June 17, 2009

House Members call on Dow Chemical to help those harmed by Bhopal Chemical Disaster

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 17, 2009

CONGRESSMAN FRANK PALLONE, JR. 
Sixth District of New Jersey

CONTACTS: Richard McGrath, Tali Israeli
(202) 225-4671

Download the entire signed letter here (large pdf file).

Washington, D. C. -  A broad coalition of members of Congress called on The Dow Chemical Company to finally provide medical care and to make up for the severe economic losses suffered by the victims of the Bhopal chemical disaster, an industrial accident whose damage and harm continues twenty five years later. In a sternly-worded letter signed by 27 house members - expressing the sentiment of many more - Dow Chemical was reminded of the economic, environmental and human toll inflicted by the poisonous gas leak on the night of December 2, 1984.
 
"The Bhopal disaster poisoned more than half a million people and gassed to death more than 7,000 innocent victims," said U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., who organized the congressional action. "The death toll continues to rise and the suffering continues because the effects of the chemical exposure are so insidious. Another 15,000 people have been lost to the long-term and fatal effects of the poisons they were exposed to, a death toll that will continue to grow. And the harm extends to another 150,000 people who suffer from illness and infirmity."
 
Dow Chemical, which owns Union Carbide, bears legal responsibility for the actions and inactions of the operators of the Bhopal factory. Beginning in 1967, Union Carbide dumped thousands of tons of toxic chemicals in and around its Bhopal factory.  A host of international organizations and independent investigators have concluded that Union Carbide was responsible for inadequate technology, double standards in safety and emergency-preparedness, and reckless cost-cutting of security systems at the plant.
 
"Dow Chemical has yet to be brought to justice and the victims are yet to see justice done," said Pallone. "Bhopal is widely regarded as the worst industrial disaster in history, so it carries a legacy with implications for the safety of chemical plants, the impact of globalization and the basic human rights of workers throughout the world."
 
Dow's defiance only adds to its corporate failings. Although the company set aside $2.2 billion in 2002 to put towards Union Carbide’s pending asbestos liabilities in the United States, it has continued to evade the liabilities it inherited from Bhopal. Before that, Union Carbide refused to appear before the Bhopal District Court to face the criminal charges pending against it for the disaster. It was served with a summons to appear in Bhopal District Court in 1992 and publicly stated it would not respond to the summons.
 
"Survivors are waiting for needed medical care and fair compensation for their losses," said Pallone, "and their waiting has gone on for 25 years too long."
 
The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal voiced support for the action by saying: "The water contamination left by Union Carbide has poisoned two generations in Bhopal, and Union Carbide's owner Dow Chemical Company is responsible for cleaning up the ontamination.  25
years is too long to wait for justice or clean water.  The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal is pleased to stand along side the 27 members of the U.S. House of Representatives in calling on Dow to follow the rule of law in India, and face their liabilities for the ongoing disaster in Bhopal."  
 
Members of Congress who signed the correspondence:
U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Pete Stark (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Brian Higgins (D-NY), James Oberstar (D-MI), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Donald Payne (D-NJ), James McGovern (D-MA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), Michael Honda (D-CA)

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Members of Congress tell Dow to clean up Bhopal

For immediate release: June 17, 2009

CONTACT: Shana Ortman, ICJB Coordinator, (415)-746-0306, shana@panna.org
Tony Millard, ICJB Spokesperson, (708)-606-8142, aj.millard@gmail.com

Nearly 30 House members support Bhopal survivors’ demands of U.S. chemical maker

Download the entire signed letter here (large pdf file).

Survivors of the ongoing chemical disaster in Bhopal, India, secured a major victory Tuesday, as 27 members of Congress wrote to Dow Chemical Company CEO Andrew Liveris and Dow’s Board of Directors, urging the company to face their criminal and civil liabilities for the tragedy that occurred at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in December 1984. The letter endorsed the survivors’ demands for remediation—as put forth by the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB)—chiefly that Dow provide medical and economic rehabilitation and clean up the factory and groundwater contamination.

Congressman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) led the effort to support the ICJB demands. A coalition of Bhopal survivors and their supporters worldwide, ICJB is working to force Dow to face trial in India and to pay for the disaster cleanup. Nearly a quarter-century after the initial disaster, the factory sits in ruins, with toxic chemicals strewn about the grounds, just yards from the homes of thousands of Bhopali families.

"After 25 years, the human and environmental tragedy of the Bhopal chemical disaster remains with us,” Pallone said. “While thousands continue to suffer, Union Carbide and its successor, Dow Chemical, have yet to be brought to justice. I appreciate the efforts of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal to raise awareness of the plight of the people of Bhopal. Members of Congress will continue to fight against companies that evade civil and criminal liability by exploiting international borders and legal jurisdictions."

ICJB advocates say broad support from across the United States is a reflection of the enthusiasm generated by the recent national tour led by two Bhopal second-generation survivors, Safreen Khan and Sarita Malviya, both 16, who live with their families in one of the water-contaminated communities. The survivors met with Pallone and other members of Congress in Washington D.C. on their tour.

"The water contamination left by Union Carbide has poisoned two generations in Bhopal, and Union Carbide's owner, the Dow Chemical Company, is responsible for cleaning up the contamination, “ ICJB’s U.S. Coordinator Shana Ortman said. “25 years is too long to wait for justice or for clean water. We are pleased to stand alongside 27 members of the U.S. House of Representatives in calling on Dow to follow the rule of law in India, and face their liabilities for this tragedy—the world’s worst industrial disaster.”

The following members of Congress signed onto the letter: Ackerman (NY), Baldwin (WI), Blumenauer (OR), Brady (PA), Capuano (MA), Clarke (NY), Faleomavaega (AS), Fattah (PA), Grijalva (AZ), Higgins (NY), Hinchey (NY), Honda (CA), Jackson Lee (TX), Kucinich (OH), Langevin (RI), Lee (CA), Markey (MA), McDermott (WA), McGovern (MA), Nadler (NY), Oberstar (MN), Pallone (NJ), Payne (NJ), Schakowsky (IL), Schiff (CA), Stark (CA), Tonko (NY).

Nearly half a million people were exposed to poisonous methyl isocyanate during a runaway chemical reaction at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal on December 3, 1984. Since then, more than 22,000 people have died and 150,000 survivors continue to be chronically ill, as the Indian government and Dow have repeatedly failed to address their role in the atrocities of this ongoing disaster in Bhopal.

∙ www.studentsforbhopal.org ∙ www.thetruthaboutdow.org

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