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Opinion
Bhopal :
Tragedy Without End
What can one do if the food, the soil,
the water and one's own body are contaminated with toxic chemicals?
How does one live healthily and support a livelihood? How can one
survive the deep violation of human rights, embodied by the seeping
poison unleashed by a powerful corporate which was never brought to
book for its crimes?
These are questions raised in a recently released report by a Fact
Finding Mission (FFM) on Bhopal, the site of the world's worst
industrial disaster. During the night of December 2, 1984, about 40
tones of methyl isocyanate (MIC) from the Union Carbide India
Limited's (UCIL) pesticide factory in Bhopal in central India, leaked
into the surrounding environment.
The report, 'Surviving Bhopal: Toxic Present, Toxic Future', which
focuses on human and environmental chemical contamination, makes it
clear that the toxic legacy of the Bhopal gas leak continues till
date, especially in the heavily-populated areas around the plant. The
study was conducted by environmental toxicologist Dr Amit Nair and
coordinated by Delhi-based environmental non-government organization
(NGO) Srishti. It highlights the fact that "not only the soil, but
also the groundwater, vegetables and even breast milk is contaminated
to various degrees by heavy metals like nickel, chromium, mercury and
lead, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like dichlorobenzene and
halo-organics like dichloromethane and chloroform."
On that fateful night in 1984, more than 2,000 died immediately and
over 200,000 of the city's total population of 700,000 were directly
affected. What followed was a devastating impact of the chemicals on
the eyes, lungs and gastro-intestinal systems. Gynecological and
obstetric complications soon became apparent, as did immunological
changes, neurological disorders, accelerated rates of cancer and
emotional and mental stress. Unfortunately, the devastating impact
continues till date.
Tardy compensation, inadequate and inappropriate medical treatment and
absence of economic rehabilitation to the debilitated survivors
characterized the post-gas leak scenario in Bhopal. In 1989, the
Indian Government arrogated to itself the sole power to represent all
the victims under the Bhopal Gas Leak Act and settled for a sum of US
$470 million -- nearly one-seventh of the original claim of US $3
billion.
This infamous settlement, the disregard for health and the environment
by Union Carbide are lessons in lack of corporate accountability and
gross injustice on those affected by the disaster.
And even as Union Carbide merged with Dow Chemical in 2001 to form the
largest chemical corporation in the world, the Bhopal Fact Finding
Mission, comprising experts from different fields set out to
investigate the current state of the people and environment at the
Bhopal disaster site. The Mission focused on several aspects ranging
from medical and mental health to economic, legal and social aspects.
The study reveals that the continued contamination of the groundwater,
soil and breast milk present a serious health threat not only to those
currently exposed but also to future generations.
According to experts, the evidence suggests that the toxics have not
only moved across various mediums, but tropic transfer of these
chemicals, essentially through the food chain, causes these toxics to
become part of the body burden. "The wide spectrum of toxic chemicals
detected in the human body itself is a dangerous signal," says Nair.
These chemicals can alter the normal physiological processes in the
human body and have a long-term impact on the reproductive, immune and
nervous system. Infants and children are most affected to these toxins
since infants are most sensitive to these toxic chemicals. Other
effects of chemical pollutants include carcinogenicity, mutagenicity
and chromosomal aberrations. Of significance here is 'synergism',
whereby even minute quantities of two or more of these toxic chemicals
within the human body can cause immense harm.
Chlorinated hydrocarbons, sometimes called 'environmental hormones',
are also endocrine disrupters. That is, they interfere with the normal
functioning of the endocrine system -- cells and glands in the body
that secrete hormones, the chemical messengers that regulate bodily
processes.
These toxic chemicals remain intact (which means they are not
bio-degradable) and have a disastrous tendency to accumulate in fatty
tissue. Environmental estrogens may increase breast cancer risk. They
can also cause other reproductive disorders like prolonged
menstruation, sterility, low sperm count and repeated miscarriages.
Of serious concern is the fact that they can be passed on to the next
generation through breast milk. Human breast milk samples, taken from
women in the area and studied by the FFM, showed maximum
concentrations of VOCs and a higher concentration of pesticide in
breast milk, showing that these carcinogenic toxics are
bio-concentrated in breast milk. "This poses a serious concern to
infants, as it is the easiest and shortest route of exposure of these
potentially carcinogenic chemicals," says the report.
According to current toxicological knowledge, there is no acceptable
level for these toxic compounds. In children, even low dosage toxicity
can lead to endocrine disruption and hormonal malfunctions, effects of
which may only emerge at puberty. In addition to the amount of
exposure, the timing seems to be crucial. Exposure during fetal
development or during early infancy can have serious implications for
future development.
"The worst part of the disaster is probably yet to come," says Nair,
speaking about the teratogenic effects. These toxic chemicals can
cause mutations and chromosomal aberrations, birth defects in babies
born to the exposed population indicating a strong likelihood of
congenital malformations in the generations to come.
One fall-out of this has been that people are reluctant to marry young
people who were exposed to the gas, especially since males who were
exposed and are married presently do not have offspring or have
deformed offspring. Many women fear to marry men who were exposed to
the gas disaster because of a fear of sterility, miscarriages or
malformed children.
While the tragedy continues, with affected people forced to consume
contaminated water and food, it is apparent that the grim lessons of
Bhopal are yet to be learnt. "While the post-Bhopal scenario realigned
thinking on the impacts of chemicals on human health and environment,
this has yet to be translated into practice," says the report.
The seemingly wide-ranging Environment Protection Act enacted in 1996
and other laws which it spawned, follow the limited technical path of
regulation and end-of-pipe solutions, without examining the processes
which lead to the generation of hazardous wastes.
The post-Bhopal era also saw worldwide regulation on chemicals and
toxicity and a demand by communities to the right to information and
to be participants in the process of industry-siting. Yet, as Tomas
Mac Sheoin's report on the Union Carbide Corporation notes, "It is one
of the bitter ironies of Bhopal that its major reformist effects were
felt in Union Carbide's home country." Inspired by the disaster and
the public response to it, the US increased its regulatory activities.
One major step forward came through the setting up of the Toxic
Releases Inventory and other freedom of information measures that
greatly increased public access to information on toxic chemical
releases.
In India, however, community struggles have had little success in
gaining the 'right to know' whereby people can identify any
contaminated sites in their areas. But why go so far? Because, as Nair
points out, many people even in Bhopal are not aware of the hazardous
impact of contaminated ground water. Others, though aware of the
contamination, continue to consume it because the government has not
provided any alternative sources of potable water.
– Laxmi Murthy
February 17, 2002
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By arrangement with
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