Dear Editor:
It is strange how Parsippany, with its large East Indian population, does not publicly acknowledge and remember the disaster of Bhopal. Officially, 3,928 deaths were certified from the night of December 2–3. There were 3,900 severely and permanently disabling injuries. Others estimate that 8,000 people died within two weeks, and another 8,000 or more have since died from gas-related diseases, with 558,125 additional injuries. Death tolls may have topped 25,000.
What killed these people is a case study of corporate negligence. How did such a Union Carbide chemical plant come to exist in such a heavily populated area? The chemical that leaked that night, MIC vapor—a heavier-than-air, man-made substance that does not exist in nature—escaped from a known malfunctioning storage system. MIC was used as a herbicide/pesticide in industrial agriculture. It does not dissipate but settles on anything surrounding it. When exposed to water-bearing tissues, it reacts violently and cannot be contained by the organism. In this case, human skin, eyes, mouths, and lungs were affected. The body suffers severe burns, instant severe asthma, blindness, pneumonia, and cardiac arrest. Most survivors endured permanent damage.
The MIC weed killer was being stored in tanks that were not maintained. When workers voiced concerns, they were ignored. If a pipe leaked, it wasn’t replaced—it was patched. If the pressure gauge on a tank didn’t work, it was deemed unimportant. Union Carbide supervisors, under higher authority, were unconcerned, and several employees were dismissed for sounding alarms.
Another chemical had been found that could be produced more cheaply than MIC, leaving Union Carbide uncertain about what to do with the excess MIC at the plant. In short, it became a case of corporate profits and cutbacks to a plant that was no longer making significant money for the corporation.
The very existence of such a chemical plant in Bhopal is another example of capitalism’s darker side: cheap labor and a political deal between Union Carbide CEOs and the Madhya Pradesh government. The plant affected 36 of 56 wards in a population of an estimated 559,835 people.
Union Carbide then invested millions in legal defense and purposefully distorted the facts, leading to what remains a preventable disaster.
We remember Pearl Harbor, the Alamo, and 9/11, too. But Bhopal, India? We let it fade from memory—or perhaps it’s more convenient that way. After all, corporations are “just people.” Corporations don’t care about you, and money has no loyalty except to the monied class. Borders disappear with money. White-collar crime becomes the mere cost of doing business. Robin Hood, inverted—stealing from the poor and giving to the unimaginably rich.
Please, remember Bhopal when you treat your ecologically senseless lawn. Use natural methods.
Nick Homyak
