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Water near plant still toxic
Twenty-five years after a gas leak killed thousands at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, groundwater at the site of the world’s worst industrial accident is still toxic, according to a study released on Tuesday.
Twenty-five years after a gas leak killed thousands at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, groundwater at the site of the world’s worst industrial accident is still toxic, according to a study released on Tuesday.
Pesticides and other toxins were found in samples of water and soil collected from the area through this October, said the study by Centre for Science Environment, a New Delhi-based research body.
CSE Director Sunita Narain said the contaminants samples were identical and linked to the production processes of the plant, where methyl isocyanate gas spewed from a storage tank on the night December 2, 1984.
According to research conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research, 8,000 to 10,000 people were killed within three days of the tragedy and at least 25,000 people died from the effects of exposure to the deadly gas.
Tens of thousands of people living near the factory are chronically sick and use contaminated water. The CSE study tested 20 samples, including some that were collected from almost three kilometres off the factory site.
The findings, which were released on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the disaster, vindicate claims by activists and victims that tonnes of toxic waste strewn around the accident site continues to pollute soil and groundwater in the area, causing cancer, and congenial defects.
They have been demanding that Dow Chemicals, the company that now owns Union Carbide, take the responsibility of cleaning up the area of toxins.
Dow Chemicals Co. says all liabilities were cleared in a 1989 out of court settlement worth $470 million.
A 2004 High Court order directing the state government to clean up the waste has resulted in only a partial clearance of toxins.
The MP government, however, claims the area is safe. On Tuesday, it even announced to throw open the plant for public viewing from January 26. This, Gas Relief Minister Babulal Gaur said, would help remove fear of contamination .
