25 Years Ago Today....

[garybeck]

.....a cloud of poisonous gas escaped from a Union Carbide chemical
factory in Bhopal, India, killing 15,000 people and injuring hundreds
of thousands. The Indian government reached an agreement with Union
Carbide that resulted in Union Carbid paying a sum of money that
amounted to less than $500 per victim of the accident. Subsequently,
Dow Chemical bought Union Carbide, after reaching an agreement with
the Indian government that Dow was not responsible for any lingering
damages.

from Wikipedia:

The Bhopal disaster or Bhopal gas tragedy was an industrial disaster that took place at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. At midnight on 3 December 1984, the plant accidentally released methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas, exposing more than 500,000 people to MIC and other chemicals. The first official immediate death toll was 2,259. The government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release.<4> Others estimate 8,000-10,000 died within 72 hours and 25,000 have since died from gas-related diseases.<5><6> As of 2009 no one has yet been prosecuted for the disaster. Local groundwater still contains over a thousand times the recommended level of carbon tetrachloride.

Recent update 7/09:
An New Delhi court issued a warrant today for the arrest of the former head of the American chemical company responsible for a gas leak that killed at least 10,000 people in Bhopal 25 years ago. Warren Anderson was the head of Union Carbide when its factory in the central Indian city leaked 40 tonnes of poisonous gas on 3 December 1984 – the world's worst industrial disaster.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/31/warren-anderson-arrest-warrant



more
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster

[midnight]

1. Money trumps peace. Now they, Corporate servants, brag about it.

[slipslidingaway]

2. knr nt

[YOY]

3. This killed UC.

Shame corporate responsibility isn't still on the forefront.

[Cerridwen]

6. Do you believe in zombies?

Union Carbide Corporation

[YOY]

8. No.

DOW bought them.

[Cerridwen]

13. So they "live," their brand is still "alive," they've just taken on a new form.

Wanna bet the same people who made money before DOW bought them still made/make money now?

Zombies, vultures, and vampires.

[YOY]

14. DOW got all their properties and employees at a song.

Most of the upper management were given the axe from what I studied. So the worst of the lost are not still making money off of them.

Who knows where they ended up. Sadly, not in jail.

[Cerridwen]

15. "Sadly, not in jail." Yes. That is *my* "bottom line."

I'd bet the upper management landed on their feet just fine. That's the part that bugs the crap out of me.

Okay, someone go do the research for me for a change and prove me wrong. I want to hear the upper management and all responsible wound up buried to their necks in sand and had their own gas "fed" to them in every increasing increments.

Yeah, I can be a vindictive monster. So much for my "drooling peacenik" personae. Actually, that defines *why* I'm a "drooling peacenik."

[defendandprotect]

4. k i c k

[anonymous171]

5. Why aren't corporations ever criminally liable for anything?

If I accidentally killed 15,000 people I would probably end up in jail.

[garybeck]

7. because this world is a fucked up place. n/t

[YOY]

10. It killed the company actually.

Not that anyone really saw jailtime. Lots of fingers were pointed.


...the stock became worthless.

[annabanana]

11. Because "corporate personhood" NEVER extends to consequences..

. . . . . .only to privileges.

[Greyhound]

9. I knew that surely somebody would notice this. Thank you.

I didn't find this thread until after I'd http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7148241">posted this.
:grr::cry:

[onethatcares]

12. didn't something similar happen with the asbestos lawsuits?

the original company went bancrupt or sold out to some place that a guy named cheney was related to. All lawsuits ended at that point.

You know, the same way the corporations end pension plans.