Exploratory Notes
BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY – A SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, LEGAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
“…the struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” -Milan Kundera (The Book of Laughter and Forgetting)
SUBMITTED BY: MALINI NAIR
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1977710
DEPARTMENT OF RANGELAND ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
2
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1977710
BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY – A SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, LEGAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Introduction The industrial catastrophe that occurred on the midnight of December 2, 1984 at Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, India was the worst industrial accident in the world. The official count was around 3000 deaths, but unofficial estimates are around 8000 – 10000 deaths (Bogart, 1989). Since then, a report in NY Times indicates the death toll has reached a high of 14,410 due to the chronic diseases caused by the gas leakage (NYT, 08/02/2002). This is a complex case, involving critics from all sides accusing the Government of India, U.S. Government, and Union Carbide and the workers that handle the case. The purpose of examining this case for this class, about Environmental Law is due to the fact that this involves a large-scale environmental pollution accident and the legal difficulties in international prosecution laws, extradition treaties and non-uniform regulations across countries which could be exploited by companies. This paper, as the title suggests examines the social, environmental, legal and economic aspects of this evolving tragedy. History of the Accident However tragic the circumstances turned out to be, the opening of the pesticide plant in Bhopal was well meant. The period was before Green Revolution. India was plagued with periodic droughts which resulted in famine. After centuries of British rule and mismanaged kingdoms before that, India was reduced to poverty level subsistence existence for 75% of its citizens. After
“…the struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” -Milan Kundera (The Book of Laughter and Forgetting)
SUBMITTED BY: MALINI NAIR
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1977710
DEPARTMENT OF RANGELAND ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
2
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1977710
BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY – A SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, LEGAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Introduction The industrial catastrophe that occurred on the midnight of December 2, 1984 at Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, India was the worst industrial accident in the world. The official count was around 3000 deaths, but unofficial estimates are around 8000 – 10000 deaths (Bogart, 1989). Since then, a report in NY Times indicates the death toll has reached a high of 14,410 due to the chronic diseases caused by the gas leakage (NYT, 08/02/2002). This is a complex case, involving critics from all sides accusing the Government of India, U.S. Government, and Union Carbide and the workers that handle the case. The purpose of examining this case for this class, about Environmental Law is due to the fact that this involves a large-scale environmental pollution accident and the legal difficulties in international prosecution laws, extradition treaties and non-uniform regulations across countries which could be exploited by companies. This paper, as the title suggests examines the social, environmental, legal and economic aspects of this evolving tragedy. History of the Accident However tragic the circumstances turned out to be, the opening of the pesticide plant in Bhopal was well meant. The period was before Green Revolution. India was plagued with periodic droughts which resulted in famine. After centuries of British rule and mismanaged kingdoms before that, India was reduced to poverty level subsistence existence for 75% of its citizens. After
References: Bogart, William., 1989, The Bhopal Tragedy: Language, Logic, and Politics in the Production of a Hazard (Westview Press, Colorado) Kurzman, Daniel., 1987, Killing Wind: Inside Union Carbide and the Bhopal Catastrophe (McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York) Lapierre, D. and J. Moro., 2002, Five Past Midnight in Bhopal (Warner Books, New York) Marcus, A. A., and R. S. Goodman, 1991, Victims and Shareholders: The Dilemmas of Presenting Corporate Policy during a Crisis, The Academy of Management Journal 34(2), 281-305 Morehouse, W., and M. A. Subramaniam, The Bhopal Tragedy: What Really happened and What it Means for American Workers and Communities at Risk (Council of International and Public Affairs, UN, New York) Salinger, M., Value Event Studies, The Review of Economics and Statistics 74(4), 671-677 Websites: www.bologi.com/cwfs/wfs0001.htm www.bhopal.com www.geocities.com/Athens/Forums/8266/Bhopal-2.htm www.greenpeace.org www.india-today.com http://in.news.yahoo.com/030216/2178w.html www.NYT.com: 08/02/2002 www.NYT.com: 03/05/2000 http://web.lexis-nexis.com a. United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit, Bano v. Union Carbide b. United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit, Union of India v. Union Carbide c. United States District Court of Southern District of New York, Bano v. Union Carbide d. United States District Court of Southern District of New York, Union of India v. Union Carbide www.worldbank.org/nipr/india/india-back.htm 17