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News Articles on Bhopal & Dow Chemical, Shameless

Sunday, June 3rd, 2007: Protest at Dow-sponsored “Blue Planet Run”

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On June 3rd, the non-profit organization “Blue Planet Run” held an event in Boston Common as the participating long-distance runners were arriving in Boston. The blue planet run goes across 16 countries and covers 15200 miles in 95 days. At each stop, the organization holds a media event to promote their message. However, some might wonder what exactly this message is. According to the organization, the event promotes safe drinking water across the globe. However, many activists feel that the honesty of their message is encumbered by the fact that the main sponsor of the run is Dow Chemical, which products and factories are a major source of water contamination across the world.

Boston Common, June 3rd, 2007

An interview with AID Boston volunteer Sudarshan Vasudevan about the “Blue Planet Run” (WMBR MIT Campus Radio, 06/13/07) can be accessed (the entire program) at WMBR’s archive at: http://www.wmbr.org/www/sched-wed under the program titled “What’s Left”.

On June 3rd, the non-profit organization “Blue Planet Run” held an event in Boston Common as the participating long-distance runners were arriving in Boston. The blue planet run goes across 16 countries and covers 15200 miles in 95 days. At each stop, the organization holds a media event to promote their message. However, some might wonder what exactly this message is. According to the organization, the event promotes safe drinking water across the globe. However, many activists feel that the integrity of their message is encumbered by the fact that the main sponsor of the run is Dow Chemical, which products and factories are a major source of water contamination across the world.

Dow Chemical is spending $10 million to sponsor the run, while at the same time it is avoiding to pay for the clean-up of the water sources it has contaminated.

Dow’s involvement in water contamination:

  • Bhopal India
  • Gulf of Mexico
  • Mississippi River
  • Brazos River, Texas
  • Myrtle Grove, Louisiana Acquifer
  • Vietnam
  • Lake Huron & Saginaw Bay, MI
  • Tittabawassee & Saginaw River, MI
  • 3,500 waterways in the United States

Read more about Dow Chemical’s history here.

What is behind Dow’s new PR campaign?

The sponsorship of the Blue Planet run is part of Dow’s new PR offensive, which promotes the company’s commitment to social responsibility and environmental sustainability. However, how are we to interpret this campaign if more money is spent on advertising their commitment than on cleaning up the sites they’ve poisoned?
In 2006, Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO of The Dow Chemical Company, spoke at the UN to describe Dow’s commitment to sustainable water solutions and announced their partnership the Blue Planet Run Foundation. Read more about Dow’s announcement here.
One could say that all this sounds very promising, however, here a few issues to investigate for those who are sceptical about the corporate good heart:

nterestingly, one of the intial sponsors of the BluePlanetRun was Coca Cola (read more here) – another company with a fantastic record in terms of ensuring safe drinking water: Coca Cola has been widely criticized for causing water shortages in many Indian communties located near the company’s bottling plants. Read more about Coca-Cola here.

Dow Chemical makes money through selling water purification technologies, materials for water piping etc.. So could they possibly have any other interests in promoting their new interest in clean water solutions?

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Shameless

Bhopal – forgotten?

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A number of days ago, on August 20th, the US court for appeals rejected a petition by 15 survivors of the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal, India. The plea asked for the removal of hazardous materials the company had left behind and compensation for the those affected by the accident.

While I found many Indian newspapers reporting about this court decision, I couldn’t find any American media outlet mentioning the court appeal. Has Bhopal become an issue far away and irrelevant for the daily concerns of the American people?

That night, on December 3, 1984 a gas leak at the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal killed thousands of people immediately and seriously affected the health of another 150 000 for years to come. The people there still bear the physical and emotional scars, as do their children, many of whom have been born with birth defects. Dow Chemical purchased Union Carbide in 2001, also acquiring Carbide’s liabilities, but refuses to address its responsibilities in Bhopal.

Although there are many tragedies on people’s minds these days, all of which are cause for great concern – Lebanon, the war in Iraq, new terrorist threats to name but a few, we should not forget those who are still suffering from the effects of a tragedy that happened more than 20 years ago. The fact that the remains of the Union Carbide factory are still killing and poisoning people today should be a reason for outcry, especially here in the US, as Union Carbide was after all an American company.

Our companies and courts need to ensure personal and corporate responsibility. The court’s response to the appeal, “We have already affirmed dismissal of these claims because of impracticality of a court-supervised clean-up project on the land owned by a foreign sovereign.” demonstrates how insufficient the current legal regulations are for Western companies operating abroad. <!– D([“mb”,”

However, one does not even have to look that far afield tonfind examples of corporate irresponsibility. Right here innMassachusetts, there are several cases of people suffering from thenmistakes the industry has made.

For example, in today’s local newspaper, I found two articlesnabout groundwater contamination due to corporate wrongdoing: one wasnabout the W.R. Grace Co. building in Woburn finally being demolished,nafter it had become a symbol for Woburn’s toxic legacy; another one wasnabout a case of contaminated ground water in Ashland, where toxicnvapors from the water pose a health risk to residents 28 years after andye factory had left.n

These stories show that we need to ask for more accountabilitynfrom the chemical industry. Bhopal has been acknowledged as the world’snworst industrial disaster and a symbol for corporate neglect. We neednto learn from what happened in Bhopal and make the legal changesnrequired to protect our environment and our health. However, first ofnall, we need to make sure that the people in Bhopal will finallynreceive the compensation and support they deserve. Dow Chemical is onenof the largest chemical companies in the US. It is up to the peoplenhere to ask them to take responsibility. I hope that Cambridge willntake a first step by passing a city council resolution in support ofnthe survivors in Bhopal (www.cambridge4bhopal.org).

Letnus not forget that those who were on the front pages of the newspapersnacross the world in 1984 are still waiting for justice today – theynwon’t be able to ever forget.n
B. Werner
Cambridge, MAnn”,0] ); //–>

However, one does not even have to look that far afield to find examples of corporate irresponsibility. Right here in Massachusetts, there are several cases of people suffering from the mistakes the industry has made.

For example, in today’s local newspaper, I found two articles about groundwater contamination due to corporate wrongdoing: one was about the W.R. Grace Co. building in Woburn finally being demolished, after it had become a symbol for Woburn’s toxic legacy; another one was about a case of contaminated ground water in Ashland, where toxic vapors from the water pose a health risk to residents 28 years after a dye factory had left.

These stories show that we need to ask for more accountability from the chemical industry. Bhopal has been acknowledged as the world’s worst industrial disaster and a symbol for corporate neglect. We need to learn from what happened in Bhopal and make the legal changes required to protect our environment and our health. However, first of all, we need to make sure that the people in Bhopal will finally receive the compensation and support they deserve. Dow Chemical is one of the largest chemical companies in the US. It is up to the people here to ask them to take responsibility. I hope that Cambridge will take a first step by passing a city council resolution in support of the survivors in Bhopal (www.cambridge4bhopal.org).

Let us not forget that those who were on the front pages of the newspapers across the world in 1984 are still waiting for justice today – they won’t be able to ever forget.

B. Werner
Cambridge, MA

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Shameless

Corporate accountability groups nationwide expose the “Future We Create” conference as fraudulent greenwashing

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June 7, 2011

GREENWASHING: false expressions of environmental concern especially as a cover for environmentally-unsound products, policies, or activities (adapted from Merriam Webster).

“Join 60 leading thinkers as they explore the future of water for our world today. Covering global systems and specific “megatrends,” featuring personal stories from the frontlines as well as reflections on the human dimension of water, The Future of Water will examine how different fields, sectors, and stakeholders can meet the challenge of supplying a growing global population with clean and sustainable water.” http://www.futurewecreate.com/

Sounds benign, even commendable, right?  The so-called leaders asked to join the conference were in fact perpetrators of drinking water contamination and unjust privatization of water worldwide.  Involved parties in the conference included Coke, BottledWaterWeb.com, and the infamous Dow Chemical.  Surprisingly, Dow Chemical had contacted Anna Lappe, world-renowned author, public speaker and activist, with a request for a 60-second video for the virtual conference.  Her response was more honest then the company would have hoped for, and obviously was rejected:

Read the full press release here.

Their attempts at greenwashing were met with opposition from individuals and organizations like Lappe’s  Small Planet Institute, Corporate Accountability International and the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (us!).

Where does the Bhopal Gas Disaster fit into this story? Dow acquired Union Carbide in 2002 and thereby acquired its assets and liabilities.  You can read more on the legal background of Dow’s liability. By refusing to clean up in Bhopal, and allowing water and soil contamination to seep deeper into an aquifer, Dow is committing crimes against humanity.

As for the Future We Create conference, the “personal stories from the frontlines” it advertises should sound more like young Bhopali Amir’s story.  “The Human dimension of water” in reality looks more like these picture I took at the eerie Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal this past February, where it continues to leak its water toxins:

Water outside of the factoryUnion Carbide Pesticide FactoryBhopali kids on the factory wall

Don’t let these greenwashing attempts go unnoticed. To take action, tweet something clever @Futureswecreate or post something on its Facebook page. Check out Justice4Bhopal’s twitter account for ideas.

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Community Blog, Shameless

Dec 3, 1984: A Night of Death in Bhopal

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Death and Chaos in the City

Death came hurtling of a clear sky on December 3rd, 1984. A cold midnight wind blew, with stars brilliant as they are in central India, glistening through the thin pall of cooking-fire smoke that typically hung above the city. Here and there, braziers were burning to warm those who were obliged to be out late. At the factory which so many had learned to fear, a thin plume of white vapor began streaming from a high structure. Caught by the wind, it became a haze and blew downward to mix with smoke coming from near the ground.

Map of Union Carbide factory at Bhopal, India

A dense fog formed. Nudged by the wind, it rolled across the road right outside the factory and into the alleys on the other side. Here the houses were packed close, ill-built, with badly-fitting doors and windows. Those within were roused in darkness to the sound of screams. The gases already were already upon them–in their eyes, noses and throats–and felt like fire.

“It felt like somebody had filled our bodies up with red chillies”

Remembers Aziza Sultan, a survivor: “At about 12.30 am I woke to the sound of my baby coughing badly. In the half light I saw that the room was filled with a white cloud. I heard a lot of people shouting. They were shouting ‘run, run!’ Then I started coughing with each breath seeming as if I was breathing in fire. My eyes were burning.”

Another survivor, Champa Devi Shukla, remembers that “it felt like somebody had filled our bodies up with red chillies, our eyes tears coming out, noses were watering, we had froth in our mouths. The coughing was so bad that people were writhing in pain. Some people just got up and ran in whatever they were wearing, even if they were wearing nothing at all. People were only concerned about how they would save their lives. They just ran. Those who fell were not picked up by anybody, they just kept falling, and were trampled on by other people. People climbed and scrambled over each other to save their lives – even cows were running and trying to save their lives and crushing people as they ran.”

“People simply started dying in the most hideous ways”

In those apocalyptic moments no one knew what was happening. People simply started dying in the most hideous ways. Some vomited uncontrollably, went into convulsions and fell dead. Others choked to death, drowning in their own body fluids. Photo by Prakash HatvalneMany were crushed in the stampedes through narrow gullies where street lamps burned a dim brown through clouds of gas. “The force of the human torrent wrenched children’s hands from their parents’ grasp. Families were whirled apart,” reported the Bhopal Medical Appeal in 1994. “The poison cloud was so dense and searing that people were reduced to near blindness. As they gasped for breath its effects grew ever more suffocating. The gases burned the tissues of their eyes and lungs and attacked their nervous systems. People lost control of their bodies. Urine and feces ran down their legs. Women lost their unborn children as they ran, their wombs spontaneously opening in bloody abortion.”

Immeasurable Devastation

Photo by Prakash Hatvalne

When dawn broke over the city, thousands of bodies lay in heaps in the streets. Even far from the factory, near one of the major lakes, at Rani Hira Pati ka Mahal the ground was so smothered with bodies that you could not avoid treading on them. The army dumped hundreds of bodies in the surrounding forests; a nearby river was so choked with corpses that they formed log-jams against the arches of bridges. Families and entire communities were wiped out, leaving no one to identify them. According to Rashida Bi, who survived the gas but lost five family members to cancers, thosewho escaped with their lives “are the unlucky ones;the lucky ones are those who died on THAT NIGHT.”  Read more survivor testimonies of the tragedy, and how their lives have changed since.

How many thousands died in the immediate aftermath?  No one knows, exactly. Carbide claims 3,800. Municipal workers who picked up bodies withtheir own hands, loading them onto trucks for burial in mass graves or to be burned on mass pyres, reckon they shifted at least 15,000 bodies. Survivors, basing their estimates on the number of shrouds sold in the city, conservatively claim about 8,000 died in the first week. The official death toll to date (local government figures) stands at more than 20,000 and even now, twenty-six years later, at least one person per day dies in Bhopal from the injuries they sustained on THAT NIGHT. Why did this happen? Learn more in Predictable and Preventable.

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ICJB Press Releases, Statements, Letters, Shameless

Press Statement: Unethical Drug Testing on Bhopal Gas Victims

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Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha
Children Against Dow Carbide
Bhopal Group for Information and Action

Press Statement – February 10, 2011

At a press conference today five organizations campaigning for justice in the case of the 1984 Union CarbideMr. Khan, drug trials victim, pictured with his wife disaster in Bhopal, India demanded immediate suspension of senior consultants of the Bhopal Memorial Hospital who are guilty of causing deaths of at least 10 gas victims by unethical drug trials. The organizations called for filing of criminal charges and initiating criminal investigations against the consultants for causing deaths of gas victims through unethical drug trials.

According to the information obtained by these organizations from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), New Delhi, among the 7 drug trials conducted on gas victims only one trial was monitored by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). As per published information three gas victims have died due to the trial of the drug Televancin on them, five have died due to the drug named Fondaparinux and two due to the drug called Tigecycline.

Documents obtained by these organizations through the Right to Information shows that the consultants ofBhopal Memorial Hospital (BMHRC) made over Rs. One Crores from the pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Astra Zeneca and Sanofi whose drugs were tested on gas victims.

The organizations named Drs. S K Trivedi and H K Pande in the cardiology department and Dr Subodh Varshney in the Gastro Surgery department as the main culprits for these deaths caused by drug trials. They said the Institutional Review Board of BMHRC, whose Secretary is Dr. S K Trivedi’s wife, has approved these trials.

Presenting the medical records of one gas victim Mr. Nasir Khan who died at the young age of 34 years, the organizations said that the drug Clopidrogel was fatally tested on him along with another blood thinner, Aspirin by Dr. S K Trivedi in July 2010. The organizations pointed out that a study published in the prestigious medical journal Lancet in July 2004 reported that co-administration of Clopidrogel with Aspirin increases the chance of life threatening hemorrhage.

The organizations stated that the Madhya Pradesh government initiated an investigation on the unethical trials in BMHRC but the report of this investigation, supposed to be completed by September 2010, remains to be made public. The organizations apprehended that the findings of this investigation would be compromised given that investigator’s mother was given free surgical treatment by Dr. S K Trivedi.

Contacts:

Rashida Bi, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh
+91 94256 88215

Syed M Irfan, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha

Balkrishna Namdeo, Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha
+91 98263 45423

Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra, Bhopal Group for Information and Action
+91 98261 67369

Safreen Khan, Children Against Dow Carbide
+91 9303831487

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