कुछ अपनी जुबानी बयां कर पाते हैं तो कुछ महज इशारों या आंसुओं के सैलाब से। यूनियन कार्बाइड गैस कारखाने की लापरवाही से गैस रिसने के कारण जितने हताहत और अपंग हुए उससे अधिक दहला देने वाली बात गैस के पीडि़तों के प्रति सरकार का गैर जिम्मेदाराना रवैया है। इस दुर्घटना के शिकार मानसिक ... वो तो एक कातिल रात थी .. हिन्दुस्तान दैनिक देश को लूट रही हैं बहुराष्ट्रीय कंपनियां: रामदेवयाहू! जागरण - 19 घंटे पहले योग गुरु बुधवार को पतंजलि योगपीठ में भोपाल गैस कांड त्रासदी के 25 वर्ष पूर्ण होने पर पत्रकारों से वार्ता कर रहे थे। उन्होंने कहा कि भोपाल गैस कांड मनुष्य की गलतियों से होने वाली इस सदी की सबसे बड़ी त्रासदी थी, जिसमें 10 हजार लोग तत्काल मारे गए थे। 25 हजार लोग आज भी विभिन्न गैसजनित रोगों से पीड़ित हैं। विडंबना की बात यह है कि अभी तक गैस कांड त्रासदी के दोषियों के विरुद्ध न तो उचित कार्रवाई हो पाई है और न हीपीड़ितों को उचित मुआवजा ... भोपाल की नसों में आज भी तैर रही है त्रासदीvisfot.news - ०१-१२-२००९ दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी औद्यौगिक त्रासदी "भोपाल गैस कांड" का जहर चौथाई सदी बीतने के बावजूद आज भी शहर की नसों में घुला हुआ है। 2-3 दिसम्बर 1984 की रात हजारों जिंदगियाँ लील चुके यूनियन कार्बाइड संयंत्र के आसपास के इलाकों की मिट्टी और पानी में अब भी भारी मात्रा में जहर मौजूद है। विज्ञान एवं पर्यावरण केन्द्र (सीएसई) के अध्ययन के अनुसार फैक्ट्री से तीन किलोमीटर दूर तक के इलाके के भू-जल में भारतीय मानकों से 40 गुना अधिक तक कीटनाशक पाए ... इन परिणामों पर अद्यतित रहें: |
Chemical Hub: the Dire Threat
23 Jul 2007 ... Today's chemical industry is not what it was a hundred years ago. Today it has sent tentacles into food processing, agricultural trade, ...
www.articlesbase.com/.../chemical-hub-the-dire-threat-186571.html - Cached - Similar -Nayachar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to chemical hub initiated by the: Other places where similar chemical hubs are being set up in India are: Mangalore in Karnataka,Panipat in ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayachar - Cached - Similar -The Hindu : Other States / West Bengal News : Mamata targets ...
7 Feb 2009 ... KOLKATA: After spearheading a movement that finally led to scuttling of plans to set up a chemical hub in Nandigram nearly two years ago, ...
www.thehindu.com/2009/02/07/stories/2009020755220700.htm - Cached -India approves three massive integrated petro-chemical hubs
1 post - 1 author - Last post: 23 FebNew Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS) India's cabinet Monday approved three major projects under its policy for petroleum, chemicals and petrochemical ...
www.thaindian.com/.../india-approves-three-massive-integrated-petro-chemical-hubs_100158814.html - Cached -Petrochemical cluster to be developed in West Bengal - 1 post - 29 Oct 2009
West Bengal plans to build small port - 1 post - 15 May 2009
West Bengal yet to receive centre's formal approval on chemical ... - 1 post - 18 Mar 2009
West Bengal yet to receive centre's approval on chemical hub - 1 post - 18 Mar 2009
PMO cell to study Haldia chemical hub plan
The Union government has set up a task force headed by the principal secretary of the Prime Minister's Office for devising a policy for chemical hubs in the ...
www.business-standard.com › Home › Economy & Policy - Cached -What is a Chemical Hub: | PRAGOTI
An industrial area consisting of a concentration of many chemicals, petrochemicals and related industries are known as a Chemical Hub. It is a combination ...
www.pragoti.org/node/36 - Cached -Union Cabinet Approves Three Massive Integrated Petro-Chemical ...
Union Cabinet Approves Three Massive Integrated Petro-Chemical Hubs ... The proposed project aims to build hubs for the integrated industries in West ...
www.india-server.com/.../union-cabinet-approves-three-massive-6303.html - Cached -EBSCOhost Connection: Chemical hubs spearhead regional development.
Chemical Week: Reports on the Chinese government's plans to form regional economies of chemical production as part of its 1996-2000 economic...
connection.ebscohost.com/content/article/1029564381.html;jsessionid... -Chemical hub: RSP says Govt must consider 'hazards'
Latest news, breaking news - Chemical hub: RSP says Govt must consider 'hazards'
www.indianexpress.com/news/chemical-hub-rsp-says.../214559/ - Cached -Slow progress for Indian chemical hubs
More than two years after conceiving a plan for mega refining and petrochemical hubs, India has yet to get one off the ground.
www.icis.com/.../slow-progress-for-indian-chemical-hubs.html - Cached - Similar -
State dumps poison into canal near Lockport in bid to stop Asian carpChicago Tribune - - 12 hours ago Illinois' Department of Natural Resources launched chemical war Wednesday night against the invasive Asian carp in a 6-mile ... A road of opportunityDaily News & Analysis - - 12 hours ago What gives it a special status is that it links Museum Road, Brigade Road, and other commercial hubs. It is also pretty close to the central shopping area, ... Merck Serono Establishing R&D Hub In ChinaWall Street Journal - - Nov 23, 2009 FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--German pharmaceutical and chemical company Merck KGaA (MRK.XE) said Monday it will create a ... Merck Serono to Expand Research and Development Presence in China SYS-CON Media (press release) Merck to set up clinical R&D hub in ChinaChina Knowledge Online - Nov 24, 2009 25, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Merch KGaA, a German-based chemical and pharmaceutical company, will spend over EUR 150 million to set up a clinical research ... News Roundup: BSNL Puts Zain Acquisition On HoldVC Circle - Dec 2, 2009 (Bloomberg) KDCL To Become Global Textile-Chemical Giant - Ahmedabad-based Kiri Dyes and Chemicals (KDCL) plans to acquire the Germany-based DyStar Group. ... Pittsburgh could foreshadow future of Cleveland Hopkins International AirportPlain Dealer - - Nov 21, 2009 There were signs of stagnation in the 1990s when US Airways began emphasizing its Charlotte and Philadelphia hubs. Then came the 2001 terrorist attacks that ... Rivers focal point of development, not citiesTimes of India - - Nov 13, 2009 Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have emerged as cultural bastions and industrial hubs only because of the presence of rivers like Mula, Mutha and Indrayani, ... Trafigura toxic waste 'made in Malta'Malta Independent Online - - Nov 22, 2009 Truckloads of chemical waste produced by the Probo Koala were illegally dumped at locations around Abidjan in the Ivory Coast. In the following weeks tens ... Shreyas K Doshi, Chairman & Managing Director, Shrenuj & Company LimitedIndia Infoline.com - Nov 9, 2009 We have set up distribution hubs across the globe and these hubs were able to capture the demand locally. Now, with disposable income increasing again, ... MJ Antony: Mass disasters unlimitedBusiness Standard - Nov 10, 2009 Disasters have been happening with distressing frequency in mines, industrial hubs and oil depots as in the case of the recent IOC fire in Jaipur. ... Stay up to date on these results: |
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