Bhopal survivors still short on medical treatment and compo

The failure of the Indian Government and an American corporation to tackle the after-effects of one of the worst industrial accidents in history has left a legacy of continuing pollution and inadequate medical care for survivors, says a new report.

Just before the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster in India, a study has shown that survivors are still desperately in need of medical treatment and have not been properly compensated.

On the night of December 2, 1984, poisonous methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal.

Thousands were killed immediately. Thousands more were to die from the effects of that night in the months and years that followed.

Now, Amnesty International has claimed that neither the Indian Government nor Union Carbide has done enough to provide proper redress for the victims or to clean up the site.

"The disaster shocked the world and raised fundamental questions about corporate and government responsibility for industrial accidents that devastate human life and local environments," the report reads.

"Yet 20 years on, the survivors still await just compensation, adequate medical assistance and treatment, and comprehensive economic and social rehabilitation.

"The plant site has still not been cleaned up so toxic wastes still pollute the environment and contaminate water that surrounding communities rely on.

"And, astonishingly, no one has been held to account for the leak and its appalling consequences."

Survivors are marking the 20th anniversary this week by demanding the site is cleaned up and victims given proper compensation.

Amnesty found the site was still severely contaminated and was poisoning ground water supplies. The report details the case of Hasina Bee, a survivor who still lives near the factory site and has been drinking the water from the hand-pump near her house for 18 years.

"When you look at the water, you can see a thin layer of oil on it," she said. "All the pots in my house have become discoloured ... green-yellow. We have to travel at least 2km to get clean water ... but my health is so bad that it prevents me from carrying the water I need from there."

The report confirms survivors' claims that far more died in the immediate aftermath of the gas leak than the 2000 claimed by the Madhya Pradesh state Government.

Amnesty found 7000 died in the immediate aftermath, and 15,000 more have died of related diseases since 1984. It said 100,000 people still suffered from chronic or debilitating illnesses.

"The company decided to store quantities of the 'ultra-hazardous' MIC in Bhopal in bulk, and did not equip the plant with a corresponding safety capacity.

"UCC transferred technology that was not proven and entailed operational risks. It did not apply the same standards of safety as it had in place in the US."

Union Carbide has since been taken over by Dow Chemicals. The Amnesty report said: "Both companies used the new ownership structure in an attempt to avoid further responsibility for the disaster."

The report is severely critical of the Indian Government for agreeing to a "derisory" settlement with Union Carbide in 1989 without consulting survivors.

In 1989, New Delhi abruptly agreed to end legal proceedings for a settlement of only US$470 million from Union Carbide.

But Amnesty found that "even this inadequate sum" had not been distributed in full to the victims.

"At the time of writing in September 2004, around US$330 million remained held by the Reserve Bank of India."

- INDEPENDENT