Bhopal Gas Leak: Four Decades Since India’s Catastrophic Industrial Disaster

Four decades ago, the central Indian city of Bhopal was the site of one of the world’s most severe industrial catastrophes. On the night of 2 December, 1984, a poisonous gas escaped from Union Carbide India’s pesticide plant, blanketing the city in a deadly fog that resulted in thousands of deaths and poisoned approximately half a million people. Official government figures indicate that approximately 3,500 individuals perished within days following the gas leak, with over 15,000 more dying in the subsequent years. Nevertheless, activists assert that the actual death toll is substantially higher, and that survivors continue to experience adverse health effects from the poisoning. In 2010, an Indian court found seven former managers of the plant guilty, imposing minor fines and brief prison sentences. Nevertheless, numerous victims and campaigners assert that justice remains unfulfilled, given the immense scale of the tragedy. Union Carbide, originally a US-based corporation, was acquired by Dow Chemicals in 1999.