I believe Union Carbide's roots are in Germany, are they not?

John Lee



At 03:11 PM 12/3/04 -0500, Michael Baier wrote:
>Union Carbide's management still hasn't been brought to trial, because the
>United States turned down extradition attempts.
>
>American WMD?
>
>Bhopal marks chemical tragedy
>20 years since gas leak killed thousands in Indian city
>
>Bhopal gas leak victims protest against Union Carbide 20 years on.
>
>BHOPAL, India (CNN) -- People in the Indian city of Bhopal are mourning the
>victims of a deadly chemical leak in 1984 that killed tens of thousands.
>
>More than 3,500 died soon after the U.S.-owned Union Carbide plant spewed
>tons of highly toxic methyl isocyanate into the heart of Bhopal on December
>3.
>
>Authorities say at least 15,000 people have died in what has been described
>as the world's worst industrial accident, although activists put the number
>at some 33,000.
>
>Thousands more have suffered illnesses from the fumes that escaped from the
>fertilizer plant, now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Co.
>
>Many of the survivors struggle with ailments ranging from breathlessness,
>cancer, near blindness and fatigue to heart problems and tuberculosis.
>
>Activists say victims have not been adequately compensated, and that the
>plant site has not been made safe, with environmental groups estimating it
>will cost $30 million to do so.
>
>Tons of poisonous chemicals are still exposed to the environment and soil
>samples show other toxic materials have leached underground, contaminating
>the water supply.
>
>The government now trucks in fresh water every day.
>
>The survivors -- mostly poor working class people -- are still crying for
>justice. They say they've only received about 100,000 rupees ($2,223) so
>far for the dead and even less for survivors.
>
>But Union Carbide says it has no liability to clean up after it paid
>victims a $470 million out-of-court settlement in 1989.
>
>The company also says what happened here was no accident, but a deliberate
>act of sabotage.
>
>"A disgruntled employee who introduced an unusually large amount of water
>into a tank of methylisocynate was responsible for causing the runaway
>reaction," says Tom Sprick, director of Union Carbide.
>
>But the Indian government has said this claim is irrelevant.
>
>The local government now says it will remove all hazardous waste within a
>year, but environmentalists complain it's already too late.
>
>"The fact that something that poisoned and killed so many people continues
>to poison lives and nobody seems to care is the biggest tragedy," says
>Binita Gopal from Greenpeace.
>
>Union Carbide's management still hasn't been brought to trial, because the
>United States turned down extradition attempts.
>
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>
>

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