Opinions: June 2005 Archives

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June 27, 2005

Minister who refuses poor families clean water, celebrates his birthday with elephants, camels, dancing horses and a 53 kilogram cake

The small cake is just the icing, there was apparently also a mother-of-all-cakes which weighed 53 kilos, one for each year of Gupta's life.

Umashankar Gupta, Minister of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation, Madhya Pradesh government recently celebrated his 53rd birthday.

His followers took out a procession with elephants, horses, camels and dancing horses. There was a lavish firework display. Mr Gupta cut a cake weighing 53 kilos and one of the garlands put on him [by corporators of municipal ward 50 Asharam Sharma and Rameshwar Sharma] was 21 feet long. The Chief Minister and his other cabinet colleagues congratulated him.

While these junketings were going on, people for whose care he is responsible lie in hospital with breathing difficulties after the inept "clean-up" work at Union Carbide's contaminated factory sent a cloud of poisons over their neighbourhoods. Even after being shown pictures Mr Gupta told disbelieving journalists there was no problem, and the work carried on.

Thousands of people living near the Union Carbide factory continue to suffer as Mr Gupta and his colleagues in the MP government of Babulal Gaur have for more than a year ignored a Supreme Court order to provide them with safe drinking water.

His ill-informed, and bungled press conferences have amazed journalists. How does a man so clearly incompetent attract such a large devoted following, who clearly have money to burn? As they say in America, go figure.

Posted by bhola at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2005

Who will rid us of these sordid politicians?

BHOPAL.NET OPINION

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1407786,000900010009.htm

This really annoys me. Babu Lal Gaur, the present Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, who over the years has done supremely little to help the survivors of either the 1984 gas disaster or the ongoing water poisoning, has announced plans to have all 40 wards of Bhopal city declared gas-affected.

This means that the recently released money, which the Central Government had sat on for years, and which is meant to benefit those who lost relatives and whose health has suffered, will now be distributed to everyone in the city, regardless of whether they were injured or not. Of course this will go down wonderfully as a vote-gaining ploy, but it is the most brazen, cynical and indeed, wicked abuse of the survivors' rights.

If Gaur's plan goes through unchallenged, we may expect bureaucrats and middle class people living miles from the factory, none of whom were even slightly affected by the gases of 1984, to collect payouts. Ironic indeed, when so many genuine victims, poor, sick and unable to work, have been refused compensation on the grounds that they did not have paperwork to support their claims, and when children born since the disaster, who are clearly affected, are nonetheless denied compensation.

Gaur has a long and sordid history of selling out the poor of Bhopal. Even before the 1984 disaster, when farmers complained that their cattle were being poisoned by chemicals leaking from the factory, it was Gaur who as a lawyer negotiated an out of court settlement with Union Carbide. Knowing full well that the local water and soil had been contaminated, Gaur did nothing during his tenure as Minister for Gas Relief either to begin cleaning the factory or to compel Union Carbide to do so.

Now that a perfunctory, mismanaged and incompetent "clean up" has begun (at the instigation of a man whom many survivors regard as a Dow stooge, see pictures and updates on http://www.bhopal.net), Gaur announces that he will build a memorial to the victims on the 66 acre site. It will be 'world-class', says he, like the Hiroshima memorial. His regime ('government' is scarcely the right word) has already applied to Delhi for funding, but if that is not forthcoming will foot the bill itself.

If such funds are available, shouldn't they be used instead to provide safe drinking water for the 20,000 people living near the factory whose wells and stand-pipes are poisoned, who have been drinking and washing in dilute poison for years, whose mother's milk is contaminated with lead and mercury and chemicals that can cause cancers, birth and growth defects? If funds are there, why has Gaur's gang for more than a year ignored a direct order of the Indian Supreme Court to supply safe water to these communities?

A grand park on the contaminated Union Carbide site? Well, before the safety of park visitors can be assured, there will have to be a better clean-up than that performed by unprotected women in saris with brooms (see pictures on bhopal.net). The truth is that the soil and water in the factory site are not just poisonous they are lethal. Union Carbide and its present owners Dow know full well how much it would cost thoroughly to remediate the place, which is why they have wriggled so hard to deny responsibility.

So what is Gaur doing? Is he mad? Bhopal.net recently reported his grandiose plans for the beautification of four major cities in Madhya Pradesh, he would like to see fountains, badminton courts and gymnasia at a time when half the children of the state are suffering from malnutrition. This park in memory of the victims fits well into this megalomaniac vision, which appreciates beautiful buildings, but cannot see ill and starving people, that would bring water in to play in fountains while a mile away people are literally dying of thirst.

Survivors this morning asked Gaur if he is stupid, or corrupt? It has crossed the mind, you see, that public works on a large scale involve contractors and bids and tenders and considerable amounts of money,

When all's said, Gaur and people like him are sick opportunists, nosing round the pitiful human remains of one of the world's most appalling disasters to see what they can scavenge for personal gain. He may seek to build monuments to his glory, but he will never be more than a jackal. The kill is Union Carbide's.

Posted by bhola at 04:51 PM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2005

Mr Gupta, must someone die before you realise there is a problem?

AS 35 YEAR NOORJEHAN LIES IN HOSPITAL WITH ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS, THE POLITICIAN CHARGED WITH HER WELFARE REPEATS BLAND ASSURANCES TO AN INCREDULOUS PRESS CORPS

At 9.10 this morning the increasingly out-of-touch politician in charge of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, Mr Uma Shankar Gupta visited the Carbide factory accompanied by Alok Pratap Singh, a man widely regarded by survivors as a Dow stooge.

In the picture above Gupta is talking to the media, Alok Pratap stands on his right in a light blue shirt.

Gupta told an incredulous gathering of reporters that there was nothing to worry about. The BBC's Faisal Mohammed Ali asked him why in that case he was not allowing survivors' organisations to come and see the work when he had brought along Aloke Pratap Singh. Gupta said it was because Aloke had moved the clean-up petition in the Jabalpur high court.

Meanwhile Aloke Pratap began yelling at Faisal that he was asking planted questions. At this the entire group of media people raised hell and Singh and Gupta were forced to apologise. It is the latest in a series of bungled media performances which demonstrate only that Uma Shankar Gupta is unfit to be in charge of a bucket of cowdung, much less the welfare of the thrice-afflicted people of this part of Bhopal.

As the picture above shows, the government's appointed contractor is still endangering workers by exposing them to dangerous chemicals with no protective clothing. This is a criminal offence under the Indian Penal Code, as has been pointed out both to the contractor and his political masters.

Meanwhile the contractor's manager in charge of the clean-up at the demand of survivors put in writing the dangers an improperly conducted operation poses to nearby communities.

Women from surrounding communities entered the factory yesterday to protest against the poison clouds that had enveloped their homes. Read the report on our ACTIONS blog.

Caught between a criminally irresponsible corporation which created the mess and refuses to clean it up, and criminally negligent politicians who have done the minumum for the benefit of the community, who can the victims of Union Carbide turn to?

Only you. Please make your feelings known in the strongest possible way. Scroll down to the next item to see what you can do.

Partial list of neighbourhood residents affected by chemical dust from Union Carbide factory on June 19, 2005
S. No.	Name	Age (years)	Address	Complaints
1.	Varsha d/o Jagannath Sahu	13	Shivashakti Nagar	Burning in eyes
2.	Ram Bai w/o Phool Singh	35	Prem Nagar	Burning in eyes, Dizziness, Palpitations
3.	Shahadat Bee w/o Rais Khan	40	Annu Nagar	Dizziness, Palpitations
4.	Salma Bee w/o Abdul Rehman	40	Annu Nagar	Dizziness, Palpitations
5.	Gulab Bai w/o Ramesh Ahirwar	30	Shivashakti Nagar	Burning in eyes, Palpitations, Breathlessness
6.	Krishna Bai w/o Kalyan Singh	30	Shivashakti Nagar	Vomiting, Palpitations, Burning in eyes
7.	Mubeena w/o Naseem Khan	30	New Arif Nagar	Stomach pain, Burning in stomach, Palpitations
8.	Bismilla Bee w/o Babu Khan	40	New Arif Nagar	Dizziness, Nausea, Palpitations, Burning sensation all over body
9.	Noorjehan w/o Munne Khan	40	Arif Nagar	Frothing in mouth, Dizziness
10.	Afroze w/o Sarfaraaz	32	New Arif Nagar	Breathlessness, Palpitations, Dizziness
11.	Ibrahim Khan s/o Khaleel Khan	44	Arif Nagar	Burning in eyes, Palpitations
12.	Adesh s/o Devkaran	5	Blue Moon Colony	Swelling in face, Vomiting, Frequent micturation
13.	Shezadi Bee w/o Mehfuz Khan	48	Blue Moon Colony	Chest pain, dizziness, Burning in eyes
14.	Tulsa Bai w/o Ghisajee	60	Blue Moon Colony	Burning in eyes, Palpitations
15.	Shehnaaz w/o Sher Khan	35	Blue Moon Colony	Headache, Burning in eyes, Palpitations
16.	Haseena Bee w/o Muneer Khan	35	Blue Moon Colony	Burning in eyes, Palpitations
17.	Junez s/o Javed	3	Blue Moon Colony	Swelling in face, Cough, Vomiting
18.	Rehnuma d/o Javed	1.5	Blue Moon Colony	Swelling in face, Cough, Vomiting

Posted by bhola at 03:04 PM | Comments (0)

June 18, 2005

Second poison cloud engulfs Bhopal

Pictures of the 'clean up' here (high res images available)

SECOND STAGE OF THE AUTHORITIES' "CLEAN-UP":
MACHINES CREATE CHEMICAL POISON CLOUDS

The contractor hired by the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board brings in machines and starts shifting dangerous chemicals with no protective clothing for workers. The company involved is Ramky Pharma City [India] Ltd of Hyderabad.

Clouds of poisons rise up into the air and can be smelt at considerable distances away from the factory. Residents of nearby communities, whose water is poisoned by chemicals leaking from the factory, and many of whom are victims of the original 1984 disaster, start feeling sick.

Soon there is near panic in the bastis (local communities) as the clouds of chemicals thicken. Many people, including a six month old child, become ill.

The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal has long demanded a clean-up, but to recognised international standards of safety, not some twopenny operation that endangers the lives of workers and local people. The picture above shows tar lying on the ground. For more about the chemicals at the factory go here.

Members of the ICJB who had been given assurances that they would be allowed to monitor the clean-up are denied entry, large numbers of armed police are brought by the authorities to make sure that the outside world does not find out what is happening inside.

We need your help and we need it now. Please phone the following officials who are responsible for this situation and demand that
1) the clean-up must be conducted to the highest international safety standards
2) that observers from the community and the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Bhopal should be allowed entry.

Please call them on their mobiles or at home, at all hours (Bhopal is 5 1/2 hours ahead of GMT:

Dr P S Dubey Chairman, M P Pollution Control Board:
+91-755-2423653 [home] +91 94251 95541 [mobile]

Dr B S Ohri, Director, Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief & Rehabilitation, Government of Madhya Pradesh:
+91-755-2763585 [home] +91 94250 04414 [mobile]
[In charge of the work inside the Carbide factory]

Posted by bhola at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)

June 17, 2005

Politician finds $180 million for fountains and badminton courts while children starve and families drink poisoned water

16 June 2005. Mr Babu Lal Gaur, Chief Minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh, is reported to be planning a spend of $180 million (800 crores of rupees) on beautifying four major cities including the capital, Bhopal.

Money for badminton but not for the hungry and thirsty

Meanwhile, writes The Statesman newspaper, almost half the state's children are suffering from malnutrition.

The Gaur regime, it can hardly be described as "government", has for more than a year also ignored an Indian Supreme Court ruling to provide safe drinking water for families in Bhopal whose wells and stand-pipes have been poisoned by chemicals leaking from the derelict Union Carbide factory.

Last month, women who went with their children to a government office to protest were beaten and kicked by police.

Gaur and his politicians have also sent barefoot women and children into the factory to begin a "clean-up" of the hazardous chemicals left there by Union Carbide.

On this website are plenty of pictures of workers with no protection whatsoever, breathing in clouds of lindane and ddt dust.

Indian politicians, both at state and central level, hold Dow Chemical, the present 100% owner of Union Carbide, liable for the pollution and the cost of the clean up.

UPDATE FROM BHOPAL ON FACTORY "CLEAN-UP"

After the intervention of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee, the MPPCB (Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board) has agreed to let community respresentatives into the factory to oversee a transfer of toxic waste from open areas to sheltered spaces within the site.

This is neither a containment, nor a clean-up, and is merely a prelude to the big affair.

So for now please hold off on phone calls or SMSs to PCB members or the Chief Secretary.

Please continue below for the The Statesman article.

BEAUTY LIES IN THE EYES OF CHIEF MINISTER

Santosh Singh in Bhopal

June 15. — Four districts, by the state government’s own admission, are suffering from malnutrition. There is also an acute water crisis in several districts. The government has an outstanding loan of over Rs 33,360 crore.

But none of these seems to be the immediate headache of the Babulal Gaur government. The CM is more concerned about the beautification of Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur. He wants broader roads, dazzling street lights, neon lampposts, grand roundabouts with fountains, parks, gyms and badminton courts. The project, to be carried out in two phases, will cost the state exchequer Rs 800 crore.

The CM does not seem to be much perturbed by the problem of malnutrition in the state. According to an estimate, almost 50 per cent of 1.6 crore children, mostly aged below five years, in the state are suffering from it. In last three months, over three dozen children died reportedly because of malnutrition but the government has no concerted plan to address the problem.

Though Mr Gaur has despatched a team to seek reports on malnutrition, he is more engrossed in his beautification programme. High levels of undernourishment reportedly exists among the women and children of Sidhi, Dhar, Ratlam and Ashok Nagar.

The government has done nothing in these affected districts beyond directing officials to organise camps and distributing vitamin capsules and ORS powder.

The Madhya Pardesh State Electricity Board is yet to pay off its due of over Rs 700 crore . Free distribution of electricity to farmers are only burning holes in its pockets yet the “populist” government is not bothered about it.

Mr Gaur, whose fascination for good roads and anti-encroachment drive is well-known did a three-hour inspection of Bhopal, a couple of days ago, to find out where beatification is necessary. It may be remembered that VIP road of the city was constructed under Mr Gaur’s previous dispensation as a minister under Mr Sunderlal Patwa.

Several private groups and contractors have found a brisk business in Mr Gaur’s beautification plan. They reportedly earn a huge profit margin by engaging in such projects.

Posted by bhola at 09:07 AM | Comments (0)

June 16, 2005

Urgent update on previous piece: we need to get back on the phones as new panic grips Bhopal

News has just come in that survivors of the gas leak and other residents of the settlements behind the Union Carbide factory are currently in the grips of a second Bhopal. People from three communities have complained of an intense smell of the toxic pesticide BHC (Hexa chloro cyclohexane).

The cause is inadequate precautionary measures adopted by Ramky Enviro Engineers in transferring pesticides and toxic wastes within the Union Carbide factory from open spaces to sheltered spaces.

The Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board began work today amidst tight security provided by numerous armed police notwithstanding local demands to allow two community representatives to oversee the operations. The work is being overseen by the Chairman, Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board.

None of the officials are currently available on phone. But please get back on the phone/fax and send a message to the Chief Secretary, Mr. Vijay Singh.
Tel: +91 755 2441848
Fax: +91 755 2441751

Please let him know that we hold the MP Government responsible for this second Bhopal.

Posted by bhola at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

June 08, 2005

Corporate responsibility twenty years on

IN BHOPAL, THE STRUGGLE TO SEEK JUSTICE GOES ON, NOT AS COMPENSATION, FOR THE LOSS IS TOO GREAT TO BE COMPENSATED, BUT RATHER AS A FOUNDING VIRTUE OF HUMAN SOCIETY.

BY SOMNATH MUKHERJI
PHOTOS: PAUL BULLIVANT

This piece originally appeared in Samar 19.

Looking over the twenty years behind us, it is time for solemn reflection, for grieving, for gaining collective wisdom and for empathizing with the victims, dead and alive, of the Bhopal gas tragedy of December 3rd, 1984. Among many other developments, these twenty years have witnessed unprecedented generation of wealth, a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, a massive assault on the environment in the name of augmenting human well being and a fatalistic resignation to injustice and marginalization. The very same decades have also seen a stronger need for spreading peace and prosperity, a growing discomfort with the stark disparity, the maturing of technology and human judgment to comprehend the environmental damages wrought and the surfacing of a latent will to question the formulation and deliverance of justice. In Bhopal, the struggle goes on with saintly patience, to seek justice, not as compensation, for the loss is too great to be compensated, but rather as a founding virtue of human society and as a distribution of the common goods of life such as honor and health.

Click the "continue reading" link below for the full article

On the ill-fated night of December 3rd, 1984, 40 tons of lethal methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked out of a poorly maintained storage tank in the Union Carbide pesticide plant of Bhopal. Borne by the wind, the gas spread through the city like a stealth killer suffocating and blinding people in its wake. People who ran out into the streets in utter panic found themselves caught in stampedes that trampled the unfortunate ones who fell down. In the following days, Bhopal faced the daunting task of burying and cremating thousands of corpses whose faces bore testimony of human vulnerability against a killer of its own making. Estimates of immediate death toll vary between 2500 and 8000. The leaking gas caught everyone by surprise—citizens fast asleep on a cold night, the overwhelmed public medical system, the sluggish district administration and the negligent Union Carbide management. Rightly dubbed as the worst industrial disaster, it was the beginning of a nightmare that Bhopal would have to live through for years to come.

The uncompromising need for disaster planning in an industrial society is perhaps one of the most important lessons to be learnt from the Bhopal tragedy. It is amply clear that no thought was ever given to the eventuality of the lethal gas leaking out of the facility. The fact that even the primary treatment for a victim affected by MIC was not known exhibits the extent of preparedness, or lack thereof. It is necessary that any official body drawing up a disaster plan have an intimate knowledge of the industrial processes required by the specific project as well as its products and by-products. Incorporating the element of independence and non-alignment of interests for such a body is of utmost importance because anything less would mean diluting the primary intent of disaster planning. It is worthwhile to mention here that the Government of India has since set up a national disaster management department under the Home Ministry with an emphasis on natural calamities. The effectiveness of any such setups will be as good as the response mechanism that it sets in motion.

With liberalization of the markets, an increasing number of regulations are being rescinded and governments are being cornered into according “national status” to foreign industries. It is imperative to delineate and clearly understand the jurisdictions of the domestic law, the corporations’ home country’s law, and of any other international bodies and instruments. The Bhopal gas leak case exemplifies the failure to define precisely these legal boundaries. The Government of India, which became the sole representative of the victims, appealed to the US courts before it moved its own courts, only to be advised that the Indian judiciary would be a more appropriate forum. Such ambivalence on the government’s part only eroded the remnant faith the victims had helplessly placed on it. The legal imbroglio was further deepened when Dow Chemical acquired Union Carbide in 2001 and subsequently refused to accept Union Carbide’s liabilities pertaining to Bhopal. For over ten years, Warren Anderson, the then CEO of Union Carbide has been ignoring summons by the Chief Magistrate’s court in Bhopal without any noteworthy consequences. Unless the government clearly defines the grey areas of legal jurisdiction and adds mettle to the enforcement of the court directives, future ventures would be emboldened to circumvent the law of the land.

Mechanisms and institutions capable of evaluating the environmental, social, cultural and economic cost of industrializing need to be developed keeping in mind the necessity of public participation. The apparent inevitability of development with the inflow of foreign capital and setting up of an industry is often misleading. Especially in rural or semi-urban settings in India, such ostensible development translates merely into a few unskilled jobs for the local community whereas the skill, technology and management are imported from other countries or the cities. The Union Carbide plant had similarly belied the hopes of the Bhopalis by providing no more than a 1000 jobs at any time. An estimated 20,000 people have died from the direct effects of the MIC gas and thousands more are dying a slow painful death. To hold up a financial value to a damage of this magnitude would be to transcend all limits of human decency.

One need not look hard for instances where industries have been set up on agricultural land, displacing farmers, with foreign capital and control to manufacture products that are consumed far away from the local community, or where water intensive industries have created near-drought conditions in the neighboring villages by drawing excessive amounts of ground water. The marginalized local population is left out of the cycle of benefit yet exposed to the pollution caused and the potential of an industrial mishap. It would only be fair to mention that the Ministry of Environment and Forests has instituted a mandatory public hearing for the “Environmental Impact Assessment” of projects, with some exceptions. This is a laudable effort in seeking the direct participation of civil society but creating a congenial atmosphere where the rural folks can voice their opinions without any trepidation remains an unfinished task. Paying for an ever-elusive development with their lives and livelihoods could never be justified if the social, cultural and environmental components were weighed.

Simply because accidents do not honor distinctions based on economic status or country of origin, safety should be everyone’s prerogative. Investigations probing the causes of the gas leak have unearthed egregious safety violations in the Union Carbide plant. The refrigeration system to keep the MIC gas below a certain temperature was shut off, numerous safety valves and alarms were dysfunctional and so were parts of the gas scrubbing facility meant for its neutralization. Such impudence to flout safety guidelines in a facility located in a densely populated area arises from the lack of enforcement mechanisms. The past few decades have witnessed the flight of hazardous industries from the developed countries into India and the mushrooming of indigenous ones with utter disregard to individual and collective safety. Such a mad rush might expose society to the ill effects of industrialization long before its benefits are felt.

While the legal squabbles continue, estimates of the death toll revised and a generation of physically and mentally damaged come of age. Twenty years after the tragedy, large amounts of toxic material lying around at the Union Carbide site continue to pollute the soil and water irreversibly. Estimates of the death toll will never reflect the depth of the wound left on Bhopal, which has only been rankled by the failure to deliver justice. A mother’s milk is the embodiment of life and sustenance—except perhaps in Bhopal where it is laden with mercury and organo-chlorines.

Somnath Mukherji is an electrical engineer in Boston and a part of the International Bhopal campaign.

June 04, 2005

20 years after Bhopal, he's still hoping for justice

Saptarshi Bhattacharya

SURVIVOR ANGRY THAT CITIZENS ARE STILL EXPOSED TO TOXIC RISK

CHENNAI: In 1984 when he was just eight, Shahid Noor barely managed to survive the Bhopal gas tragedy, which claimed the lives of his parents and an elder brother. Two decades on, the wounds have yet to heal.

He is one of thousands of children orphaned by the biggest industrial disaster known to India.

While he suffered from respiratory and other ailments, his siblings who survived the calamity were afflicted with loss of vision and skin diseases. Noor is angry that even after 20 years Bhopal's citizens are exposed to the toxic chemicals at the abandoned Union Carbide factory. Union Carbide is the company responsible for the gas leak.

Noor was in Chennai last week to kick off a campaign against Indian Oil Corporation for its proposed business dealings with Dow Chemicals, a U.S.-based company that acquired Union Carbide in 2001.

Contaminated water

The legal battles are on but the toxic wastes generated by Union Carbide during the routine operation of its factory have leached into the groundwater as well. "The groundwater in 14 villages on the outer side of the factory has gone bad," Noor said. "It is no better on the city side, but we at least get piped supply." In May 2004, the Supreme Court ordered the Madhya Pradesh Government to provide clean and safe drinking water to the communities but the administration has yet to act on it, he said.

The people who have been affected by the groundwater contamination did not get compensation because they were not victims of the gas leak, he said. "The two are different issues but related to the mischief of the same company."

Noor, who now heads an organisation of 19 Bhopal disaster orphans, is angry with the way the Government has handled the affected people. Eight years after the disaster, a fraction of the compensation secured from Union Carbide was distributed among the survivors and the kin of those who died.

"They [Union Carbide] should clean up the toxins from the land and groundwater. They should also provide for the long-term treatment and rehabilitation of the survivors," he said. The company should arrange for the economic rehabilitation of survivors who have lost their livelihood, he said. The survivors in Bhopal have grouped together to kick off a 'Neend Udao' (Break their Sleep) campaign to push for these demands.

He suggested the setting up of an 'ayog' (commission) to look into the provision of medical facilities and employment opportunities for the survivors and steps to clean up the area. With aid from individuals around the world, a Sambhavna Trust Clinic has been opened to treat survivors.

"After 20 years, we are still fighting for a better life because we still have hope," he said.

(In the interests of accuracy this article has been corrected and translated into English by bhopal.net)

Posted by bhola at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

June 01, 2005

Dow Chemical Linked to Breast Cancer

Have you heard of bisphenol-A? Probably not, but you can find it in just about everything. Dow is one of the world’s leading producers of the chemical, which can be found in everything from compact discs and eyeglasses to Nalgene water bottles, toys, pacifiers, baby bottles and teethers. The chemical is also used in epoxy resins that coat food cans, bottle tops and water supply pipes, and as sealants for children's teeth for the prevention of cavities.

However a recent article in the Guardian reports that scientists at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston have linked the ubiquitous bisphenol-A to breast cancer – a worrying thought for Dow, since 183,000 new cases are reported each year in the United States alone, along with 46,000 annual deaths.

Does Dow have anything to hide? Apparently so: in an investigation into endocrine disruptor chemicals on PBS’ Frontline, Dr. Frederick Vom Saal, a scientist and Professor from the University of Missouri, alleges that Dow Chemical asked him to withhold the results of a study he conducted on bisphenol-A. Vom Saal says that Dow “essentially asked if there were a mutually beneficial outcome that we could arrive at where I held off publishing the information about this chemical until they had repeated my studies, and after repeating my studies, approval for publication was received by all the plastic manufacturers.” More information about the experiments, as well as the industry's subsequent attempt to undermine Vom Saal's credibility, is available here.

How low can Dow go? How many people are suffering today because of this criminal corporation?

Posted by Shevardnadze at 11:31 PM | Comments (0)

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is one chemical-related illness that hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves. Millions of people all over the world suffer from the debilitating affliction, which often prevents them from engaging in everyday life in many ways we all take for granted. Recently there’s been growing awareness about MCS, which is often brought on by exposure (even low-level exposure) to a variety of chemical compounds. As the world’s largest chemicals manufacturer, Dow undoubtedly bears a great deal of responsibility for the suffering of MCS-affected people – which perhaps explains its studied ignorance (Dow has no official position available on its website). Just another way that Dow lives up to its motto: Living, Poisoned Daily.

Meanwhile one of the leading organizations speaking out about MCS and leading the campaign for justice is the Global Recognition Campaign for Multiple Chemical sensitivity. Please check out their comprehensive website, at www.mcs-global.org. Another good site for more information is the MCS Homepage.

Posted by Shevardnadze at 10:41 PM | Comments (0)