What Happened To The People Of Bhopal After The 1984 Disaster?
In 1984 a toxic cloud of a cyanide-based chemical, heavier than air, exploded out of a container and rolled along the area surrounding a chemicals plant (owned by Union Carbide) manufacturing insecticides in Bhopal, India. About 15,000 people died in the short term as a result, and it is thought that at least 150,000 more people were injured. The CEO of Union Carbide (Warren Anderson) absconded in 1986 and is still wanted by Indian authorities. Cynics maintain that the Indian goverment hasn’t done enough to catch Anderson, for fear of antagonising other US corporate giants who might want to invest in India. In 1989 Union Carbide made an out-of-court settlement of 470 million US dollars, which has resulted in a payment of about $2200 for the families of each person killed. Studies of survivors five years after the explosion found many ongoing health problems in the local populace. 20 years later Radio 5 on the BBC did a return special report, to asses the after-effects of the incident.
