DOW Chemical Company (DOW), Union Carbide Corporation and the Bhopal Communities in India
The Case
On the night of 2 December 1984, over 35 tons of toxic gases leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal owned by the US-based multinational Union Carbide Corporation (UCC)'s Indian affiliate Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL). The gases that leaked consisted mainly of at least 24 tons of poisonous Methyl Isocyanate (MIC) and other reaction products, possibly including toxins such as hydrogen cyanide, nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide.
In the next 2-3 days more than 7,000 people died and many more were injured. Over the last 21 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.
Efforts by survivors' organizations to use the US and Indian court systems to see justice done and gain adequate redress have so far been unsuccessful. The transnational corporations involved – UCC and Dow Chemicals (which took over UCC in 2001) – have publicly stated that they have no responsibility for the leak and its consequences or for the pollution from the plant. UCC continues to refuse to appear before the court in Bhopal to face trial and the Indian Supreme Court-endorsed final settlement has left survivors living in penury.
