US Congressmen ask Dow to help Bhopal gas victims
Originally published in the Hindustan Times.
US Congmen ask Dow to help Bhopal gas victims
Press Trust of India
Washington, July 22
A group of US lawmakers, led by Congressman Frank Pallone, has lashed out at Dow Chemicals for failing to address the extreme environmental and health problems created by the Bhopal gas tragedy, and demanded immediate compensation to the victims.
Pallone, co-founder of Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, joined 17 of his House colleagues on Monday in requesting that Dow Chemical finally address the extreme problems created almost 20 years ago when the Union Carbide Corporation plant in Bhopal leaked 40 tons of lethal gas.
They said that Dow Chemical, which acquired Union Carbide Corporation in February 2001, had not yet addressed the liabilities it inherited and should immediately take steps towards reparations in Bhopal.
"In an effort to restore basic human rights to the people of Bhopal, my colleague Dennis Kucinich and I are circulating a letter to the CEO of Dow Chemical asking that Dow take responsibility for the disaster it inherited in 1984 and that it cooperate in meeting the demands of its victims," Pallone said in a speech on the House floor in an attempt to convince more members to sign onto the letter.
"In addition, I plan on circulating an amicus brief on behalf of the Bhopal victims who have year after year tried their cases in the US court system and who have been subject to unfair treatment, due to corporate favouritism," Pallone said.
"At that time, I will also ask my colleagues to join me in sending a message that the injustice cannot continue and that there is support in Congress for holding accountable those that are liable for this horrific tragedy," he said.
Pallone and Kucinich were joined in their letter to Dow Chemical Chairman and CEO William Stavropoulos by 16 of their colleagues in which they asked the company to ensure the appearance of a Union Carbide representative at the ongoing criminal case in Bhopal.
They also demanded that the company met the demands of survivors for medical and economic rehabilitation, besides cleaning up the contamination in and around the factory site providing alternative supplies of freshwater to the affected communities in the interim.
"The disaster in Bhopal continues, and is likely to worsen if Dow Chemical does not step forward to fulfil its responsibilities," the members wrote in their letter.
"It is disheartening to note that a company such as Dow, which professes to lead the chemical industry towards 'responsible care' shies away from its obligations when truly responsible care can be demonstrated," they said.
"More disturbing is the manner in which Union Carbide and Dow Chemical have ignored summons of the Bhopal court. This exposes a blatant disregard for the law," they said.
In their letter, Pallone and his colleagues stated that Union Carbide is an absconder from justice after it failed to face criminal charges against it in the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court when charges of manslaughter and other crimes were brought against the company.
On December 2, 1984 a Union Carbide plant leaked 40 tons of lethal gas in Bhopal killing 4,000 people within hours and injuring more than 20,000. Since then, the death count has risen to well over 14,000 as a result of exposure to the gas.
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