On the night of December 2, 33 years ago, Union Carbide’s pesticide plant in Bhopal, India exploded. Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children were exposed to toxic and poisonous gases. Thousands of people died that night. Thousands more continue to be sick, suffer, and die. And no one is taking responsibility.
That fateful night, the people of Bhopal became the victims of the worst industrial disaster in history. Over the following decades, they became the victims of corporate neglect, as the pesticide plant made infamous by the gas disaster leached toxins into their drinking water, while Union Carbide Corporation abandoned the country without cleaning up the contaminated site.
From 1999 until 2016, EarthRights International represented local residents in three lawsuits against Union Carbide seeking a cleanup of the Bhopal plant site. Unfortunately, these cases – Bano v. Union Carbide, Sahu (I) v. Union Carbide, and Sahu (II) v. Union Carbide – were dismissed despite evidence showing that Union Carbide was directly responsible for the damage to the plaintiffs’ health and property.
Further information on the proceedings in India can be found on the Bhopal Group for Information and Action’s website.
No one should have to wait more than three decades for relief. That is why we continue to look for ways to find justice, for the people of Bhopal, and around the world.
Photo CC Jack Laurenson, Bhopal Medical Appeal.
