Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Asia and the Pacific Groups Demand Dow Chemical make its subsidiary, Union Carbide, face criminal charges pending against it.
"It is outrageous that 20 years on, the survivors of Bhopal have not seen the justice they deserve", asserts PAN Executive Director, Sarojeni V. Rengam. "Bhopal is a horrific example of a corporate crime gone unpunished, and is totally unacceptable and unconscionable", she adds.

The international Pesticide Action Network launched December 3 as the global "No Pesticides Use Day" in 1998, in commemoration of the world’s worst chemical disaster in 1984. Between December 2-3, 1984, twenty-seven tons of lethal gases leaked from Union Carbide’s pesticide factory. The leak immediately killed 8,000 people and injured more than 500,000. Tens of thousands have died from the toxic exposure in the years since, and the death toll continues to rise as a result of long-term effects.

"The tragedy may have occurred in 1984, but the people continue to suffer to this day. PAN AP and our partners around the world demand that both Union Carbide and its new owner Dow Chemical live up to their responsibilities, and stop evading their pending liabilities", states Rengam.
During the People’s Caravan for Food Sovereignty that took place in September this year, PAN AP and partners held a meeting at Hindi Bhawan in Bhopal, in solidarity with the victim-survivors. At that meeting, community representatives related the horrific legacy of the gas tragedy: "Children and pregnant women suffered the most. These chemicals and the pesticides attacked children at a very vulnerable stage of development and have permanently damaged their ability to fight diseases, and their mental, physical and sexual development".

As noted by The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, presently at least 150,000 people, including children born to parents who survived the disaster, are suffering from exposure-related health effects, such as cancer, neurological damage, nausea, breathlessness, numb limbs, headaches, body aches, fevers, anxiety attacks, chaotic menstrual cycles, depression and mental illness. Over 20,000 people are forced to drink water laced with alarmingly high levels of mercury, dichlorobenzene, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride and other persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals. Traces of lead and mercury have also been found in the breast milk of women living in these communities. Many of the victims do not have access to appropriate medical treatment and are unable to pursue their usual means of livelihood due to illness.

Dow Chemical has refused to make its new subsidiary, Union carbide, appear before the Bhopal District Court to face the criminal charges pending against it. Earlier this year, the Bhopal court issued notice to Dow Chemical’s office in India asking the company to explain why it has not produced its subsidiary Union Carbide. The Supreme Court of India, in its judicial review in October 1991, held that the 1989 settlement did not extinguish criminal charges, and directed that the criminal prosecution against Union Carbide must proceed in the courts of India.

PAN AP joins the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal to demand that Dow Chemical Company take the following actions:

-Clean up the poisoned groundwater and contaminated areas within and outside the factory;
-Release medical information about toxicity of methyl isocyanine (MIC) and poison gases, and arrange for long-term medical treatment and rehabilitation for survivors;
-Arrange for long-term economic rehabilitation of survivors whose livelihoods have suffered as a consequence of the disaster; and
- Produce Union Carbide to face trial in the ongoing criminal proceedings in India.

This year, aside from mobilising media attention on the Bhopal Anniversary, PAN AP has provided support to various groups for activities in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, the Philippines, and China.5
"This December 3, PAN AP has called on our regional partners to join in support of the Global Day of Action to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Bhopal, We also assert our call for corporate accountability of not only Dow Chemicals, but all agro-chemical corporations that continue to profit from pesticides", explains Rengam. "PAN AP takes this opportunity to express our support for the Bhopal survivors, and dedicate the planned ‘No Pesticides Use Day’ actions to the resilience of their struggle", she concludes.

For more information: PAN AP Website